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Michael Lewis and Denise Wilson, principals of Traveler's Dream

Traveler’s Dream is a traditional and contemporary folk music group founded in 2000 by Denise Wilson (vocals, songwriter, Irish flute and tin whistle, concertina, fife, and guitar) and Michael Lewis (vocals, songwriter, guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, feet percussion) with various other artists participating on certain recordings and performances. The duo’s repertoire draws heavily from the musical traditions of Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, French-Canada and early America.

Membership

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Denise Wilson

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Wilson's musical interests were heavily influenced by her family’s Celtic ancestry and her early interest in history and in French language and culture.[1][2] Her first public performances were in 1971 while in high school with the Tippecanoe Ancients Fife and Drum Corps, a Lafayette, Indiana-based group that performs 18th Century music.[1]. Her first national exposure was in 1976. The Bi-Centennial edition of Newsweek magazine included a 2 page photo of her performing, plus a photo of her on the index page of the magazine (page 2)[3]. Except for hiatuses when she was in Europe, she remained active with the corp through 1989, including bi-centennial celebration performances[3] and a European tour in 1988. Her first performances in Europe were with a group in Strasbourg, France while she studied there during college.[1] Subsequent European tours were with the leadership of the LaSalle Expedition Re-creation and with the corp in 1988.[1]

Soon after she returned from Strasbourg, Wilson joined with four other musicians to form the band Bon Jolais, a folk group that specialized in traditional music from Ireland, Scotland, France, and early America. They toured primarily in Midwest from 1987 until 1999 and during that period they recorded and published two CD’s "Spirits of the Wabash" and "Till the Storm Passes."[4] During her high school and college years Wilson also performed with the Tippecanoe Ancient Fife and Drum Corps, a group of musicians that portrays La Compagnie Franche de la Marine, the French troops who were stationed in colonial North America, which she directed from 1978 to 1990.[1]

Wilson went on to earn a B.A. in French at Purdue University in 1981 and a Ph.D. in History at West Virginia University in 1997. Her graduate studies focused on the history of early America and Midwestern regional history.[5] and such has remained an element of her work, appearances and performances.[6]

From 1989 to 1991 Wilson was the publisher and editor of "Folkstone News" a quarterly folk music news magazine which covered midwestern folk musicians, events, and topics of interest to folk musicians and folk music listeners. Wilson participated in the foundation of the Folk Alliance which grew out of a foundation meeting in Malibu, CA. The folk alliance is an international organization promoting folk music and folk dance.[7]

Dr. Wilson taught history from 1993-2000 at Lakeland College in Wisconsin, and then returned to her home town of Lafayette, Indiana.[1] In the winter of 2000, she began performing music with Michael Lewis as Traveler’s Dream.[1]

Wilson has said that the research skills she acquired in school enabled her to research traditional music and place it in its historical context.[8][9] Traveler’s Dream also does instructional programs which teach history through music at schools and colleges, historical conferences, and women's history programs.[9]

Wilson received three grants from the Indiana Arts Commission [10] to support her efforts to create musical programs which raise awareness and appreciate of Midwestern history and cultural heritage.[1] In 2011 Wilson received a fourth grant from the Indiana Arts Commission to create a "musical program that explores the important role of music in seeking social justice throughout American history. She will research and learn historical songs and write original songs which tell the stories of people who fought in peaceful ways for social and economic justice." [11]

Michael Lewis

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Michael Lewis first toured nationally in 1988 when he joined the folk music group “Stone Soup” following guest performances with them in 1987 (including on the CD "October Nights" in 1987) whose other members included Carrie Newcomer and Dennis Leas.[12] He was part of this band when it was featured in a one-hour PBS special. When Stone Soup disbanded, Lewis and Newcomer performed as a duo.[12] Lewis is credited on Newcomer’s 1991 solo CD, Visions and Dreams (1991).

Lewis has said that his music has also been influenced by his family’s Celtic ancestry and by Irish, English, Welsh & Scottish performers including John Renbourn and Clannad.[citation needed] Contemporary elements include his percussive guitar style, choosing traditional songs with strong lyrical content, and creating musical arrangements (vocal and instrumental) for Traveler’s Dream’s which combine elements of traditional and contemporary folk music.[13][14][15][16]

In 2001, the Indiana Arts Commission issued Michael an Individual Artist Fellowship to fund the creation of four songs relating to Midwestern history and culture.[1]

Lewis has performed as a guest or studio musician (primarily guitar, bouzouki, and mandolin) on the recordings of many Midwestern musicians including Sharon McKnight's "My Backyard" CD (2000), Dream Journeys' "The Magic Carpet" CD (2003), Sharon McKnight's "Factory Girl" CD (2005), The Squatting Toad Band's "The Worst of the Squatting Toad Band" CD (2007), Clint Brandt's "Ruined" CD (2007), Linda Hicks' "In the Corner" CD (2007), Kent Heckaman's "Song from Those Days" CD (2008), Joe Peters' "Pilgrimage 2008" CD The Squatting Toad Band's "The Hoax" CD (2008), "Sacred Scripture Rosary" CD (2009), The Vagaband's "The Vagaband" CD (2009), and Marsha Musleh's "Tearing Down These Walls" CD (2009). Lewis is also owner of Middle Earth recording studio.

In 2011 Lewis was awarded a grant by the Indiana arts commission supporting writing and recording songs to be included in his upcoming CD entitled The Natural World.[11]

Performances as the group

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By 2001, Traveler's Dream had played at larger historical events. Following chiding by fans who were enamored with rare recordings of them performing in harmonized duets, recent articles & reviews [15][16] have indicated that their 4th CD marked greater inclusion of those types. Other changes including a trend towards a heavier predominance of original works, and increasing guest appearances (vs. band membership) by others.[13][14] Chance Heasty frequently performs as a fiddler with Traveler's Dream.[2]

Traveler’s Dream performs at historical, cultural, and educational venues [17] in addition to other venues including those that feature folk and acoustic music in addition to other venues including those that feature folk and acoustic music.[18][19][20][21][22]

Musical genres and styles

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Traveler’s Dream’s performs several musical styles. These include traditional music of the British Isles (with an emphasis on Irish and English traditional music), songs which were popular in early America. This includes the music of the French-Canadian voyageurs[23] and the French-speaking people who settled in villages located in the Great Lakes and Mississippi regions.[23] At one end of this spectrum are performances of historical versions of folk music.[18][24] At the other end of this spectrum are original songs inspired by the same histories and more recently original works not of historical style. Their works also include contemporary arrangements of historical songs.

Normally the group performs in English, with a few songs in French. On occasion they perform entirely in French at specialized cultural & historical events such as the "French Connection" festival held by the Cantigny Museum. [25]

Venues

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Traveler's Dream has played various types of venues, from being main stage performers at 50,000+ attendance historical events such as the Feast of the Hunter's Moon,[24] to a self-stated stated preference to continue to play some very small venues of various types including academic programs.[18] Venue types in their "core" exhibit similar variations including historical, cultural, and educational venues, venues including those that feature folk and acoustic music, and concert type venues.[18][24] Inclusion of their work in broadcasts is generally in folk music programs such as The Midnight Special radio program (a 2 month cross section [20][21][22]) and Wisconsin Public Radio's "Simply Folk' program.[19]

Historical Overlay

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History is a prevalent theme of Traveler’s Dream to the extent that some of their programs are non-musical presentations and instruction.

With respect to writing and adaptation of music, Wilson and Lewis draw from different periods and locations. Lewis’s musical writing, and adaptations draw primarily from the historical British Isles and seafaring from the sailing era. Wilson’s articles, studies, musical writing emphasis is on what is now the Midwestern and north central United States from the late 1600’s through the early 1800’s,[5][6] and on the Voyageur era. The French were prominent in those places in that era.[26] Wilson’s PhD, doctoral thesis, previous professorship, approximately 39 years of historical musical performances are in the same field as the historical portion of her current work.

Discography

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Traveler’s Dream has produced four CD’s

The Road Home (2002)

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  1. Will Ye No Come Back Again
  2. Grain de Mil
  3. St. Anne's Reel / Highlander's Farewell
  4. Leave Her, Johnny
  5. Two Recruiting Sergeants
  6. End of Summer Waltz
  7. Yellow Tinker / Brenda Stubbert' s
  8. Whup Jamboree
  9. Aux Marches du Palais
  10. Bold Lad On a Rock / Granny Didn't Stay too Long
  11. Soldier's Promise
  12. Par un Jour
  13. Waterway West
  14. Road to Boston
  15. Will Ye No Come Back Again (Reprise)
  16. The Road Home plus hidden song
  17. What do you do with a Drunken Sailor? (hidden track)

The Willow Tree (2004)

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  1. I'm Seventeen Come Sunday
  2. While Gamekeepers Lie Sleeping
  3. Jim Ward' s Jig / Old Copperplate
  4. Bad Girl's Lament
  5. Au Bord de Jean de La Fontaine
  6. Old Bean Waltz/Mrs. Isabella MacKenzie Sutherland
  7. The Willow Tree
  8. First of May Waltz
  9. Cotton Mill Girls by Hedy West
  10. Scots Wha Hae
  11. P'tit Cordonnier
  12. Bowery Girl / Grandpa Joe's Polka
  13. Maggie's Reel
  14. Meg's Waltz

Home Comes the Rover (2008)

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  1. Black Calvary
  2. Dans les Prisons de Nantes
  3. The King's Daughters/ Reel Saint-Jean
  4. Mary and the Soldier
  5. Star of Munster / Torn Jacket / Sally Gardens (reels)
  6. Paddy West
  7. Au Bois Marguerite / Curly Shingles
  8. Donnybrook / An Grianan / Banish Misfortune (Jigs)
  9. Holy Ground
  10. Nantucket Sleighride / The Essex
  11. Planxty Hewlett / The Ash Grove (Tunes)
  12. Ah! Si Mon Moine Voulait Danser!
  13. John O'Dreams
  14. Say, Darlin' Say (Hush Little Baby)

Cold Blows the Day (2009)

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The Newborn, painting by Georges de La Tour, based in the carol Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabelle.
  1. Gloucestershire Wassail
  2. Rise Up, Jock!
  3. Coventry Carol/ Il Est Ne
  4. Good King Wenceslas
  5. Pagan Carol for Winter
  6. I Saw Three Ships
  7. Winter's Mythology
  8. Deck the Halls
  9. Bring a Torch, Jeanette, Isabella
  10. Maggie in the Woods / Road to Boston
  11. Holly and the Ivy Revisited
  12. Auld Lang Syne

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Niles Michigan Gazette August, 2001 pp 7-8 interview of Wilson "The Harmonies of History"
  2. ^ a b http://travelersdream.net/bio_info.htm Bios by Traveler's Dream
  3. ^ a b Newsweek magazine, July 4, 1976, Denise Wilson performances on pages 3,12 & 13
  4. ^ http://travelersdream.net/til_the_storm_passes.htm Credits for Bon Jolais CD's
  5. ^ a b Wilson, Denise, "Vincennes: From French Colonial Village to American Frontier Town, 1730-1820." Ph.D. dissertation, West Virginia University, 1997. (Dr. Wilson's Ph.D thesis)
  6. ^ a b Dr. Denise Wilson “The Material Culture and Daily Lives of Women in Colonial Vincennes,” Le Journal Center for French Colonial Studies (Centre pour l’etude du pays des Illinois)Vol. 17, No. 2 Spring 2001 pp. 1-5.
  7. ^ http://www.folkalliance.org/ Folk Alliance
  8. ^ Nevins, Patrick (February 2009). "A Passion for Music: Traveler's Dream". Helen Magazine. Lafayette, Indiana. pp. 57–58.
  9. ^ a b "Day Job, Dream Job". Krannert Magazine. Vol. 9, no. 2. Purdue University Krannert School of Management. Fall 2008. p. 21.
  10. ^ http://www.in.gov/arts/files/IAC_4_Year_Grant_Overview_V2.pdf
  11. ^ a b http://www.in.gov/arts/2700.htm List of Indiana Arts Commission 2011 grants for fiscal year 2012
  12. ^ a b http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,138618,00.html "Visions and Dreams" review and performer information
  13. ^ a b Dirty Linen Magazine volume 142 July/August 2009 page 45 Review of 'Home Comes the Rover'
  14. ^ a b "Music notation and lyrics to Lewis's song "The Essex"". Sing Out! magazine. Vol. 52, no. 3. Autumn 2008. pp. 74–76.
  15. ^ a b Muzzle Blasts Magazine November 2009 Issue, pages 62-63
  16. ^ a b FRoots Magazine, London England, March 2010 issue (#321) page 69 http://www.frootsmag.com/ Retrieved March 2010
  17. ^ Scouting (USA) Magazine,September 2007, Article "Getting Excited about High Adventure" http://www.scoutingmagazine.org/issues/0709/a-high.html
  18. ^ a b c d "Partial List of Past Performances". Traveller's Dream. Retrieved 2010-03-24.
  19. ^ a b "Program Play List, July 2009". Simply Folk. Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved 2010--03-25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  20. ^ a b "November 28th 2009 Playlist". The Midnight Special Radio Program. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
  21. ^ a b "December 19th 2009 Playlist". Midnight Special Radio Program. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
  22. ^ a b "December 26th 2009 Playlist". The Midnight Special Radio Program. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
  23. ^ a b Carman, Sam Hendricks County Flier July 13, 2011 page C2 Traveler's Dream to perform in Danville
  24. ^ a b c "2010 Feast of the Hunter's Moon". Tippecanoe County Historical Association. Retrieved 2010-03-25. {{cite web}}: line feed character in |publisher= at position 18 (help)
  25. ^ http://www.cantigny.org/Special_Events/signature_events/french_connection.aspx French Connection at Cantigny Museum in the Chicago area.
  26. ^ "The Time of the French in the Heart of North America 1673-1818" By Charles Balesi ISBN 1-881370-00-3"
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