Greetings all,
According to our charter, a member of our guild may attain the rank of
Guild Master/Mistress when the Guild as a whole deems that they have:
a) Produced a substantial body of work demonstrating consistent quality, and
b) Contributed to performance in the Kingdom by teaching, provoking,
guiding, or otherwise facilitating performance opportunities.
Mistress Gwen verch David, a journeyman guild member in good standing, has
declared her belief that she has met these standards and has requested that
the guild consider whether they agree.
This nomination has been supported by the Honourable Lord Gillucan ua
Tomaltaig, a member in good standing, and the question of mastery is
therefore put to the guild.
Members of the guild are asked to consider their knowledge of Gwen and her
works, which are further described below. If any believe she has NOT met
the standards of a Guild Master in our guild, please email
performers.guild(a)lochac.sca.org with your reasons, so that they may be
considered.
If, by 31 January 2026, there are no emails opposing Gwen becoming a guild
Mistress, I will conclude that her change of rank is supported by the
guild, and it will be formally announced.
If, by 31 January 2026, if I HAVE been contacted with reasons not to
declare Gwen a guild Mistress at this time, I will make an additional call
for positive commentary to judge balance of opinions in the guild.
*Body of Work and Contributions*
In support of her claim, Mistress Gwen verch David has listed the following
body of work:
- An extensive history of performance as a singer and storyteller, with
performance skills as a solo singer most recently demonstrated with an hour
long solo concert at Rowany Festival (on Youtube at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ypJaL50pXQ)
- Composition of more than twenty songs in folk, filk, and period styles,
as well as numerous poems, some stories, and most recently, a puppet play.
(See the 'bardic' category of her blog to browse past works:
https://thelinkspages.wordpress.com/category/bardic)
- In 2024, completion of a twelve-month composition challenge, with
documentation provided for most pieces (eleven of twelve can be found on
her blog:
https://thelinkspages.wordpress.com/category/twelve-months-bardic-challenge/
)
She also reports the following contributions to encouraging performance in
Lochac:
- Supporting the Beowulf Project for Rowany Festival 2017, and coordinating
the Gawain and the Green Knight Project for Rowany Festival 2018.
- Coordinating or co-coordinating the Courtly Music Recital at Rowany
Festival from 2017-2024.
- Eight years of experience in teaching classes on lyric writing,
storytelling, general performance skills, voice projection, and reading
sheet music.
- Supported revival of Performers Guild and redevelopment of charter and
ranking system.
- Created a new general SCA songbook, the Book of Gwen, and a supplementary
adult songbook, After Dark (both downloadable at
https://thelinkspages.wordpress.com/gwens-songbooks/)
YIS,
Provost Lady Jadwiga z Katowic
