Pioneer Valley Western Massachusetts

Session I starts June 26, Session II starts July24

NEW YORK – The Western Wind, America’s longest-running professional a cappella ensemble, has announced its 29th annual Summer Workshops in Ensemble Singing, for singers of all ages and all levels of experience. Held on the Smith College campus, in the beautiful foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the workshops run in length from three to five to eight days (see specifics below), depending on individual preference, and within two time frames: Session I starts June 26; Session II starts July 24. There are still a few spaces left in the June workshops.

In small-group sessions and masterclass-style seminars, the six members of the Western Wind, together with guest faculty, address each singer's individual development, fostering growth in skill and accomplishment. Because the ensembles are assembled based on musical skill, the workshops are open to all levels, amateur to professional.

Participants sing an eclectic array of music that might include Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, Early American, 19th and 20th-century part-songs, rounds, hymns and folk-songs, jazz, pop, improvisations and more.

The first weekend session, June 26-June 28 also includes a Kids group for children 8-12 and a Teen group for singers from 13-17.

In addition to non-stop music-making, workshoppers can enjoy the Smith College campus’ serene beauty, which includes scenic, wooded walks and a superb art collection.

Session I: June 26-28 (Weekend); June 29-July 4 (5-day); June 26- July 4 (8-day).

Session II: July 24-26 (Weekend); July 27-August 1 (5-day); July 24-August 1 (8-day).

PERFORMANCES

Faculty Concerts, including guests, take place at the opening of each 8-day and 5-day session. Session I concerts are on Friday June 26 and Monday June 29.. Session II concerts are on Friday July 24 and Monday July 27. All are at 8 PM in Sweeney Auditorium, Sage Hall. Admission is $10; $8 for students and seniors.

Participant Concerts take place at the end of each session and are free to the public. Session I concerts are on Sunday, June 28 at 3:15 PM and Saturday July 4 at 2:30 PM. Session II concerts are on Sunday July 26 at 3:15 PM and Saturday August 4 at 2:30 PM.

Concert programs are drawn from the Western Wind’s wide-ranging exploration of music from the Renaissance, Baroque, early American, contemporary music as well as pop and jazz. This year’s repertoire also includes works written for the Western Wind by Eric Salzman, Robert Dennis, Phillip Glass, Tania Leon, Gayla Morgan and Elliot Z. Levine, and selections from the Western Wind’s rich and diverse Judaica repertoire.

Featured guest faculty include Robert Eisenstein, viola da gamba (June 26), and Grant Herreid, lute and theorbo (June 28 only), harpsichordist Gwen Toth (Friday July 24 and Monday July 27) as well as vocal jazz specialist Yumiko Matsuoka.

GUEST FACULTY

Robert Eisenstein, viola da gamba. Founding member of The Folger Consort, early music ensemble in residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. Director of the Five College Early Music Program in Western Massachusetts. Lecturer in Music History at the University of Massachusetts. Performances with the Newberry Consort, Tanglewood Festival, Cappella Nova, the New York Consort of Viols, the Washington Bach Consort, Hesperus, and the National Symphony. BA Antioch College., MM, Sarah Lawrence College.

K.C. Conlan is director of the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus and teaches vocal music at The Common School in Amherst. She has taught in the Brookline, Amherst and Northampton public schools and at the University of Massachusetts. She has sung with the Hampshire Choral Society, the Five College Early Music Collegium, the Valley Light Opera, and the Pioneer Valley Cappella. K.C. holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Boston Conservatory and a Master of Music from the University of Massachusetts, and has advanced training in the Orff and Kodaly approaches. She is the Repertoire & Standards Chair for Children’s Choirs for the Eastern Division of the American Choral Directors Association.

Grant Herreid, lute, (Session I, only) performs frequently on early reeds, brass, strings and voice with Hesperus, Piffaro, and My Lord Chamberlain's Consort, and plays theorbo and lute with ARTEK and New York City Opera. He has also performed with the Kings Noyse, the Newberry Consort and the Folger Consort. He teaches at Mannes College of Music in New York, and directs the New York Continuo Collective. He recently worked as stage director for the Accademia d’Amore baroque opera workshop with Stephen Stubbs, and he played theorbo for the Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Monteverdi’s Ritorno d’Ulisse. He has created and directed several theatrical early music shows, and is a founding member of the group Ex Umbris.

Yumiko Matsuoka, jazz specialist. Originally from Tokyo, Japan; associate professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, teaching ear training. Founder of Vox One, a Boston-based a cappella quintet, whose albums Vox One (1993), Out There (1995) and Chameleon (1997) have won multiple awards from the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA) Published by the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press.

Mollie Stone (Session I, weekend) Associate Conductor of the Chicago Children’s Choir, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College, a Master of Music degree in conducting from Westminster Choir College, and has studied at the University of Cape Town. In 2001, Ms. Stone received a grant from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation to travel to South Africa to create a DVD, “Vela Vela”, on how to teach black South African choral music in the oral tradition. Last year, Ms. Stone returned to South Africa on another generous grant to study how South Africans are using choral music in the struggle against HIV. Ms. Stone currently gives workshops on black South African choral music across the U.S.

Gwendolyn Toth (Session II only) has performed internationally on the harpsichord, organ, fortepiano, and clavichord. Her latest CDs are organ works by Heinrich Scheidemann, and J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations (on gut-string harpsichord). She is director of the virtuoso period instrument ensemble, ARTEK, which has toured internationally with the Mark Morris Dance Group and presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005. In 2001, Ms. Toth received the "Newell Jenkins Prize" for excellence in historical performance. She has worked and recorded with John Cage, Rhys Chatham, Petr Kotik, Dave Soldier, Louis Andriessen, and Elliot Sharp. She is Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church in New York City.

TUITION AND ACCOMMODATIONS

Tuition for the weekend ranges from $135 for the Kids program to $225 for adults. Housing and food (six meals) is $165 for double occupancy and $195 for single occupancy.

The 5-day program tuition ranges from $435-$485. Housing and food is $395 for double occupancy and $475 for single occupancy.

8-day tuition ranges from $505 to $550. Housing and food is $545 for double occupancy and $595 for single occupancy.

CONTACT:

William Zukof

Zukof@westernwind.org

Tel: 212-873-2848 (o) 212-873-2184 (c)

www.westernwind.org/smith.htm

About The Western Wind

The Western Wind is dedicated to the art of vocal ensemble singing. Since 1969, it has played a significant role in presenting music from the middle ages, Renaissance, early Baroque, early American, and Jazz eras. The ensemble continues to enlarge its repertoire by commissioning innovative works from living composers across cultural and ethnic boundaries. The Western Wind accomplishes its purpose through concerts in the U.S. and abroad, workshops in ensemble singing, specially funded programs in New York City and Washington D.C. public schools, recordings, and publications of The Western Wind repertoire. The Western Wind singers are Michele Kennedy and Laura Christian, sopranos; William Zukof, countertenor; Todd Frizzell and Richard Slade, tenors; and Elliott Z. Levine, baritone. For more information, please visit www.westernwind.org