Duets such as George Jones and Melba Montgomery, Tammy Wynette, etc.; Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty; Porter Wagner and Dolly Parton; and Ira and Charlie Louvin have defined Classic Country harmony singing for decades. In this class we will not so much be teaching you to sing harmony – we have a mini-class for that if you are new to harmony singing. Instead we will be concentrating on listening to your partner, striving always for that blend that makes the little bones in your ears vibrate and makes your heart want to do it again and again. We will have you sing with several people in the class and with us, looking for that sound that together creates a 3rd voice. Lyric sheets will be provided; singing will be done by ear. Jesse will be accompanying the class with his guitar.
Instructor Bio
Ginny Hawker is a mainstay at Augusta and has been the coordinator of Classic Country Week since it began in 2009, then known as Early Country Music Week. Emmylou Harris said Ginny Hawker is “real as dirt – she sings from the heart” when she chose Ginny’s CD, Letters From My Father as a favorite in Oprah magazine. That’s the only way Ginny knows how to sing – the way she learned to sing from her father, Ben Hawker. She and her dad taught at Augusta Vocal Week for 10 years and traveled to the Smithsonian, Vancouver, and Chicago to perform at festivals and teach workshops. Whenever Ginny sings, she makes the song sound like a classic you had forgotten about, while at the same time, making it sound so effortless that anyone could do the same. That’s what makes her a good teacher. Ginny will touch your heart and draw you into her world with her singing. She has taught at music camps for 25 years, as well as singing workshops in her home for the past 10 years. Ginny has recorded with Kay Justice and with her husband, Tracy Schwarz. She has two solo CD’s on the Rounder Label. Ginny and Tracy live in Elkins, WV.
Jesse Milnes grew up in the world of West Virginia old-time music (his father is fiddler and folklorist Gerry Milnes). Though he is widely known as a fiddle player, Jesse’s first instrument was a guitar and he has developed a personal style of finger-picking, drawing on influences from blues to bluegrass to country. He has played fiddle and guitar with many country, old-time and bluegrass bands over the years, including the Sweetback Sisters, a country band for which he was also a main songwriter. Jesse has won many local and regional fiddle contests, including the WV State Folk Festival in Glenville, WV, and the Ed Haley Fiddle Contest in Ashland, KY. Jesse and his wife, Emily Miller, recently toured in Australia and California and recorded their first album as a duo. They live in Valley Bend, WV.
Check out Ginny and Jesse at Augusta 2021: