2020-2021 Season

Please join IWC singers and artistic staff for two exciting workshop series designed to help you gain the skills to become a stronger singer and choral musician! 

Artistic Director Meagan Johnson will lead workshops on using voice and body with more strength and confidence, drawing on her professional background as a classical singer and many years working with adult amateur singers in choral and voice studio settings, and her experience as a teacher of the Alexander Technique. Assistant Director Tyler Secor, doctoral candidate in music theory and experienced musicianship teacher, will take us on a journey of deepening understanding about how music is written on the page, and how to take it off the page for more skill as a music reader and sight reader. 

These workshops are intended for teen and adult participants at all levels - beginner to expert - and we hope you will find some new inspiration, community, and skills to support your voice, body, and music-making!

Cost

We offer these virtual workshops to our community, wherever you are, on a sliding scale basis (suggested rate $15-25 per workshop; more if you can, less if you can’t.) Each workshop will be one-hour long.

Sign up for each workshop individually at a price that matches your financial ability by entering the amount you are able to pay in the workshop fee box, or subscribe to one or both series. Typically, these kinds of professionally-taught workshops would cost two to three times more! We hope that those whose incomes allow will contribute at a level that allows others to participate at low or no class fee. 

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Workshop registration instructions: Reserve your space in a single workshop by entering the workshop fee that you choose to pay based on your financial ability in the box, OR by selecting one or both series subscriptions below.

Workshop Series 1: Skills for the Chorus Musician

Can You Feel the Rhythm? - Two-Part Workshop: Workshop 1 Sept. 20 @ 5:00 PM & Workshop 2 Oct. 4 @ 5:00 PM

Do you have trouble feeling the beat? What even is this “beat” that everyone talks about? Ever wonder how to read those rhythms in your choral music? Well, we have you covered! We will be starting with speech rhythm and how that can be transcribed into musical notation. Then transition to learning how rhythmic notation works. Throughout the workshop, we will engage our whole bodies to internalize rhythmic gestures and the beat. 

Pitch, Almost Perfect - Two-Part Workshops: Workshop 1 Oct. 18 @ 5:00 PM & Workshop 2 Nov. 1 @ 5:00 PM
We all know when the pitches go up and down, but what about these pitch names? And accidentals, are accidents, right!? We will learn the ABC of reading pitch and staff notation through learning to spell works on the five-line musical staff. We will look at standard pieces from the women’s chorus repertoire to help us learn.

Pitch + Rhythm = Music, Right?! - Two-Part Workshop: Workshop 1 Nov. 15 @ 5:00 PM & Workshop 2 Dec. 6 @ 5:00 PM
So, now that we understand how rhythm works and pitch works, let us put them together! Using pieces from the standard women’s chorus repertoire we will work on reading rhythm and pitch together. Also, we will learn some basic sight-reading and sight-singing skills. 
 

Workshop Series 2: Vocal Technique for the Chorus Musician

Voice and Body Self-Care for a Distanced Environment - Sept. 20 @ 6:30 PM

Do you feel disembodied when you spend more time than usual interacting with other through computers? Do you feel disconnected when you need to keep yourself physically distant from others in your space? What about your voice — do you find you’re shouting to be heard through a mask, or feeling worn out by trying to speak over video conferencing software? Learn some simple self-care practices to stay connected with others while also caring for body and voice.

Vocal Technique 1 — Your Body and Your Breath - Oct. 4 @ 6:30 PM

The foundation of your singing voice is the way you use your body and the way your breath moves. Come learn practical skills for using your voice with more freedom and power, including elements of functional anatomy, breathing explorations, imagery, and exploration. Plan to lie down on the floor for part of this workshop.

Vocal Technique 2 — Resonance, Ease, and Imagination - Oct. 18 @ 6:30 PM

Singing is, in a sense, an “imaginary instrument.” Come explore how your voice responds when you use your imagination in different ways! We’ll also learn about functional anatomy for the singing and speaking voice, and how to discover ease in producing a beautiful, natural sound that is uniquely yours!

Sing — Justice Choir Songbook Sing! - Nov. 1 @ 6:30 PM

Come put what you’ve learned about your voice and your desire for a more just world together in singing music from the Justice Choir Songbook!

Vocal Technique 3 — Moving Bodies, Moving Voices - Nov. 15 @ 6:30 PM

Learn how the ways you use your body, imagination, and voice together can help you discover new sounds and connections with your voice. Expect to be up and moving around as you are able in this energetic workshop!

Vocal Technique 4 — Emotion, Expression, Text, and Connection - Nov. 6 @ 6:30 PM

For so many of us, singing is not so much about making a certain kind of sound, but really about self-expression, meaning, and connection. In this workshop, we’ll explore how a deep connection to and understanding of the text of a song helps you sing with ease and freedom, focusing on music from IWC’s core repertoire.