Rolliana Scheckler, CCM
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She began her profession as soprano soloist during studies and after receiving her Bachelor of Music Degree from UW-Madison. She has sung in over 11 languages in art song recitals, opera, oratorio, revues and early music. Solo highlights were her Carmina Burana for Middleton [WI] Community Chorus and for St. Norbert's College, DePere, WI, from which her stunning "Dulcissime" is still remembered, several performances of Messiah, several performances of Hero and Leander, in which she sang Hero with the Madison Consort of Early Music, Haugtussa sung in Nynorsk throughout the MidWest, show tunes for the 27th Concert on the Square in Madison, The Ballad of Baby Doe for which she covered the title role and is remembered for "Silver" and Mrs. Ham in Noyes' Fludde, both for Madison Opera, 8 Blessed Sacrament Encores, remembered for "Can't Help Lovin' That Man o' Mine" and 9 Edgefest Follies. For over 36 years, she has been soprano soloist and chorister with the Blessed Sacrament Adult Choir. She conducted the Blessed Sacrament Adult Choir, first as assistant, then as head conductor, total about four years, and The Blessed Sacrament Octet, eight years.
She opened her private teaching studio for voice in 1975 and concurrently taught voice for the Music Department of Edgewood College, 1990-1999. She was elected to The National Association of Teachers of Singing in 1980 and later served six years on The Board of Directors of its Wisconsin Chapter as President, Vice-President and Membership Chair, two years in each position. She served for over twelve years as Preferred Adjudicator for the WSMA Solo/Ensemble Festivals. Several of her voice students have gone on to music careers; two have doctorates in vocal performance, several have masters´ degrees and many are active as professional singers.
About midway in her singing career, viral laryngitis hit Rolliana and, in domino fashion, all her colleagues in the Madison Consort of Early Music such that it was impossible to accomplish five-voice madrigals for an entire performance year. The Consort suggested, therefore, that its singers take up early instruments in order to perform when unable to sing but otherwise healthy. The suggestion for Rolliana to begin the harp changed her direction forever.
Rolliana began harp in 1980. She trained for 2 years on lever harp with Sue Richards, who later went on to international stardom as four-time National Champion of the Scottish Harp Society of America, and another nine years with Karen Atz, Principal Harpist of the Madison Symphony. She also studied harp at clinics and workshops by such luminaries as Alison Kinnaird, Chris Caswell, Kim Robertson, Ann Heymann, Philip Boulding, Laurie Riley, Tina Tourin, Dennis Doyle, Ron Price, Liz Cifani, Janet Harbison, Aibhlín McCrann. During summer, 2000, she studied harp with Máire ní Chathasaigh and Gráinne Yeats at the school and harp festival of Cairde na Cruite in Ireland.
Rolliana added harp teaching at her private studio in 1985 and offered Celtic harp classes for talented amateurs [non-credit] in the community through The Edgewood College Office of Continuing Education, Fall, 1991, through May, 2001. This has produced over 200 folk harpers and enthusiasts who form the core of the Madison Folk Harp Society. Rolliana currently serves as President of and has presented workshops and concerts frequently for Great Lakes Harpers, the midwest regional chapter of the ISFHC, of which MadFolk is a chapter. Teaching brought Rolliana to writing and preparing music literature and lessons for her students. Little published material had been available for Celtic harp when she first began. She started learning Finale with John Georgeson via an Edgewood College Continuing Education class in 1994 (date approximate) and continues to use Finale for her own compositions, arrangements and student materials. Her children´s collection by sisters, Julie DiMaggio and Sara DiMaggio, has been published. Rather large computer files of Celtic harp arrangements and originals await editing and future publication.
As of May, 1999, Rolliana gave up teaching classical voice [she still performs as soprano soloist] in order to focus on 1) performing and teaching harp and harp song and 2) moving into music as healing. In May, 2006, she cut back on all teaching, keeping only those students already or formerly on her roster. She stopped performing music as entertainment in order to devote to music in health care and contemplation such as for labyrinth walks at Madison Christian Community and memorial services at St. Mary's Hospital.
Coming full circle from when she had earlier earned the Bachelor of Science Degree in Pre-Medical Biology, she now is "healing harper" at patient bedside in hospice and hospital. She completed hospice training in February, 2000, and has served for seven years as a hospice volunteer, at first as "caring presence" (non-musical) in patients' homes and then for about three years exclusively as bedside harper at the Anderson and Johnson Inpatient Centers of HospiceCare, Inc. Rolliana became certified as a clinical musician through Laurie Riley's Clinical Music Training Program in July, 2007. Now, both experienced and certified, Rolliana seeks compensated employment.
Rolliana owns her profession, including her record label and publishing company, formerly called Síocháin Music and now renamed HarpSinger upon the success of her debut recording of the same name. She has developed skills in bookkeeping, tax reporting (and paying) as well as basic knowledge about intellectual property rights. She is proficient at the computer, has owned a PC and now a MAC. She regularly uses Corel WordPerfect, MS Word, Quicken and Adobe products, various ISPs, email sevices and web browsers and Finale. She taught herself how to develop web pages using HTML source code (from scratch), as can be seen on these web pages.
Passionate about the visual arts as well,
Rolliana began studying wire sculpting in 2004 and glass fusing in 2007. She has designed and crafted two lines of jewelry, Antonía Pendants with dichroic glass or gemstones, hand wire-sculpted with 14kt rolled gold or anti-tarnishing sterling silver, and RollianaGlass without wire-sculpting and with beaded and dichroic glass, some of which Rolliana has fused herself.
Rolliana is married with four adult children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law and four grandchildren. College:
Piano:
Voice:
Harp:
Therapeutic Music:
Workshops and Short Courses:
Rolliana is a classically trained singer, Celtic harper and harpsinger in performance, teaching, recording and music publishing. She specializes in the ancient Celtic traditions, especially of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, medieval and renaissance music and European and American art music, both past and present. She loves to play her own arrangements, improvisations, original compositions with authentic ornamentation as learned at the Cairde na Cruite harp school and festival in Ireland, summer, 2000. She is the Great Lakes Harpers Professional Division Champion, a Palmer Grant recipient whereby she brought her performances to 80 eldercare facilities in Wisconsin during 1998 and an invited performer and presenter at the1998 International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen, Inc., (ISFHC) Biennial Conference. She serves on the Boards of Great Lakes Harpers (GLH) as President, and the Yrjö Kilpinen Society of North America , also as President. She founded and directed the Madison Harp Orchestra which performed its debut benefit concert, "The Emerald Harp," in 2006 as a Satellite of the World Harp Orchestra. She directed MHO in its second benefit concert "The Harp Weaver", March, 2007, and its third benefit concert, "The Leprechaun King", March 13, 2008. A trained volunteer with HospiceCare, Inc., of Madison, Wisconsin, Rolliana uses music as a means for seeking wholeness and healing, both for the performer and the listener. She is certified through Laurie Riley's Clinical Musicians Training Program as a Certified Clinical Musician at the advanced level, qualified to play professionally at patient bedside in home care, hospice and hospital settings.
Rolliana has maintained a career as classical singer, harper and harpsinger in performance, teaching, publishing and recording for some 30 years. She has specialized in Celtic harp instrumentals and self-accompanied harpsong, performing in formal recitals and in shorter programs for schools, libraries, nature centers, older adult organizations, service groups, weddings, wedding and corporate receptions, banquets and other gala events. She frequently appeared on the Edgewood College Concert Series and, for ten years, in The Olbrich Gardens Winter Concert Series. 1995 saw the release of her debut solo recording, HarpSinger, on her Síocháin Music label. In 1996, she won First Prize in The Professional Division of the Great Lakes Harpers Regional Competition. In 1998, she received a major grant from the Palmer Foundation enabling her to bring 80 Celtic harp and song performances to the elderly in care facilities throughout Wisconsin. She was recognized nationally by her invitational concert performance and workshop presentations at The 1998 Conference of The International Society of Folk Harpers and Craftsmen (ISFHC), Galveston, Texas. In November, 2003, her second CD, Dawning of the Day, all solo instrumental, was released to enthusiastic reviews on her record label, renamed HarpSinger.
In addition, she has served as clinician for numerous harp and voice workshops, seminars and short courses for over 25 years, on various topics such as arranging for Celtic harp, singing while self-accompanying, agility exercises for "harp fitness", ensemble playing, improvisation.
University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Music. Bachelor of Music in Applied Voice [vocal performance and studio teaching], high honors.
Saint Mary´s College, Notre Dame, IN. Bachelor of Science, cum laude, in Pre-Medical Biology. First employment out of college was at Science Intelligence Department of Smith, Kline & French Laboratories [now Glaxo Smith Kline] in Philadelphia.
Private study with Olive Endres, Madison, WI, 3 years;
Full piano scholarship to Aspen Summer School of Music, Aspen, CO;
Private lessons during childhood with Margaret Schmitt, Kenosha, WI, 10 years.
Lessons with David Hottmann, Madison, 3 years privately and 6 years during degree work at University of Wisconsin School of Music.
Private lessons with Inge Manski Lundeen, formerly with the Metropolitan Opera, Atlanta, GA, 1 year;
Private lessons with Ruth Horrall, Madison, WI, 2 years.
Private lessons weekly during school years with Karen Atz for 9 years, Madison;
Private lessons occasionally with Sue Richards over span of 2 years, Madison.
Rolliana earned the designation CCM, Certified Clinical Musician, at the advanced level, July 10, 2007, by completing all requirements of The Clinical Musicians Training Program under the mentorship of Laurie Riley.
The program's new website is Harp for Healing. It is part of the National Standards Board for Therapeutic Musicians. Graduates of NSBTM accredited member programs use TMus® as a prefix to their certification initials.
Care of the Professional Voice at the Medical College of Wisconsin;
Vocal Performance Pedagogy by Richard Miller at Oberlin College;
Alexander Technique by Marjorie Barstow at University of Wisconsin-Madison;
Healing Harp Seminar and Monster Day with Ron Price at Northern Illinois University.
Note: other harp seminars and courses are mentioned in paragraphs above.
Madison Consort of Early Music, Board of Directors, 8 years, Co-Founder, held several offices including President.
Musicians´ Forum of Dane County, Board of Directors, 8 years, Co-Founder, held all offices.
Wisconsin Chapter of The National Association of Teachers of Singing, 20-year member, 6 years on Board of Directors holding several offices, including President, Vice-President, Membership Chair.
Newport Wilderness Society, Door County, WI, Board of Directors, 11 years, Co-Founder, Officer including Membership Chair, Newsletter Editor, Secretary. As a hobby for over 20 years, Rolliana has given volunteer nature hikes for NWS in Newport State Park, identifying wild flowers, during July and August. In 2008, she began serving as volunteer websmith.
University of Wisconsin School of Music Alumni Association, Board of Directors, 2 years where as Scholarship Committee Chair she initiated the now very successful fundraising program for undergraduate need-based music scholarships; after that, she served as Advisor to UWSOMAA Board for 5 years.
Yrjö Kilpinen Society of North America, Board of
Directors, 1999 - 2008, President, Secretary, Websmith; assisted with First, Second and Third International Kilpinen Art Song Competitions in 1999, 2002 and 2005; Event Manager for "An Evening of Song" with guest artists Cheryl Bensman Rowe, Paul Rowe, Martha Fischer and Bill Lutes, February, 2007.
Great Lakes Harpers, member since about 1994; served on Board of Directors since 1996, currently as President. Was volunteer websmith until 2008. First Place Winner, Professional Division, 1996 [before being asked to hold office]. Helped GLH incorporate as a non-profit, educational and cultural organization with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt designation.
Madison Harp Orchestra, Founder, Music Director for Benefit Concerts "The Emerald Harp", March, 2006, "The Harp Weaver", March, 2007, and "The Leprechaun King", March, 2008.