Field Trip to Poway

Carolyn, Inder, Betty and I headed to Poway last weekend for the 12th Annual Marilou and Don Jolly Memorial Singing. It was a relatively small singing, but the sound was great and there was adequate coverage on all the parts. We all took extensive turns on the front row, so I don't have many pics, but here are a few:
 the awesome treble bench

"What are those people DOING!?!

Carla leading (taken over Carolyn's shoulder)

 Betty leading

Jerry and the chaplain, whose name is escaping me

It was a lovely singing, totally worth braving Comicon madness to attend. Oh, and above all: the food was to die for!

The trials of Hal Eisen

Hal -- in a tie!

I want to shout out to Hal, who was kind enough to come to the Kalamazoo annual Sacred Harp singing -- our 10th anniversary, and it was nice to have ten states and provinces represented. It was too bad that 'mechanical problems' forced Hal to spend Friday night in Salt Lake City rather than Kalamazoo, which meant he missed the Michiana singing in Goshen on Saturday. 

I am glad to say that we led "Few Happy Matches" (96) together. 

Singing Sacred Harp? Thank a Quaker!

Paul L. from Minneapolis and I were interviewed at the Friends General Conference Gathering about Sacred Harp singing by Matthew Streib (scroll down to the July 5th podcast to hear it). Matthew is taking a few months to bicycle around the United States for his American Pilgrimage project, in which he visits unusual and uniquely American religious communities and experiences. Matthew used my favorite parts from our interview, but I will say that we must have inadvertently led him a little astray... He credits the revival of Sacred Harp singing to Quakers. While there are many social movements that evidence God's grace in the world for which Quakers could rightly claim leadership despite very small numbers (e. g., abolition of slavery and women's suffrage), I really don't think we can count the Sacred Harp revival as one of them. Still, it's a fun little interview that includes a clip of us singing 40 Lenox.

Wailin' Jennys at the Freight and Salvage

This is only very tangentially related to Sacred Harp singing, as I once heard The Wailin' Jennys sing White on Prairie Home Companion. Though there is no guarantee they will sing any Sacred Harp tunes at all on July 20, anyone want to hear the late show at the Freight? Doors open at 7:30, show at 8. 

Bound for Canaan

...or Poway, CA, at least.

The lovely San Diego singers who make their way to the Bay Area for our singings are hosting a one day singing in Poway July 26, as well as a brunch and alternate book singing on the following Sunday.

I'm taking Amtrak from Emeryville to San Diego on Thursday* so I won't be a wreck on Saturday if the train is late. The itinerary is too complex to post here, but leave a comment with your email if you are interested. Post a comment if you are going with your travel info.

*actually, I MEANT to make the reservations for Thursday, but made them for Wednesday instead. I'm going to think about if I want to keep them and play around in San Diego for a couple days so it feels like vacation, or change them.

Remember you are hastening on/To death's dark, gloomy shade

Or in other words, I am having a birthday party: 6 pm July 12 at the Berkeley Friends Meetinghouse. If you somehow didn't get the Evite, you're still invited. Bring your Denson book and a potluck dish to share.

Hidden Dangers of Cooper Book

I love the Cooper book. Not as much as the Denson, but I do love it. However, I must admit that there is a higher proportion of catchy tunes in the Cooper than the Denson. Hence, since our second mixed book singing, I have been humming Mercy Seat about 50 times a day. I've even caught myself by surprise-- I was singing it before I even realized I was singing. I like Mercy Seat, but come on already! If Mark considers this my just deserts for not picking songs from the Norumbega I may not have a rhetorical leg to stand on.