Make some music!

Celebrate Women’s History Month by attending harmony workshop at ARTS/West.

ARTS/West is partnering with The Women’s Center and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Ohio University to present a Harmony Workshop on Thursday March 12, 2008 from 7:00-9:00 PM.

The workshop will focus on women’s harmony singing in order to celebrate Women’s History Month. All are welcome to join in the celebration.

Harmony veterans Aerin Tedesco & Andrea Bunch (collectively known as Congress of Starlings) will lead this 2 hour participatory workshop for beginners and advanced singers alike. Any community member interested in enjoying the uplifting feeling of singing in group harmony is encouraged to participate. The workshop will discuss how chords are built, allowing participants to practice holding parts, and to explore advanced techniques like blending, dissonance, and finding harmonies on the fly. Folks may come simply as a vocalist, or bring any instrument they play to help ground chord tones. Using common tunes that most of us already know, workshop participants will have the opportunity to create that wonderful moment when three and four part harmony reverberates in the room. In celebration of Women’s History Month, material covered will include historic harmony greats like Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Sweet Honey in the Rock.

The instructors for the harmony workshop have a great deal of experience working with a wide variety of age and skill levels in the area of musical instruction. Over the last 8 years, Aerin and Andrea have taught harmony singing, guitar playing, and songwriting at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music (a community based non-profit that teaches about musical and cultural expression rooted in diverse folk communities), as well as various festivals and universities. More information about their background may be found at: www.congressofstarlings.com .

Andrea and Aerin will be visiting Athens between March 10-13, during which time they will visit a class at OU entitled “Women, Gender, and Rock ‘n’ Roll,” speaking with the students about what it means to choose the career path of professional musician. They will also be playing a show at Donkey on Friday March 13. For more information, call Susan at 707-5222.

The fee for the workshop is $20.00 for adults, $10.00 for students and kids. Register by calling ARTS /West at 592-4315.