Singing | Ginny Hawker & Emily Miller | Intermediate/Advanced | Period 2 | Week 1 (July 7-12, 2024)
Duets such as Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty, Porter Wagoner and Dolly Parton, The Davis Sisters, Ira and Charlie Louvin, The Everly Brothers have defined Classic Country harmony singing for decades. In this class Ginny and Emily will not so much be teaching you to sing harmony, since we have a 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 draws attention to the feeling of the words and melody of the song. We will sing with you and you will sing with other students, looking for that sound that together creates a 3rd voice. Lyric sheets will be provided; singing will be done by ear. Emily will accompany the class on guitar. Bring a recording device that will not distract you from the present and a pencil to make notes in your lyric booklet.
About the Instructors
Ginny Hawker was born to do Country music growing up in southern Virginia in a large musical family. Starting with the soul-stirring unaccompanied singing of her father’s church that came to this country from Scotland, lyrics are important and you hear that when Ginny sings. Ginny learned harmony through Bluegrass and southern Gospel, where the blend of voices singing together pulled her ear and made her a gifted teacher at music camps in US, Canada, and the British Isles for over 25 years. Any class Ginny teaches will be informative and challenging without being overwhelming. Emmylou Harris is quoted in “O” magazine describing Ginny as “real as dirt” when reviewing her first solo recording, Letters From My Father.
Emily, Augusta’s Artistic Director, was born in Kansas and raised in Hong Kong, where her family band performed American old-time and country music on television shows and in shopping malls throughout the city. After performing with many groups in her teenage years, including Village and Northern Harmony, Emily formed the honky-tonk country band The Sweetback Sisters in 2006 with fellow singer Zara Bode. They have recorded four full-length records and have performed their renegade retro style of country music in barrooms and concert halls around the world. Emily has been featured several times on national radio programs, including A Prairie Home Companion and WV’s own Mountain Stage. When she’s home in West Virginia, she performs old-time music as a duo with her husband, Jesse Milnes, and makes awesome stuff happen at Augusta year round.