Village Harmony World Music Singing Camps
| Camp Address 5748 Hollister Hill Rd Marshfield, Vermont 05658 USA (802) 426-3210 |
Camp Locations: France, Georgia, Massachusetts, Vermont
Village Harmony
World Music Summer Camps 2010
Performance singing camps for teenagers & adults
This summer in New England, Oregon, Ontario, Corsica, Georgia and Macedonia
“Art of a high order, a very high order, made by ordinary people.
That’s part of the human legacy in lots of places, but not so much in my life,
or in the lives of people I know, where even the artists
have their terrain marked out rather narrowly.”
Village Harmony Singing Camps
Since 1990 singers in Village Harmony summer camps have been traveling and performing throughout an ever-widening swath of the globe, delighting audiences with their heart-felt renditions of unusual folk music from around the world.
Unlike choruses whose aim is to cultivate a membership whose voices blend seamlessly, Village Harmony intentionally puts together un-auditioned and ad-hoc groups whose only demands of would-be members is that they be excited at the idea of making good, honest music and hunger for new musical challenges. The result, year after year: ensembles whose sounds are dynamic, unpredictable, and absolutely thrilling. With their easy command of varied folk-song genres and infectiously joyous stage presence, VH ensembles always knock people’s socks off.
Village Harmony camps all begin with a week of rehearsal. Rehearsals are long and intense—six or more hours each day—with individual voice coaching, small ensemble and instrumental work between group sessions. Participants learn the basics of new singing styles under expert leadership while they work to prepare a concert program. Notation is used for some genres of music, others are taught by ear; everything is taught by example. Much emphasis is placed on authenticity—on understanding the spirit and vocal styles of each musical genre—and on appreciating the joy of singing together and with conviction.
After the rehearsal period, the 9-day long residential camps finish up with two or three concerts. The traveling camp sessions, however, embark on a one- or two-week-long concert tour. The groups travel nearly every day, perhaps stopping to swim or hike or explore sites of interest or attend folk festivals. Concerts take place in village churches and community centers. Some sessions arrange to study with local musicians along the way. On many tours the communities that sponsor our concerts and make up our audiences also provide meals and overnight housing, allowing singers to experience directly the excitement that is generated by Village Harmony’s music making.
The intense immersion in new repertoires and the myriad challenges of polishing these concert performances to a high sheen are exhilarating for all involved, and produce a close community by the end of camp and the start of many long-lasting international friendships. In recent years Village Harmony has attracted singers and teachers from all over North America as well as from England, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Corsica, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Russia, the Ukraine, Caucasus Georgia, western Africa and South Africa.
Auditions aren’t required to attend any of the Village Harmony camps or workshops. Our experience is that the groups are self-selecting: if the idea of rehearsing seven hours a day and racing about the countryside performing in small towns and villages makes your heart thump, then we want you!
www.villageharmony.org
or contact us and we will email or send you one by regular post. Applications for camps are accepted on a rolling basis until all spaces are filled.
Tuition covers all basic camp expenses, including housing, ground transportation during camp, music and most meals. Airfare to and from camp is not included in the tuitions.
Financial aid is available to qualified candidates. In awarding aid we weigh a number of factors, chief among them the applicant’s financial need relative to that of the pool of other applicants. We are able to arrange individual payment plans on request.
I have wanted to take part in that amazing pouring forth of sound and emotion that I witnessed. As I was sitting there, enjoying the beautiful harmony of voices, I was shocked at how happy and joyous the singers looked. I had NEVER seen anyone, especially teenagers, ever show that much enthusiasm while singing before. I was also surprised that there, in front of me, was a group of people who were acting out exactly what I had always wanted to be doing when singing before, but had always held back.”
“
because no matter what I say it is never enough! ... If this first week is anything to go by, I have seen some small ways in which it has been life changing, with more respect for myself and those around me, and a renewed sense of life as rich & good. What I treasure most is the gift of having met so many excellent people, having formed such strong bonds in such a short time. I am convinced it is the fact that we were making music together, singing with our very breath & being, that helped form those bridges.”
"Going to the Oregon summer camp was a life-changing experience for me…
As each day went by I started to remember my interests & passions from childhood, which had been put on the back burner for many years. It was really satisfying to sing for so many hours a day with other people who were equally engaged, and to experience the struggle and satisfaction of learning each song and each dance. The beautiful setting by the McKenzie River and the rhythm of each day of dancing, singing, eating, cleaning, resting, socializing & singing again was very restorative and joyful.”
Village Harmony is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in Vermont. USA which welcomes singers of all colors, creeds, ethnicities, nationalities, ethnicities and socio/economic backgrounds.
Village Harmony Retreat Centers in the USA
Woolman Hill Quaker Center
Deerfield, MassachusettsWoolman Hill is a Quaker retreat and conference center situated on 110 ridge-top acres of meadows and woodlands in western Massachusetts. We will sleep in bedrooms in the main farmhouse and four rustic cabins in the wooded areas, with primarily dormitory-style housing.. The main lodge also has sitting rooms and a large, open dining hall which will double as a rehearsal space; the separate historic Quaker meeting house--relocated board by board from Cape Cod--can also be used for singing sessions. http://www.woolmanhill.org/
STUMP SPROUTS RETREAT CENTER, WEST HAWLEY, MA
A rustic, multi-season resort and retreat center in rural Massachusetts. Facilities include: hand-crafted guest lodge, converted dairy barn (with lofts, reached by a spiral staircase up through the old silo) 200-year-old farmhouse, 450 acres of trails for hiking and mountain biking, wood-fired sauna and solar shower. Organic gardens provide vegetables for the kitchen. http://www.stumpsprouts.com/
ST. BENEDICT’S LODGE, MCKENZIE, OR
Located on the McKenzie River at the edge of the Willamette National Forest, St. Benedict’s is an inspiring setting for singing, with close encounters with Oregon’s famous old-growth fir trees, off-hours hikes to waterfalls, lava flows, wildflower meadows, and forever-view peaks. There is fine swimming to be had in nearby lakes and creeks, and relaxing soaks in natural hot springs. There’s a big lawn in front - perfect for volleyball, frisbee, and dancing. http://www.sblodge.org/
Village Harmony co-directors
Larry Gordon has been making community music in Vermont since the early 1970s. He founded Village Harmony in 1988. Though his first love was medieval and renaissance music, he is a vital figure in New England shape-note singing. Larry is an inspired organizer with an unerring eye for good repertoire and a unique knack of pulling together interesting combinations of singers and letting them shine. His patient and relaxed, yet demanding, teaching style and collaborative approach have shaped the welcoming atmosphere of the Village Harmony community since the beginning. Larry is well known across the US and internationally for leading stunning periodic ad-hoc incarnations of Northern Harmony, a semi-professional tour group made up largely of veteran Village Harmony singers.
Patty Cuyler of Marshfield, Vermont, is an energetic, dynamic workshop leader and director with special expertise in teaching Corsican, Georgian and South African singing and dance music. Her passion for honest, direct music coaxes fierce, forthright singing out of even the most timid singers. An instrumentalist from an early age, Patty is a brass player and self-taught accordion player. Since 1995 she has co-directed Village Harmony and Northern Harmony with Larry; in 2002 she founded the women’s Corsican trio Eccuci, and began the Montpelier World Music Chorus and Boston Harmony in 2004. Patty has edited a number of song books of South African, Georgian and Bulgarian folk music and has a large library of her own transcriptions.
Are camp places auditioned?
Unlike choirs where the aim is to have a membership whose voices blend seamlessly, Village Harmony is composed of ad-hoc, nonauditioned, inclusive groups whose basic demand of would-be members is that they be committed to making good music and not hold back. Our teen camps are open to ages 12-19. Teenagers are welcome to join in any of our adult camps or workshops.
Auditions aren’t required to attend Village Harmony camps or workshops, but we do want to know a few things about each applicant and his/her singing background. Our experience is that Village Harmony camps are self-selecting: if the idea of rehearsing seven hours a day and galumphing about the countryside touring makes you excited, then we want you.
When can I apply?
Applications may be sent in at any time after the season’s schedule is announced. We will begin to send out acceptance notices for summer camps in early January, and thereafter singers will be accepted on a rolling basis until the camps are filled. Some sessions fill up early, but sometimes space opens up as summer approaches, so we encourage late applicants. Feel free to email or call us to inquire about openings. First-time teenage applicants to Village Harmony need to have a music teacher or other adult send us a reference separately. (See the downloadable reference form on our website.)
What expenses does the camp tuition cover?
uition covers basic camp expenses, including housing, ground transportation during camp, music and most meals. Singers enrolled in the traveling camps can expect to have to buy a few meals during the performance tour. Airfare or other transportation to and from camp is not included in the tuition. For overseas camps, we will investigate flight options but ask that you purchase your own tickets. We don’t like to turn away any applicant for financial reasons.
What are the requirements for financial aid?
Village Harmony is self-supporting, though, and we expect participants to pay as much toward their expenses as is reasonably possible. We therefore ask parents/guardians of all student applicants to complete a financial aid application. For adult applicants we generally offer a reduced fee option for the residential camps. We can arrange individual payment plans on request. A deposit of 25% of camp tuition is due three weeks after you are enrolled. The remaining balance is due May 15th.
Camp Season: June 19, 2010 to September 6, 2010
Financial assistance available
- SessionSession DatesCapacityTuition
- Corsica Camp for Students and Adults
(Click for more information)6/19/2010 to 7/3/201023 Campers$1,400.00- Led by Jean-Etienne Langianni, Patty Cuyler, Larry Gordon This camp session is intended for experienced older high school and college students and adults who are confident enough to tackle the challenges of learning Corsican music--with its elaborate ornamentation and precise intonation--by ear, and to sing one on a part. It is above all a study tour, with emphasis placed on working with local singers and learning about the culture of the island. We are privileged to once again be able to work with Jean-Etienne Langianni--member of the folk ensemble Tavagna and the Paris-based early music group Organum. Patty and Larry will also teach songs from Georgian, South African and American genres for our concert program. Participants will fly or take a ferry to Bastia on Cap Corse and then drive to the village of Canari on the west coast of the cape, with its old confrerie and ancient paths winding up the mountainside. We’ll stay in an 18th-century convent and rehearse in its church. During our second week we will visit villages to meet up with traditional singers, perhaps attend a festival where we might just listen (or where we might be invited to sing), and give a number of concerts of our own in some of Corsica's most beautiful village churches. In residence at I Fioretti, Canari, Cap Corse, Corsica, France Tuition: $1400
- New England Teen Touring Camp I
(Click for more information)6/24/2010 to 7/15/201023 Campers$1,225.00- Led by Will Thomas Rowan, Dessislava Stefanova 3rd leader TBA. Our third summer in Canada this year will definitely be as wonderful as always. Bulgarian singer Dessi Stefanova--currently living in London, but formerly of the Philip Koutev Ensemble in Sofia--is a brilliant teacher, and she will lead a set of village songs and choral arrangements from Bulgaria and Macedonia. Village Harmony/ Northern Harmony alumnus & singer-composer Will Thomas Rowan will bring with him a wealth of American and Corsican repertoire to pad out the camp concert program. The third teacher is still tentative so we aren’t announcing him/her, but we expect to have a Quebecois traditional musician on this trip as well. The group will be in residence in a private retreat center on an island on Lake Simcoe, Ontario, Canada with an ensuing concert tour in Ontario, Quebec and northern Vermont.
- Caucasus Georgia Camp for Students and Adults
(Click for more information)7/7/2010 to 7/24/201023 Campers$1,500.00- Led by Ketevan Mindorashvili, Patty Cuyler, Larry Gordon This will be Village Harmony's 10th singing workshop in the Republic of Georgia. Georgia has one of the world's most ancient polyphonic singing traditions, and one unlike anything in European music. This camp will be a rigorous study-tour of some of Georgia's most distinctive and unique land- and song- scapes, with a scattering of highly-polished performances each of the regions we visit. We will meet participants in Georgia’s capitol, Tbilisi, and then make the long drive up into Svaneti in the Caucasus Mountains. We will be spending our rehearsal week in the remote and historic village of Ushguli--the highest continuously-inhabited village in Europe, with an astounding collection of 12th-century stone towers and surrounded by towering mountains. From Svaneti we will descend to the lush hills of Ajara--south near the Black Sea coast and the Turkish border--to stay with a bagpipe-maker and his clan. We will finally head east across the country to Sighnaghi in Kakheti, a historic 18th-century walled fortress town, where we will spend our final days of exploration and performances. Rehearsal week in Ushguli, Svaneti, Republic of Georgia Tuition: $1500
- New England Teen Touring Camp II
(Click for more information)7/9/2010 to 7/30/201023 Campers$1,225.00- Led by Suzannah Park, Ergeny Efremov, Nathan Morrison Veteran VH leader Suzannah Park grew up performing with her professional folk-singing family, and her arrangements of traditional Appalachian songs ring out the best in young voices--and her enthusiasm and energy always pervade the camps she leads. Evgeny Efremov of Kiev will join Village Harmony for the third time, teaching the haunting and evocative folk music of his native Ukraine. And Village Harmony/Northern Harmony alumnus and pianist Nathan Morrison will lead a selection of traditional and contemporary American shape-note and gospel songs, and put together a rollicking jazz band with any instrument players who come to camp. Rehearsal will be at Stump Sprouts in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, with an ensuing concert tour that will include some of our favorite stops in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont. Rehearsal week will be at Stump Sprouts, Hawley, MA $1,225
- New England Teen Residential Camp
(Click for more information)7/16/2010 to 7/25/201023 Campers$675.00- Led by Val Mindel, Dessislava Stefanova, Carl Linich This is our nine-day camp, especially geared for teenagers new to Village Harmony, as well as for those who can't commit three weeks to a traveling camp. Joining together as a team of teachers are three Village Harmony veteran teachers. Val Mindel will lead the group in close-harmony arrangements of traditional Appalachian and southern American songs and gospel quartets. Dessi Stefanova--currently living in London, but formerly of the Philip Koutev Ensemble in Sofia, Bulgaria--is a brilliant teacher of Bulgarian singing style, and she will lead a set of village songs and choral arrangements from Bulgaria and Macedonia. And Carl Linich will bring gems from his vast repertoire of Georgian songs. Instrumentalists can learn fiddle and string-band tunes with Val for the concert. The teen residential camp will be in residence at Stump Sprouts Retreat Center in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. The nine-day session will culminate with Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon concert performances. Rehearsal week at Stump Sprouts, Hawley, MA. $675
- Adult Camp in Western Massachusetts
(Click for more information)7/18/2010 to 7/25/201035 Campers$675.00- Led by John Harrison, Marytha Paffrath, Peggy Larson A seven-day long residential singing camp for adults in the hills of western Massachusetts led by three dynamic Village Harmony leaders. John Harrison, director of the Montpelier Gospel Choir and long-time Village Harmony teacher, will lead the group with soul-filled gospel songs. Marytha Paffrath, another veteran VH leader, will delight singers with her high energy and vast repertoire, which she has collected over decades as a founding member of the women's world music ensemble, Libana. And jazz singer Peggy Larson, who won accolades for her teaching at our 2008 winter weekend, will delight participants with an eclectic mix of fascinating traditions, including yoik yodeling techniques from the Sami people of Scandinavia and 'mouth music' and sean-nos ballad singing from Ireland. The group will be in residence at Woolman Hill Quaker retreat center outside Deerfield, MA. Participants will stay in the main lodge building and in the rustic cabins dotting the 170-acre property. The week will culminate with a single performance in Ashfield, MA on Sunday afternoon. At this session, you will be immersed in the traditional Village Harmony aesthetic: the transformational power of living in a close community that lives, works and socializes intensely together while studying to prepare a concert program. The kitchen will be overseen by a master cook, with participants sharing in the preparation of meals. Bring along your instruments and you will find yourself in a village band for the dancing or accompanying some of the singing. In residence at Woolman Hill Quaker Center, Deerfield, MA. $675
- Republic of Macedonia Camp for Teens and Adults
(Click for more information)7/19/2010 to 7/30/201025 Campers$1,400.00- Led by Goran & Adrijana Alachki, Mary Cay Brass and others Village Harmony is pleased to announce its first camp in the Republic of Macedonia, a country of great natural beauty--breathtaking mountains, lush forests, pristine lakes--and rich, ancient folk traditions. The two-week camp, led by VH veteran Mary Cay Brass, will be a collaboration overlapping with the annual Balkan Pearls Folklore Seminar, founded and led by virtuoso accordionist Goran Alachki and his wife, the renowned singer Adrijana Alachki. The camp will focus on learning a wide variety of singing styles during the 10-day rehearsal period, followed by a 4-day tour through Macedonia, performing with local ensembles and having home-stays with local people. We will focus on singing styles from both urban and village traditions in Macedonia--love, work and ritual songs, and music from the urban chalgija tradition. Besides Goran and Adrijana Alachki, our singing teachers will include Dragi Spasovski (who has recorded with many of the major Macedonian folk ensembles) , Stojkova Serafirmovska Velika (ethnomusicologist, specialist in ritual music & leader of the folk ensemble Clear Waters), and Igor Krsteski (folk singer/soloist with the National Macedonian Radio TV vocal ensemble). Singers will have the option of taking classes in Macedonian cooking and traditional folk dance each day, with a cost of $200 each, payable directly to the camp in Macedonia on arrival. The first 10 days will be in residence at the Hotel Manastir in Berovo in eastern Macedonia. The four-day end-of-camp concert tour will include the towns of Berovo, Radovish, Bitola or Struga, and Skopje. Tuition: $1400
- New England Teen Touring Camp III
(Click for more information)8/1/2010 to 8/21/201023 Campers$1,225.00- Led by Larry Gordon, Malkhaz Erkvanidze, Megan Henderson Malkhaz Erkvanidze--founder of Tbilisi's Anchiskhati Ensemble and currently director of Sakhioba, is a sought-after workshop leader. In his fourth summer teaching with Village Harmony, Malkhaz will delight everyone with his humor and his expertise in teaching the vibrant folk music of Caucasus Georgia. Village Harmony founder Larry Gordon will teach South African songs, American shape-note and gospel songs, and Bulgarian arrangements, and will lead the group in Balkan and other folk dances every morning during the rehearsal week. oining VH after a long hiatus is Megan Henderson, a veteran of Village Harmony's early days and a wonderful keyboard player, who will teach a set of baroque works. This camp will have plenty of opportunities for instrument players to strut their stuff. Rehearsal week will be at Woolman Hill Quaker Retreat Center outside of Deerfield, in western Massachusetts, and the concert tour will take the group through Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. $1,225
- Village Harmony Adult camp in Ashfield, Massachuse
(Click for more information)8/15/2010 to 8/22/201040 Campers$675.00- Led by Patty Cuyler, Kathy Bullock, Kenny Shimizu This 7-day session will be full of blow-out folk, gospel and South African singing, including an eclectic selection of wonderful world-music harmonies. Long-time VH favorite Kathy Bullock, a high-energy singer-teacher from Berea, KY, will lead the group with soul-filled gospel and fabulous piano playing. Patty Cuyler, co-director of Village Harmony, will bring an exciting set of South African gospel dance-songs, plus music from Corsican and Georgian polyphonic traditions. Village Harmony veteran singer-teacher (and Patty’s son) Kenny Shimizu will bring a mix of Appalachian music, 1930s gospel-quartet arrangements, and English folk songs to the week. The week will be spent in residence at Rikki Carroll's house and renovated barn on quaint Main Street in Ashfield, MA. With Ashfield Lake across the street, a daily swim will be just steps away. Rehearsals will be held just down the road at the community church and town hall. In residence in Ashfield, MA. $675
- Oregon Cascades Camp for Adults
(Click for more information)9/1/2010 to 9/6/201050 Campers$500.00- Led by Larry Gordon, Patty Cuyler, Malkhaz Erkvanidze This will be our fourth annual Labor Day singing camp at St. Benedict's Lodge in the Cascades. Bounded on one side by the wild, scenic McKenzie River and on the other by national forest, the 70-acre complex is an inspiring setting for our singing retreats. Patty and Larry will once more bring an eclectic selection of music from the exciting traditional singing styles that Village Harmony is particularly known for: American shape-note, gospel quartet and Appalachian music, Balkan village songs, Corsican polyphony, rare early music vocal works. Joining them this year will be Malkhaz Erkvanidze, director of the renowned Anchiskhati and Sakhioba ensembles in Tbilisi, Georgia. Malkhaz is acclaimed worldwide as one of the foremost singer-teachers of Georgian folk music and chant, and will add an exciting set of music to the mix as well as offer individual coaching in such specialist techniques as krimanchuli (Georgian yodeling). We will begin with supper on Wednesday evening, give a concert Sunday night at the chapel at St. Benedict's, and finish the session with a celebratory brunch supra (Georgian feast) on Labor Day Monday. Families and friends will be able to stay overnight following the concert and join the group for our ending party. In residence at St. Benedict’s Lodge, McKenzie, Oregon. Tuition: $500
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