SANGMELE

Sangmele (sang-ma-lay – a Creole word meaning mixed blood) is an acoustic trio comprised of Walt Michael, New Orleans bassist and educator Dr. Henry Reiff, and vocalist Lea Gilmore. Sangmele performs the roots music of the African American experience, focusing on the powerful and moving vocals of Lea Gilmore who leads the trio through a tapestry of spirituals, gospel, blues, folk and jazz selections. Sangmele has performed at the Kennedy Center, The American Music and Arts Festival, Scotland’s National Folk Festival, the University of Rhode Island, Princeton and Penn State Universities.

Walt Michael's various musical incarnations, including Bottle Hill, Michael, McCreesh & Campbell, Walt Michael & Co. and now Sangmele have taken him from the coal camps of Appalachia to the Closing Ceremonies of the 13th Winter Olympic Games. He has touched the hearts of millions with his hammered dulcimer, guitar and voice. Walt has recorded ten albums on the Flying Fish, Front Hall, Biograph, Tradition Bearers and MCE labels. His music has been heard on ABC-TV (to a worldwide audience watching the Olympic Closing Ceremonies), NBC's Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, Broadway, the Nashville Network, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations, PBS and numerous film projects. Walt is Artist in Residence at McDaniel College and Executive Director and founder of Common Ground on the Hill, a multicultural arts organization that seeks to foster dialog and communication through the traditional arts. www.commongroundonthehill.org

Lea Gilmore has appeared in over 45 musical and dramatic theater productions including: "Porgy and Bess," "Ain’t Misbehavin," "Dreamgirls" and "Purlie. In October 1997 she starred in an original revue "What a Difference a Day Makes: The Music of Dinah Washington" at the Encore Theatre in Baltimore. Ms. Gilmore has performed with the Baltimore, New Haven and Cleveland Symphony Orchestras as a featured soloist with the internationally acclaimed Morgan State University Choir. She toured with the Common Ground Gospel Choir in Vienna, Austria. Lea’s true musical love is "the blues" and is committed to preserving the legacy of women and their contributions to blues music. Six tours of Europe in the past three years attest to her rising star in the blues world.

Henry “Hank” Reiff is the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at McDaniel College, and a renowned author in the field of Special Education. A graduate of Princeton University, Henry was a journeyman bass player in New Orleans while pursuing his doctorate and performed in a wide range of musical genres including the blues, symphonic orchestras, rock and roll, rockabilly and folk. His fans call him The Doctor of Rock. Hank is the musical director of Sangmele.