What is this fabulous American singing tradition and what are all these note shapes? Join me for a tasty dive into three and four-part harmony singing from the Northern Harmony book, and celebrate the life and legacy of Larry Gordon.
We’ll learn both old and new songs from the Northern Harmony book edited by Larry Gordon, Anthony G. Barrand, and Carole Moody Crompton. Songs will be taught by ear and with notation. Along with the beautiful poetry we’ll enjoy a healthy dose of crunchy chords to chew on, and garnish each session off with bits of history. By the end of the week we’ll have a proper shape-note sing.
Larry Gordon, who passed November 9th, 2021 was the founder and director of Village Harmony, an educational organization dedicated to the study, performance and celebration of diverse styles of traditional choral music. In the early 1970’s Gordon discovered this early American Sacred Harp music, called shape-note singing for its illustrative notation, and it opened up a whole new world to him and his singers. He played an instrumental role in inspiring a statewide movement in Vermont– one that has rippled around the nation and the world.
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