A Symposium on the Music of the Sea

Announcing the Schedule for the Connecticut Sea Music Festival Symposium on the Music of the Sea - June 12, 2026 starting at 9 am at Essex Town Hall, Essex, CT. (Arrive by 8:30 am at Town Hall for coffee and danish among sea music friends!) This event is free of charge and is part of the 5th Annual Connecticut Sea Music Festival taking place in Essex, CT June 12-15, 2026.
9 a.m. Gibb Schreffler. “Early-Nineteenth-Century Chanty Style and the Fabulous Journey of ‘Grog Time o' Day’”
10 a.m. Mollie Carlyle. “Rewriting the History of the Shanty: New Evidence, New Origins, New Narratives”
11 a.m. Bob Strom. “Broadsides, Ballads and Fife Tunes of Salem: From the American Revolution and Beyond”
Lunch Break
1:15 p.m. Stephen Sanfilippo. “Citizens of the Sea: Our Hearts are Enslaved”
2:15 p.m. Benedict Gagliardi. “Toll, Toll the Bell: Little Nell of Narragansett Bay “
3:15 p.m. Lynn Noel. “Voyageur Songs of the Fur Trade Era”
Thanks to everyone who submitted proposals for the 2026 Symposium on the Music of the Sea. For over 40 years, international academics, independent scholars, and performer researchers have gathered in Mystic and Essex, CT to share their passion for and original research of the music of the sea.
The Symposium links them with knowledgeable and enthusiastic audiences, providing scholarship that is entertaining and enlightening. Presentations will be videotaped and followed by a Q&A.
The 2026 Symposium on the Music of the Sea, directed for the fifth year in a row by Dr. Faye Ringel, will be held on Friday, June 12, 2026, with a break for lunch. The Symposium is free to attend.
For more about the Symposium: ctseamusicfest.org/2026-festival/2026-symposium
For more about the 5th Annual Connecticut Sea Music Festival: ctseamusicfest.org/2026-festival