Thank you, LA!

3 years ago I couldn't make it to the All-Cal convention the last time it was held in LA, but I remember seeing photos and drooling. I'm so glad I made it a priority to attend this year, because it was utterly fantastic. It turned into a real singing retreat. I drove down in a van with some other bay area singers and stayed in the hostel on site. And when I say hostel, I mean this:




It was rented out just for singers - the mattresses were wicked uncomfortable and as squeaky as they come, which was pretty much the best recipe for insomnia I can think of, but it was otherwise completely free of your regular hostel hassles. The convention was obviously a well-oiled machine. Thank you especially to Laura Boyd Russell and everyone who did the behind of scenes work of welcoming out-of-town singers, and Rick Russell and others who did a very smooth job of arranging. It was kind of a perfect storm of an amazing class, obscenely gorgeous weather in an obscenely gorgeous place, and low-key quality time with new and old singing friends from the west coast and beyond (notably - Texas invasion!) In conclusion, if you haven't been to sing at Angel's Gate, I'm not sure what you're waiting for.

One of the last leaders called on Sunday, Stephen O'Leary, said all his choices had been used and he was feeling nostalgic, what with "the composer of a certain song" and his daughter present! What ensued was pretty much the ultimate 501 experience.



There's been a veritable spamming of this convention on youtube, so go check it out.

Nicoletta Rogers also recorded both days and has made them available for download!
Saturday and Sunday.

Church of Heaven on Probation: the Baby Boy Joe Edition.

This past Sunday, Baby Boy Joseph Roscoe and I attended the singing at the historic Church of Heaven on Probation in the now abandoned town of Preston, California, near Cloverdale in North Sonoma County. The scenery was beautiful, the church was stunning, the acoustics were ideal, and the sun was scorching. I sure hope some other folks got some good shots of the church and grounds around it, because my selection seems to be oddly Baby Boy-focused.(Edited to add: Of course someone did! Check out Chris Thorman's gallery.)

We sang:

 

Then Baby Boy Joe cooled off in the sprinkler:

Then Baby Boy Joe decided to pitch in with cleaning up:

Then we enjoyed a delicious potluck dinner on the grounds, under spreading oak trees. I took more photos of Baby Boy Joe (shocker!):

  

Baby Boy Joe had a good time, but he did do a little whining:

 

And then we sang some more:

 

Thank you for setting up and inviting us to this beautiful singing, Caroline!

Yours,

Inder (and Baby Boy Joe)

Rewilding

Singing 385b in Briones Regional Park.


Thanks to Suzanne Husky for including bay area sacred harp singers in her Rewilding project, which addresses global warming through music.

"As temperatures increase, significant percentages of the Earth's species may become trapped--like fish out of water--in habitats that have become too hot, too dry, or too something else for them."
Based on that information, I'm asking a few musicians, to sing a song that belongs to their repertoire or that they create, that tells the creatures, plants to relocate, to move or go.

Suzanne's video is screening as part of Intersection for the Art's inaugural exhibition in their new space. It runs through July 3. And it's free!

Intersection 5M
901 Mission Street (@ 5th)
San Francisco CA 94103

Wed, May 19 - Sat, Jul 3 | 12pm - 6pm | FREE
Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 12 to 6pm
First Thursdays: 12 to 8 pm

More info here and here.

The artist

Recordings from the 6th Annual Golden Gate Singing

These were made by Dan Harper, who was also did a great job as our Housing Coordinator!

362 Norwich
163t Morning
454 The Better Land

Northern California Sacred Harp on YouTube

I just realized there's various videos from some of our singings on the YouTubes. Look - there's Greg at the Golden Gate Sacred Harp Convention in 2006!



And Ian leading Windham at the 2009 All-California: with the lyrics!



Ditto with Carolyn leading New Agatite: Thanks Jeremy for putting these up. That's pretty slick with the overlapping score.

Californians Terry Barber, Shelby Sampson, Hal Eisen, Linda Selph & Ian Quinn, 6-18-09

Californians Terry Barber, Shelby Sampson, Hal Eisen, Linda Selph & Ian Quinn, 6-18-09
Originally uploaded by Martha Beverly

There were more Californians than New Yorkers or Chicagoans at the National Convention.

But let me find them all again

(Arts & crafts time.)

Oh my! Thanks everyone, for making this one of the best singing weekends I've ever had. It was a lot to pull off on the heels of the All-Cal, but I hope you all agree that it was worth it. We had more than 80 people attend the singing school on Saturday! I've heard that it was invaluable for some of the newer singers, and I think everyone took something away from that day. I'm thinking on a couple of the things Tim said in closing... That the singers who came before us still inhabit our hearts and voices. That we value revisiting the same songs, that every time we come together it's a new experience, richer than the last time. Personally, every time I open my mouth to sing I hear echoes of so many Tuesday nights in Northampton. And I think we're all the richer for having had some of those voices raised with ours this time around. Thanks to Tim, Matt, Rosie, and Allison for traveling to be here this weekend. Thanks especially for lending us your pitching, your strong leading, and some of that New England intensity. (And for bringing me a playmate!)

I encourage everyone to return the favor... the Western Mass Convention is held every March, and this August they will also host the Young People's. Travel grants are available to help with the expense.

Now, lest you think I only had eyes for our out-of-towners, please enjoy this video of someone pretty high up on my list of local greatness! Excuse the low quality, I just wanted to capture a little something for posterity. Here's Inder, a week before her due date, leading one verse of 383.