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Singer/Songwriter & Guitarist Sheila Fleming

has been making music all the days of her life. From the cornfields of Iowa, and all along the banks of

the Mississippi, Sheila’s lyrical voice and sweet, soulful songs have been heard in coffee houses, concert halls and conferences throughout the Midwest and the Southeast. Now living in rural Chatham County in North Carolina, Sheila is charming Triangle audiences with thoughtfully-written songs that will capture your heart and make you appreciate the broad musical palette from where her music originates.

 

Sheila is that rare combination of talents – a dynamic teacher, a superlative singer, an accomplished guitarist, and an extraordinary songwriter. A finalist in both the Triangle Folk Music Society’s Songwriting Contest and the NC Songwriters Cooperative Songwriters Contest, she has recently released her first solo CD, Circles.

 

Currently, you will find Sheila performing solo, and also with Congolese guitarist-bassist-vocalist Emmanuel Nsingani, bringing an exquisite new vibe to her indie-folk stylings. Their musical chemistry is extremely enchanting, creating a broader, more culturally and musically-enriched expression of Sheila's originals and obscure covers. Emmanuel is a virtuoso on bass and guitar, a luscious singer, an inspired writer and arranger, and has been energizing triangle audiences performing with the Congolese jazz fusion quartet, Muningu, with whom Sheila occasionally sits in with. Performing with the folk/swing trio Trilogy for the past fifteen years, she has also shared the stage with many local artists, including award-winning songwriter Kathleen Hannan, Kerrville Folk Finalist Wes Collins,  and cellist/bassist extraordinaire, Robbie Link.

 

As a sacred music performer, Sheila has found a way to share her devotion to singing as a spiritual offering to others at retreats, workshops, festivals, and community ceremonies. Accompanying herself and others on a variety of instruments (frame drum, djembe, native American flute, lyre, guitar, piano, glockenspiel!) Sheila has performed as Trio Luna & the High Vibes at the Shakori Hills Grassroots Music Festival, and with musicians Amy and Scott Durso (voice/Shruti box/percussion) and poet Sharon Blessum in "Soul Speak", a community ceremony of song, spoken word, and spiritual wisdom shared at various times throughout the year. 

 

She is a beloved music teacher who has been named “Teacher of the Year” numerous times throughout her 30-plus-year tenure in the public schools. She presently teaches elementary music for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools and presents workshops and clinics exploring Music and Mindfulness to educators, musicians, students and their families throughout the state.

 

 

“.....her style is sophisticated, her lyrics are intelligent and beautifully written, and her fingerstyle playing is first rate.”

                                                 - Alan Hall - Chapel Hill News

 

“ ....(her) songs are really something special in terms of their musicality, concept, lyrics, and originality. I am also very impressed by the guitar parts - (she) seems to have an innate sense of how to mix “in” and “out” jazz-tinged harmony that makes everything swing and feel so good ....”

                                       -Howard Morgan -Fingerstyle Guitar