Sat., March 1, 2025
9:30am* – 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
We are still finalizing the details and schedule, but the event will include these presenters and topics:
- Body Music with Keith Terry
- Old time harmony singing with Evie Ladin
- Circle Song/Improv with David Worm
- Gospel with Rita Lackey
- Mozart’s Requiem with Magen Solomon
- High Notes with Julia Neilsen
- Brazilian music with Daniel Afonso
- Georgian Music with Janet Kutulas

Time | Event | Presenter |
---|---|---|
9:30 – 9:50 | Welcome/Warmup | Magen Solomon |
10:00 – 11:00 | Voices from the Caucasus: An Introduction to Georgian Polyphony | Kristine Barrett (Kitka) |
Renaissance Dance | Jennifer Meller (Dance Through Time) | |
The Rich World of Bach’s Chorales | Magen Solomon (SF Bach Choir) | |
11:15 – 12:15 | Body Music | Keith Terry (Crosspulse) |
Old-Time Harmony Singing Workshop | Evie Ladin (musician, choreographer, and square dance caller) | |
Breath Support: From Myths to Mastery | Julia Nielsen (Co-Vo Community Vocalizing) | |
12:15 – 1:00 | Lunch | |
1:00 – 2:00 | Barbershop Harmony: Exploring an American Vocal Art Form | Matthew Fellows (Fog City Singers) |
Community CircleSinging | David Worm (Bobby McFerrin and Motion) | |
Joyful Noise Gospel Workshop | Rita Lackey (Community Music Center) | |
2:00 – 2:30 | Closing Sing |

10:00 – 11:00
Voices from the Caucasus: An Introduction to Georgian Polyphony
Designated as a masterpiece of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2001, this workshop introduces singers to the diverse vocal polyphonic traditions of Caucasus Georgia.
Kristine Barrett is musician and vocalist specializing in polyphonic traditions from Eastern Europe, Caucasus Georgia, the Balkans, and Scandinavia. She holds an MFA in Electronic Music Composition from Mills College (2006) and an MA in Folklore from UC Berkeley (2023). Barrett has directed several choirs and ensembles throughout the SF Bay Area and has likewise performed extensively throughout North America and internationally as both a soloist and with various ensembles. She is currently a performing member of the acclaimed Kitka Women’s Vocal Ensemble, where she also directs the San Francisco Kitka Community Choir.

10:00 – 11:00
The Rich World of Bach’s Chorales
Bach has left us about 400 magnificent Chorales — everlasting fruits of his genius and creativity. In supplying gorgeous harmony to simple tunes Bach’s chorales have served as a textbook for composers for over 300 years, and have contributed melodic material, theological commentary, and structure to most of his choral works. We will sing some of Bach’s chorales to explore the What, How and Why of their beauty and power, immersing ourselves in their melodies, harmonies, texts, and dramatic function.
Artistic Director of the SF Bach Choir since 2014, Magen Solomon is active across the US and abroad as a clinician, teacher, and guest conductor of university and civic choral ensembles, and a specialist in Renaissance, Baroque and contemporary choral music. Now in her 29th season directing the SF Choral Artists, she also maintains a private voice and conducting studio.

Photo: Gudmundur Vigfusson
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. The 2024 IBMF (our first full festival since the pandemic) will take place in Athens, Greece, November 4-10. Keith has produced more than a dozen recordings, dvds, and books for Crosspulse Media. For more information, visit www.crosspulse.com.

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
Breath Support: From Myths to Mastery
During this session, you’ll learn common myths about breath support (you’re guaranteed to have heard at least a few of these!)—and the kernel of truth that each contains. You’ll also learn many vocal exercises that will help you build mastery in this crucial technical skill.
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
Joyful Noise Gospel Workshop
Come and learn why Gospel music is so uplifting! Sing a long, 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.