A story and melody that resonates for you. Taking a breath and singing that story to life. This is the art of ballad singing. I believe it’s important for all singers to have at least two ballads in their back pockets. Any day is made better by a story song that can pull you in, teach you something, break your heart, or bring you joy.
We’ll learn a collection of ballads throughout the week from various communities, eras, and countries on the themes of love, war, immigration, trickery, death and foxes. We’ll learn hacks for memorizing words and work through issues that come up when singing solo. We’ll talk about pitching and timing, phrasing and ornamentation and the pros and cons to adding harmony or instrumentation. Ballads are powerful songs because they sing of the human experience. Come be human and practice the art of balladry.
Instructor Bio
Suzannah Park comes from a family of three generations of traditional singers, storytellers and dancers. She has been touring and teaching for the past twenty-plus years, both in the USA and abroad. A native of Asheville NC, she grew up bouncing back and forth between Asheville and Chicago where she was immersed in the folk music scene in both communities. Growing up, there was always a song to sing, a harmony to add, a dance to jump into or a story to tell.
Suzannah is the founder and director of the Wild Asheville Community Chorus and a dancer with the Green Grass Cloggers. She is currently a member of the traditional music faculty and holds the position of Choir Director at Warren Wilson College. She is a founding member of the Starry Mountain Singers and the Starry Mountain Trio. Since 2000, Suzannah has been teaching with Vermont-based world music organization, Village Harmony and is currently the President of their board as well as part of their Executive Team. She has a robust collection of private students, and she coaches vocal ensembles, leads choirs and workshops, and is a guest teacher and lecturer at schools and universities.
Suzannah’s rich and powerful voice, and her enthusiastic and captivating teaching have led her to become a renowned and sought after artist. With her joyous and intuitive teaching style, born of a lifetime of familiarity with traditional music, she can coax complex harmony and powerful performances from her students. Whether she’s teaching ballads, a Bulgarian village song, or Appalachian clogging, laughter and good times abound.
www.suzannahpark.com