We’re getting close to June 28 to July 3 when we gather at Fort Worden in Port Townsend for Voice Works – our summer week of singing –  and the program is shaping up nicely. There’s a plethora of opportunities for harmony singing, with a duet session held each period of the day:

• Duets from the great families of country music with Carol ElizabethJones and Vivian Leva;
• Old-Time Country Duet Singing with Mac and Jenny Traynham;
• Duets from the Monroe Brothers, Jim and Jesse, with Carl Jones and Kelli Jones-Savoy;
• And hair-raising bluegrass duets with Laurie Lewis and Kathy Kallick.

Singing is the focus, but don’t forget guitar and banjo players will have lots of opportunities to improve their playing. Jenny Traynham will lead a daily session on backing yourself on guitar, and daughter Hanna, same thing on the banjo. Read more about each workshop session.

And the Northwest’s own Adam Burdick will form a choir during the course of the workshop. That daily session will look something like this:

Just about any group of singers can form a choir, but knowing some basic choral techniques helps you sound much better and develop as an ensemble more effectively. Unfortunately, not a lot of choirs take the time to introduce these ideas to wanna-be choral singers! Here in our choir for novice choristers we’ll explore matching pitch, feeling rhythm together, and blending vowels. We’ll experience the unifying power of breathing together in preparation for each phrase we sing, and practice skills to help each singer hold onto his or her own part.