Rich Baumann
Singer/songwriter and recording artist Rich Baumann of Madison, Wisconsin, spent the last thirty nine years presenting thousands of uplifting programs in schools, libraries, and senior facilities. His powerful lyrics touch peoples’ souls and fill their hearts with warm memories.
Rich has also been a guest speaker and musician in dozens of churches. He also performs in concert halls, coffeehouses, festivals, house concerts, and on live radio and television.
Rich plays the guitar, violin, piano and other stringed instruments. He fills a room with his clear, rich baritone voice. His performances are packed with warmth, sensitivity and humor.
After performing in over 2,000 nursing homes and memory care centers, he has developed an intimate understanding of how to reach people with Alzheimer’s through songs and stories.
Rich finds a way to reach people in crisis and believes in the healing power of music. He sang in shelters just three days after the Joplin tornado, for flood victims in Iowa and for hurricane survivors in Louisiana.
Rich also founded The Million Closets Project in January of 2007 after Hurricane Katrina. The Project has delivered more than $30,000 worth of donated musical instruments and distributed them on the Gulf Coast to deserving individuals and schools.
In October, 2010, Rich received a Runner Up award in the Song of the Year competition with his original song, Battlefield. The song is about a WWII soldier who proudly goes to war, returns after his tour but never really comes home. The poignant lyrics can be applied to almost any veteran of war, which makes it a timeless classic.
Rich has also written a workshop for caregivers and teachers called One Step Closer which he has delivered in seven Wisconsin counties.
Rich is the newly elected 2013 President of the Madison Songwriters Guild.
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Emails to Rich Baumann
Rich Baumann is the consummate musical professional and community leader...devoted full-time to singing, playing, writing, and helping others to do the same. He is a classic make-the-world-a-better-place singalong folk singer in the tradition of Pete Seeger. As a result of all those years of street busking, he knows how to please a crowd and leaves room for his audience to sing along too. He can cover a wide range of music enables him to deliver the goods for audiences of all ages: from elementary school children to paying adults to seniors in a retirement center. Rich travels the country and delivers a powerhouse performance in a variety of venues without a lot of the high-maintenance fussy frim-fram so many musicians require (big sound systems, generators, assistants, etc.). Like Woodie Guthrie, he travels light and can accomplish a lot with his voice and his guitar. He can emcee a show, recruit a group of musicians, and jam with other musicians with his fiddle as well. I have been blessed to perform with him on a number of occasions.He has a big soul, a hearty voice, excellent projection, and the ability to improvise in performance situations. He is open-hearted, generous, and helpful, and he has an easy smile and a natural sense of joy that is infectious, both on and off stage. Through his voluntary leadership with the Madison Songwriters Guild, he has supported the development of scores of performing artistis by providing community, advice, teaching, exposure to national-caliber professional songwriters, recording studio resources, and performance opportunities for both beginners and pro's like himself. The world is a better place because Rich Baumann is in it, and so is my music.
Barry Wayne Callen
Singer-Songwriter
"So long" from Kris @ Monroe Public Library,
I will be retiring later this month and wanted to let you know that your song-writing workshop for kids was one of my favorite memories from my years as the Youth Services Coordinator at the Monroe Public Library. It was a great experiment that went wonderfully right! I hope you will share 'Check Out A Book' with families for years for years to come.
Kristen Ault
Youth Services Coordinator
Monroe Public Library
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To Whom It May Concern,
On February 2 of this year, the Pinney Branch of the Madison Public Library was lucky to have Rich Baumann perform his Cabin Fever Reliever program. With energetic and hilarious songs, Rich led the audience on an exciting musical journey that kept children and adults alike engaged throughout the entire performance. Besides his outstanding musical ability, Rich is one of those rare performers that can also handle the demands of a boisterous crowd of mixed ages with style and grace. His ability to involve even the most temperamental kids in the audience is truly a gift – one that is very hard to find. I highly recommend this performer for any library event.
Sincerely,
Krissy Wick
Youth Services Librarian
Madison Public Library – Pinney Branch
(608) 224-7100
kwick@scls.lib.wi.us
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Jill ****
Great performance, caring and sharing and engaging our residents and staff!
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Rich Baumann performed for the Clinton County Iowa Association of Public Libraries at our three event locations in Wheatland, DeWitt and Clinton. Mr. Baumann works well with small groups of young, rural summer reading children as well as the kids from the city who have never been on a farm.
His signature piece for the summer reading kids was "Check Out a Book". Do yourself a favor and make certain "My Brother Eats Bugs" is part of the repertoire for the program if you have pre-school through grade 5 in the audience.
