
have been involved in German filk fandom since 1991. Without them and a few others, filk as a community would not exist in Germ
any. They released the first German filk-tape, “Neofan: Filk from a developing country”, back in 1993. They were among the first German filkers to get in contact with British filk fandom and attend a British filk-con. They were the first Germans to be invited as Interfilk guests, at FilKONtario in 1998; and the first to travel to an American filk con, OVFF, the same year. They were among the organizers of the first official German filk con, FilkContinental, in 1997. Ever since, both have continuously been part of its committee, either officially or unofficially, in various capacities. Ju has served as “chief translator” for FilkContinental and the rest of the filk community, turning witty idiomatic German into equally witty and idiomatic English (and vice versa) for program books, progress reports etc. They have also organized a lot of smaller local events.
Ju and Katy have taken German and other European filk overseas; they present their own songs (of which they have many) and those of other German filkers. And, as true ambassadors do, they bring back musical souvenirs to share with German filkers, in the form of British, Canadian, and American filk songs. They have linked the old and the new world of filk, making it possible for German fans to catch a musical glimpse of the other filkdoms and become infected with the international filk-virus themselves.
Experiencing one of their performances is like having a whirlwind blowing over your head. Ju lends her haunting and touching tin whistle, guitar-playing, and soprano harmonies to blend with Katy’s skillful guitar and warm and rich alto. They spare no effort in preparing and executing their concert sets and many CD projects.
In song-writing, Ju has a stunning creativity and ability to juggle words and make them fall in just the right places to build her beautiful songs. Katy has a sure talent for putting words to unforgettable music.
Ju and Katy are true filk gardeners. Katy with her open and easy manner and Ju with her gentle and patient air, are always there to lend a second voice or guitar, make a song sparkle or move people to tears just by adding a flute. Talented and professional, they even make a song sound great when the performing filker slips or loses the melody. When one of the German filkers is featured at an overseas con, Ju and Katy are often there to cheer them on. All the while, they encourage other filkers to grab their guitars, or just the mike, and sing.
For these contributions to filk music and the filk community, Katy Dröge and Juliane Honisch are inducted into the Filk Hall of Fame this twenty-seventh day of March, two thousand and four.