Early Folk Artists of Monticello

STORYTELLER SHEILA ARNOLD portrays an enslaved nursemaid who tells her favorite folk tales to the daughters of Thomas and Martha Jefferson at Monticello in the late18th Century. Jeferson’s daughters wrote these stories down and they have been revived by Sheila Arnold, who tells them much as they would have been heard back then.

FIDDLER DAVID MCCORMICK of Early Music Access Project in Charlottesville plays folk tunes that his research leads him to believe were played by Hemings and Scott family musicians. These fiddlers were relatives of Sally Hemings who were black, indigenous and European musicians popular for their playing at early 18th-Century dances, parties and dinners in Monticello and Charlottesville.

Together Sheila and David bring the stories and music to life from enslaved and free storytellers and folk musicians at Monticello.

This event is suitable for family audiences of all ages. Presented by Amherst Glebe Arts Response, Inc. the afternoon performance by Sheila Arnold is partially sponsored by Virginia Commission for the Arts Touring Program ane the National Endowment for the Arts.

Sheila Arnold is a Professional Storyteller, Character Interpreter and Teaching Artist currently residing in Hampton, VA. Through her company, History’s Alive! Sheila has provided storytelling programs, historic character presentations, Christian monologues, dramatic/creative writing workshops, professional development for educators and inspirational/motivational speeches at schools, churches, libraries, professional organizations and museums, in 36 states since 2003.

She is also a sought-after historical consultant for museums and exhibit designers helping to develop engaging stories from historical documents, artifacts, buildings and the historical use of land and water. Sheila has grown tremendously in her field – being selected as a Mt. Vernon (George Washington estate) Research Fellow and a noted artist selected as part of 2019 Hewnoaks Artist Colony summer residency. Most recently, Sheila was awarded an artistic fellowship at the McDowell Artist Colony in Peterborough, NH for December of 2021.

Sheila has a long history of being a featured Storyteller at several Storytelling Festivals both nationally and internationally. In 2019 Sheila was the initial presenter and storyteller for the International Storytelling Center’s National Endowment of Humanities project “Freedom Stories”. Sheila collaborates with storyteller, Darci Tucker, to produce the Tucker-Arnold Storytelling Concert and Retreat in Williamsburg, VA featuring nationally known Storytellers.

Ms. Sheila, as she is commonly called, has also presented Professional Development sessions, Storytelling Programs and Character Presentations at educational conferences and teachers’ institutes, including Colonial Williamsburg Teacher Institute, Valley Forge Teacher Institute, Mt. Vernon Teacher Institute, Westchester Regional Social Studies Conference and Social Studies, and Reading Association Conferences in New York, Louisiana, Virginia, South Carolina, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Mississippi, the National Council of Social Studies and for many Teaching American History Grant programs around the country and has presented and performed on a variety of topics. As an Historical Consultant, Sheila has worked with Montpelier in the creation of the script, along with arranging performer and coordinating and assisting in voice over for their short film, “The Mere Distinction of Colour”, a part of their African American exhibit. Also, she created scripts for Montpelier’s recreated buildings as portrayed by the enslaved persons on this site. She has also worked in creating scripts for the Niagara Falls Underground Railroad project, collaborating with Abigail Schumann in creating a theatrical reading for the premier of historian Edward Ayers book, The Thin Light of Freedom. In 2020 Sheila was commissioned to craft and perform the story of the Scarboro 85 detailing the integration of the Oak Ridge Schools in 1955. Through research, interviews with students and her time at MacDowell, Sheila crafted a moving and engaging performance which was premiered

Leading the charge for early music in the 21st century, David McCormick is a multi-instrumentalist, scholar, and educator recognized for curating imaginative performances, creating educational opportunities for students of all ages, and guiding prominent arts organizations through the challenges of our time.
In 2021, David took the helm of as its sixth executive director, with the ambition of creating a more inclusive, equitable space for all who engage with historical performance. He was previously executive director of Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival and Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival, shepherding both organizations through pandemic-era challenges by creating dynamic virtual platforms.
As artistic director of , David plays baroque violin, vielle, and rebec, and transforms thoughtful research into dynamic programming. He has adapted his research on 17th-century composer Giovanni Antonio Pandolfi as a Case Western Reserve University graduate student into a one-act M**der mystery play performed at the 2022 Indianapolis Early Music Festival. In 2020, David was awarded a fellowship with the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies to investigate the repertoire of free and enslaved Black musicians associated with Monticello, culminating in an ongoing series of live and virtual concerts, the “Expanding the Narrative” web series, an executive producer credit for the feature film Black Fiddlers, and lectures at The Juilliard School, Indiana University, and Case Western Reserve University.
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David is a founding member of , a medieval ensemble based in New York City, with whom he has appeared at Indianapolis Early Music Festival, Music Before 1800, and Amherst Early Music Festival. He was also founding artistic director of Charlottesville-based baroque ensemble Three Notch’d Road, and has performed with Washington Bach Consort, Mountainside Baroque, North Carolina Baroque Orchestra, and as featured guest artist for the Bach-Handel Festival at his alma mater, Shenandoah University. He is a 2017 recipient of Shenandoah Conservatory’s Rising Stars Alumni Award.

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