Here is a great way to spend a week, singing the day away and into the night! I have taught for a number of years at Augusta Heritage Center (www.augustaheritagecenter.org) in the beautiful hills of West Virginia. You can come and immerse yourself in the arts of the Appalachians, or sing many different styles of music. Here is a list of the classes offered during the week of Aug. 6-10. I’ll describe my two classes, below.

Classes & Instructors

Charles Williams
Care of the Voice (offered in 2 time periods)

Kathy Bullock
Songs from Jamaica, West Africa, & South Africa
African-American Spirituals & Gospel Songs

Laurelyn Dossett
The Art of Songwriting
Five Days, Five Decades: Written Songs Worth the Singing
Bio & Class Descriptions

Bobby McMillon
Appalachian Ballads & Story Songs (offered in 2 time periods)

Emily Miller
Georgian Songs
Heard in Honky-Tonks (with Jesse Milnes)

Jesse Milnes
Songs from Around West Virginia
Heard in Honky-Tonks (with Emily Miller)

R. P. Hale
Aztecs, Incas, and Jesuits: Choral Works from the Early “New World”

Jeff Warner
Nor’easters: Songs from the Sea and New England
Singing Unaccompanied

Sue Ribaudo
Creating Harmony
World Connections

Anne Louise White
Improvisation: The Joys of Sprezzatura
Jazz Standards Around the Piano

Rhiannon Giddens
Late afternoon, one-day workshops:
Opera for Everybody
Irish Songs

Flawn Williams, Vocal Week Coordinator
Ad Hoc Harmonies

Jam Leaders
Don Friedman
Elizabeth LaPrelle

My Classes:

Creating Harmony

You may be asking “how can I join in on those beautiful Augusta harmonies?”. Or, “how can I come up with some creative alternatives?”. Using traditional and contemporary songs, we will find some helpful rules to follow when harmonizing (and learn when to break them). We’ll explore how to take a seemingly ordinary song and make it outstanding. Find out how to sing “human karaoke” and the “Appalachian second”.

World Connections

We will immerse ourselves in the polyrhythms and lush harmonies of many different lands with songs from countries as far-reaching as Brazil, Ireland and South Africa. Singing these songs will give you special insights into these cultures and widen your horizons. While we learn about the differences in our music, we’ll be connecting through its universal language. Don’t be shy about singing in different languages. Many songs are in English, and others have a lot of repetition.

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