Camps and workshops
Camps in New England for Teens
New England Teen Residential Camp
Western Massachusetts
August 5-14, 2011 (9 days)
Suzannah Park, Mary Cay Brass & Ken Shimizu
THIS CAMP IS FULL, BUT YOU MAY APPLY TO BE ON THE WAITING LIST
This is our nine-day camp, especially geared for teenagers new to Village Harmony, as well as for those who can't commit three weeks to a traveling camp. Led by a team of three of Village Harmony's most dynamic leaders. VH alumna Suzannah Park will lead a selection of Appalachian harmony songs and a set of South African dance songs, and teach willing singers how to clog. Mary Cay Brass, a teacher since Village Harmony's early days, will teach village and urban songs of the Balkans, with a focus on Bosnia. And Ken Shimizu, another VH veteran, will bring a mix of American shape-note, 1930s gospel-quartet arrangments, and English pub songs to the residential camp.
The nine-day session will culminate with Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon concert performances.z
Rehearsal week at Stump Sprouts retreat center in western Massachusetts
$700
Leaders
SUZANNAH PARK began participating in Village Harmony Camp when she was twelve, but has been singing virtually from the moment she could speak. She comes from a family of three generations of professional traditional musicians and singers, and has performed and taught for the past 13 years. Her intuitive teaching style, born of a lifetime of familiarity with American folk music, makes her a valuable teacher. She recently moved back to North Carolina, the place of her birth, where she is making music, gardening and clogging. This is Suzannah's tenth year teaching at Village Harmony. www.suzannahpark.com.
MARY CAY BRASS of Putney, VT Mary Cay Brass is a veteran of the early days of VH. She directs several community choirs in Vermont and Massachusetts and is the co-musical director of Hallowell Hospice Choir. Mary Cay is also a highly-sought after contra-dance keyboardist and accordion player. She spent two and a half years in the former Yugoslavia on a Fulbright Scholarship in ethnomusicology. She has published two book/CD collections of music from that region. This will be the second year in a row that Mary Cay has led the camp in Macedonia. She has also led two very successful Village Harmony camps in Bosnia.
KEN SHIMIZU of Williamsburg, VA, worked as a youth chorus leader in New England and in North Carolina. He has sung and traveled for many years with Village Harmony and Northern Harmony— both as a camper and a teacher—and his selections of American southern gospel, shape-note, and English folk songs have been well received by campers and audiences alike. Ken is also a recent graduate of William and Mary law school. This will be Ken’s eighth year leading a Village Harmony session.
Stump Sprouts Retreat Center
West Hawley, Massachusetts
Situated in rural northwest Massachusetts, Stump Sprouts is a rustic multi-season resort and retreat facility. The center of activity is our hand crafted guest lodge, converted dairy barn, and 200 year old farmhouse. Located on 450 acres of woods and meadows, featuring splendid vistas and hiking trails, and organic gardens that will provide vegetables for the kitchen, these unspoiled lands set the stage for two Village Harmony teen retreats this year.