2009
International Sessions for Teens and Adults
England
June 20-July 8 (18 days)
Led by Patty Cuyler, Malkhaz Erkvanidze, Dessislava Stefanova
This session is going to be a hit with fans of full-throated harmony singing! Malkhaz Erkvanidze, founder of Tbilisi’s Anchiskhati Ensemble and currently director of Sakhioba, is a frequent visitor to the UK and sought-after workshop leader. Going into his third summer teaching with Village Harmony, Malkhaz’s good humor and expertise in teaching the vibrant folk and sacred music of Caucasus Georgia will delight participants and audiences alike.
Dessislava Stefanova—formerly of the Philip Koutev National Folk Music and Dance Ensemble in Sofia, Bulgaria and director/founder of the London Bulgarian Chorus-—is a brilliant practitioner and teacher of the Bulgarian singing style (“from the chest and the heart”) and will lead a set of village songs and choral arrangements from Bulgaria and Macedonia. Dessi will be teaching at Village Harmony for her fifth summer. Village Harmony co-director Patty Cuyler will teach a wide variety of American shape-note and gospel songs, Corsican polyphony, and South African songs. This will be an active session for both voices and feet, as Patty and Dessi will teach a robust set of South African and Bulgarian folk dances.
Rehearsal week will be at the Old Red Lion, a former pub (now a spacious hostel) located in Castle Acre, Norfolk, a medieval walled city that is home to ruins of a 12th century Norman priory.
Rehearsal week in Castle Acre, Norfolk, UK
Tuition: $1,500
Leaders
Co-director PATTY CUYLER of Marshfield, Vermont, is an energetic, dynamic workshop leader and director with special expertise in teaching Corsican, Georgian and South African singing and dance music. Her passion for honest, direct music coaxes fierce, forthright singing out of even the most timid singers. An instrumentalist from an early age, Patty is a brass player and self-taught accordion player. Since 1995 she has co-directed Village Harmony and Northern Harmony with Larry; in 2002 she founded a women’s Corsican trio and began the Montpelier World Music Chorus and Boston Harmony in 2004. Patty has edited and published two volumes of The Folk Rhythm South African songbook series, as well as three books of Georgian folk and sacred songs. She has also compiled a large collection of her own arrangements of old gospel-quartet music.
MALKHAZ ERKVANIDZE, founder of Anchiskhati Ensemble and currently director of Ensemble Sakhioba in Tbilisi, Georgia,has been at the forefront of the revival of medieval polyphonic Georgian sacred music, with many unique recordings andpublications to his credit. Born in the central mountainous region of Imereti, Malkhaz grew up singing folk music in his family and with a local master-singer named Benia Mikadze. Graduating from the Tbilisi State Conservatory in 1988, Malkhaz formed Anchiskhati with several friends to promote the forgotten tradition of three-part polyphonic church chant indigenous to the pre-Communist Eastern Orthodox Church in Georgia. His unique background growing up in a family singing tradition allowed Malkhaz the opportunity to develop an ear for indigenous Caucasus tuning systems. This is Malkhaz’s third summer working with Village Harmony.
DESSISLAVA STEFANOVA from the UK, moved to England in 2000 straight from the worldfamous Philip Koutev National Folk Music and Dance Ensemble in Sofia, Bulgaria. She was immediately in demand to teach the unique Bulgarian singing style so decided to stay and set up singing workshops, and ended up establishing the London Bulgarian Choir. While at Sofia University, Dessi successfully auditioned for the Philip Koutev Ensemble and continued her career as a professional singer. Since her arrival in London, Dessi has recorded a CD, "Wild Wind A Course in Authentic Bulgarian Singing" and worked on two soundtracks for Warner Brothers. She currently sings with the vocal trio The Dessibelles and bringing together renowned Balkan musicians in the Orpheya project. This will be Dessi’s fourth summer teaching with VH.
Old Red Lion Inn, Castle Acre
Norfolk, England
Visitors to Castle Acre are entranced by the special atmosphere of this medieval walled town, which lies within the outer bailey of an 11th century castle. Castle Acre is on the Peddars Way, an historic long distance path. The nearby Castle Acre Parish Church, where Village Harmony will perform before leaving the area, is a wonderful concert space and dates to the 12th century.