Sat., March 1, 2025
9:25am* – 2:30pm
Join us for this beloved FREE festival of community choral workshops!
Calvary Presbyterian Church
2515 Fillmore Street (@Jackson)
San Francisco
* registration starts at 9:00am
| Time | Event | Presenter | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9:00 – 9:30 | Registration & Check-in | ||
| 9:25 – 9:45 | Welcome and Opening Sing | Magen Solomon | |
| 10:00 – 11:00 | Italian Renaissance Dance | Heather Harris (historical dancer & costumer) | All levels, no music reading necessary |
| Exploring Mozart’s “Requiem” | Magen Solomon (SF Bach Choir) | All levels, some music reading useful | |
| Singing Renaissance Music, Byrd & Senfl | Robert Worth (Sonoma Bach) | Best for singers with music reading and sight reading skills | |
| Barbershop Harmony and the Physics of Ensemble Singing | Matt Fellows (Fog City Singers) | All levels, no music reading necessary | |
| 11:15 – 12:15 | Circlesong Improvisation | David Worm (Circlesinging with Bobby McFerrin) | All levels, no music reading necessary |
| Old-Time Harmony Singing Workshop | Evie Ladin (banjo player, singer, songwriter, percussive-dancer) | All levels, no music reading necessary | |
| Georgian Harmonies from the Caucasus Mountains | Janet Kutulas (Kitka) | All levels, some music reading useful | |
| Body Music | Keith Terry (Crosspulse) | All levels, no music reading necessary | |
| 12:15 – 1:00 | Lunch Break | ||
| 1:00 – 2:00 | Discovering the Choral Music of Nunes Garcia | Daniel Afonso (CSU Stanislaus) | All levels, some music reading useful |
| Mastering High Notes | Julia Nielsen (Community Vocalizing (Co-Vo)) | All levels, some music reading useful | |
| Singing Medieval Devotional Songs of St. Hildegard von Bingen | Karen Clark | All levels, some music reading useful | |
| Joyful Noise: Gospel Workshop | Rita Lackey (Jazz, R&B, Gospel singer and teacher) | All levels, no music reading necessary | |
| 2:10 – 2:30 | Closing Sing: Vamos cantar um samba? Shall we sing a samba? | Daniel Afonso |
10:00 – 11:00
Italian Renaissance Dance
An introduction to the stylish Italian balletti of the late Renaissance. We will learn a charming dance from 1581 by Fabritio Caroso, dance master to the nobility. Typical steps from the Italian repertoire will be taught and some techniques discussed. This class is suitable for all levels of participation.
Heather Harris trained in ballet and performed with Berkeley Ballet Theater. She is an enthusiastic historical costumer and holds a certificate in apparel design. For the past 5 years she’s studied 15th – 18th century European court dance with experts including Anna Mansbridge and Ken Pierce. She occasionally teaches early dance classes.
10:00 – 11:00
Exploring Mozart’s “Requiem”
We will sing and study portions of Mozart’s beloved Requiem, and explore its on-going complicated history.
Artistic Director of the SF Bach Choir since 2014, Magen Solomon is active across the US and abroad as a clinician, adjudicator, teacher, and guest conductor of university and civic choral ensembles, and a specialist in Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary choral music. Now in her 30th season as Artistic Director of the SF Choral Artists, she currently serves as Interim Artistic Director of the California Bach Society, and maintains a private voice and conducting studio.
10:00 – 11:00
Singing Renaissance Music, Byrd & Senfl
Please join us for this fun session in Calvary’s elegant and acoustically fabulous chapel! We’ll have a quartet to lead attendees through a great selection of a cappella works by Ludwig Senfl (c1486-1643) and William Byrd (1540-1623). Bob will provide commentary about the composers and about the music, and will also include tips for singing in small ensembles, one of the greatest musical pleasures of all.
Robert Worth is the founding music director of Sonoma Bach, an early music organization based in Sonoma County. In 2010, he retired as Professor of Music at Sonoma State University, where he taught choral music, early music and many other subjects for 29 years. Bob has a specialty in musicianship training, and for ten years ran the ear-training program at SSU. He was deeply involved in the Green Music Center project in its early years, working with staff and architects on such issues as acoustics, choral performance facilities and the John Brombaugh Opus 9 pipe organ in Schroeder Hall. Bob received his BA in music at SSU in 1980, and his MA in musicology at UC Berkeley in 1982. He and his wife Margaret live on Sonoma Mountain along with Gemini, a black Labrador Retriever.
10:00 – 11:00
Barbershop Harmony and the Physics of Ensemble Singing
Barbershop singing at the highest levels is characterized by its “expanded sound,” which refers to the perception of hearing harmonics and overtones that are greater than the sum of their individual parts. Led by a veteran of Barbershop Harmony, Matthew Fellows, this workshop will delve into how barbershop utilizes voicings and singing techniques that enhance the listening experience for both the audience and the singers. Furthermore, the Barbershop style has the potential to elevate all aspects of vocal music. Attendees will witness these harmonies in action through Western Addition, a local barbershop quartet that competes internationally. They will lead and coach the participants through various examples of the style.
Matthew Fellows started singing barbershop in 1999 and has sung at the competitive international level in both quartets and choruses. He is currently part of the musical leadership of San Francisco’s Fog City Singers, and serves as a contest judge within the Barbershop Harmony Society. When not singing barbershop, he works his “day job” as a primary care physician. Just as medicine is also an art, he has a passion for marrying the science and artistry of barbershop singing.
11:15 – 12:15
Circlesong Improvisation
We sing to uplift our world. We gather in a circle – this most powerful, ancient form of community, to share our humanity, heal our hearts, and create collective resilience. CircleSinging invites us into the purity of the present moment.
Vocalist and instrumentalist David Worm‘s musical career has taken him all over the globe. Since 1987 he has been touring and sharing the magic of improv CircleSinging with Bobby McFerrin, as a founding member of vocal bands Voicestra, Hard Choral WeBe3, SoVoSo , Gimme 5, and the new group Motion. He has shared the stage with many other notable artists including YoYo Ma, Kenny Loggins, Pat Matheny, the late Chick Corea, Snarky Puppy, and Meredith Monk to name a few. David has also composed vocal scores for dance and film, including Robert Moses Kin, Alvin Ailey, ODC, Axis Dance, and Mikhail Baryshnikov’s White Oak Project. He currently works with Voices in a New World, a Bay Area based Performing Co-Op. David teaches CircleSinging Facilitation in Oakland, California and Beyond.
11:15 – 12:15
Old TIme Harmony Singing
Using Carter Family-style harmonies as a jumping off place, we will enjoy three part harmonies from the Appalachian tradition. Finding harmony lines that sometimes weave around the melody, sometimes cross or create unisons, students will develop a better ability to hear and find parts, as well as learn what gives these harmonies their particular old-time country sound, and power.
Banjo player, singer, songwriter, percussive-dancer, choreographer and square-dance caller, Evie Ladin grew up steeped in traditional folk music/dance. Her performances, recordings and teaching have been heard from A Prairie Home Companion to Lincoln Center, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass to Celtic Connections, from Brazil to Bali.
11:15 – 12:15
Georgian Harmonies from the Caucasus Mountains
Learn a beautiful traditional lullaby, and find out why the Georgian’s sang their babies to sleep in three-part harmony! And then we’ll wake ourselves up with a traditional Georgian yodeling song.
Janet Kutulas is a longtime member and Music Director of Kitka, an American women’s vocal arts ensemble inspired by traditional songs and vocal techniques from Eastern Europe and Eurasia.
11:15 – 12:15
Body Music
Using the oldest instrument on the planet – the human body – we clap, slap, snap, step and vocalize our way through some very fun and funky, original and traditional rhythmic music. BODY MUSIC is an effective way of internalizing rhythmic work, which enhances the development of time, timing, phrasing, listening skills, independence, coordination and ensemble awareness. It is a useful tool for musicians, dancers and movers of all kinds, actors, DJs and film editors – anyone interested in deepening their rhythmic skills.
Inspired by that generation of great US jazz tap dancers he was accompanying in the 1970’s, drummer Keith Terry stood up from behind his drums and dove head-on into Body Music (a term he coined) in 1978. He regularly travels the world, performing and teaching in a wide range of settings from villages in Bali to New York City’s Lincoln Center. Keith is a Guggenheim Fellow and the founding artistic director of both the Oakland, California based arts organization, Crosspulse, since 1979; and the International Body Music Festival (IBMF) – launched by Crosspulse in 2008 to explore the language of Body Music from culture to culture. The IBMF’s full festivals and MiniFests have been produced in the US, Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia, France, Canada, Italy, Greece and Ghana. Keith has produced more than a dozen recordings, dvds, and books for Crosspulse Media. For more information, visit www.crosspulse.com
1:00 – 2:00
Discovering the Choral Music of Nunes Garcia
José Maurício Nunes Garcia (1767-1830) is generally considered one of the most important Brazilian composers from Brazil’s colonial period. Nunes Garcia, as he is known in Brazil, was a (free) Black man who lived a very interesting life. An ordained catholic priest, Nunes Garcia lived openly with a wife and several children, while serving as mestre-de-capela of Rio de Janeiro’s Catholic Cathedral. He conducted the first performance of Mozart’s Requiem in Brazil and was admired by many European musicians. Despite leaving an enormous list of choral works, Nunes Garcia music is only now starting to catch the attention of the international choral community.
In this session we will explore some interesting facts about Nunes Garcia’s musical career, listen to some of his most famous works, and sing a couple of his beautiful motets for a cappella chorus.
Dr. Daniel Afonso Jr. is the Coordinator of Vocal and Choral Studies at California State University, Stanislaus, and conductor and founding director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Dr. Afonso has been recognized for his research and performance of Brazilian choral music and continues to present workshops and lectures about the Latin American choral repertoire in the US and abroad. He is the recipient of the 2020 California Music Educators Association’s John Swain College-University Educator Award. Dr. Afonso is also an arranger, composer and editor, and has works published by Alliance, earthsongs, Carl Fischer, Hal Leonard, La Voz, and others. His choral music is heavily influenced by Brazilian folk music and have been performed throughout the Americas, as well as in Asia and Europe.
1:00 – 2:00
Mastering High Notes
When it comes to high notes, many singers feel more uncomfortable and confused than confident. This session will explore the five most common hurdles that make high notes more difficult than they should be. Through targeted vocal exercises, you’ll learn how body alignment, breath support, vocal cord coordination, throat posture, and muscular engagement can work together to help you sing high notes with greater freedom, comfort, and control.
Dr. Julia Nielsen has been one of the Bay Area’s most sought-after vocal pedagogues since founding her private voice studio in 1999, and was recently named the 2024 Teacher of the Year by the National Association of Teachers of Singing (Cal-Western Region.) Her students are currently performing leading roles with major opera companies, soloing with symphonies, and raising their voices in elite professional choruses, including the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus. Dr. Nielsen also leads hundreds of singers around the world each week in online vocal workouts through her organization, Community Vocalizing (Co-Vo): www.co-vo.com
1:00 – 2:00
Singing Medieval Devotional Songs of St. Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179)
In this hour Karen R. Clark, contralto and director of Vajra Voices, presents a brief glimpse of the medieval notation system, called “neumatic”, and the medieval way of learning music— by rote. We’ll look at one or two short pieces and explore an approach to singing— in unison— Hildegard’s irregular prose and wide-ranging melismatic chant.
Contralto Karen R. Clark’s performances of medieval to modern music have been heard worldwide. In early music, Karen has performed and recorded with eminent ensembles such as Boston Camerata, Sequentia, Waverly Consort, and Joshua Rifkin’s Bach Ensemble. Karen is founder and director of the professional women’s vocal ensemble Vajra Voices, whose CD, O Eterne Deus: Music of Hildegard von Bingen, has received international acclaim. Karen holds degrees from the Indiana University School of Music where she studied opera with Virginia Zeani and early music with Thomas Binkley. Karen has taught in the music departments of Princeton University, Sonoma State University, the Thornton School of Music at University of Southern California, and UC Berkeley. www.karenclark.studio
1:00 – 2:00
Joyful Noise: Gospel Workshop
Come and learn why Gospel music is so uplifting! Sing along, clap along and rejoice in this revitalizing musical experience. See you there!!!
Rita Lackey is a musician, vocalist and teacher. She began her musical career as pianist and director of a church choir. Her Degree is in Music and she has headlined at Yoshi’s in Oakland. Currently, Rita teaches at Community Music Center, and performs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
2:10 – 2:30
Closing Sing: Vamos cantar um samba? Shall we sing a samba?
In this session we will learn the basic rhythmic patterns of the samba while singing a simple Brazilian folk song, Samba-lelê. Participants will be encouraged to explore not only the melodic and rhythmic aspects of the song, but also the sounds of the different percussion instruments traditionally used to perform sambas in Brazil.
Dr. Daniel Afonso Jr. is the Coordinator of Vocal and Choral Studies at California State University, Stanislaus, and conductor and founding director of the Modesto Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Originally from Rio de Janeiro, Dr. Afonso has been recognized for his research and performance of Brazilian choral music and continues to present workshops and lectures about the Latin American choral repertoire in the US and abroad. He is the recipient of the 2020 California Music Educators Association’s John Swain College-University Educator Award. Dr. Afonso is also an arranger, composer and editor, and has works published by Alliance, earthsongs, Carl Fischer, Hal Leonard, La Voz, and others. His choral music is heavily influenced by Brazilian folk music and have been performed throughout the Americas, as well as in Asia and Europe.
