What a delightful sunny day was had spent in the beautiful walled gardens of Myross Wood Retreat Centre, Leap with many singers from at least four different choirs showing up along side members of the public to share food and song together. A big thanks to all who showed up and to Myross Wood for making us feel so welcome.
I have only recently discovered the beautiful venue of Myross Wood and am delighted to be welcomed to hold this event there. As well as a picnic, the day will encompass workshops and the opportunity to hear something of some of the choirs local to the area. This is the first West Cork BIG SING! Singing Picnic and the hope is to hold more in various locations around West Cork…. and further afield.
Programme of the day:
11am: Tea, coffee and chat about the West Cork BIG SING! project and it’s possible future direction and activities.
12pm: Songwriting workshop, “What singing (and/or being part of a choir) means to me”.
1pm: Singing Circle – a warm up session singing short and easy songs with Jane Goss.
2pm: Picnic – bring a chair, blanket and food and drink to share. Choirs sing!
2.30pm: Childrens’ Singing Session with Lisa Canty (under 5’s to be accompanied by an adult)
3.30pm: Singing Workshop – a combination of larger songs from the existing BIG SING! collection plus some new ones with Caz Jeffreys.
5.00pm: Social: A chance to drink tea, chat and to take the time to walk around the grounds, enjoying the beautiful trails before you leave.
Suggested donation of €10 per person
In the event of bad weather the event will continue with ample sized indoor spaces to meet, sing and picnic together.
Children are welcome and parents must take full responsibility for their safety.
If you need to bring your dog, please ensure that they are kept on a lead.
Really looking forwards to heading up country and leading a weekend of singing with Sarah Garden from Leitrim in Blacklion. We’ll be singing a mixture of songs, some easy and quick, and others more meaty and packed with wonderful harmony. Looking like a great opportunity to sing with a big crowd as choirs in the locality are set to join us. Grab yourself an ‘earlybird’ ticket and come along!
I often hear men say to me that they would like to sing but can’t, or the odd man pop’s into one of the choirs….just to disappear again. Sure, I can see how being surrounded by all those women might feel a little daunting without other men around!
So, I have agreed to lead two sessions for fellas on Wednesday 7th and 14th June upstairs in Rosies Bar in Ballydehob….and we’ll see what happens and who turns up! Whether a new men’s singing group starts or they want to prepare and then enter as a section into the existing choir in Ballydehob we will see!! Or maybe it’ll just get them singing a little more elsewhere…..
A big THANK YOU to Phil Bergin and Clona TeeVee for inviting us to perform as the support act for The Fake McCoys and for putting together this short video of our work for us. This video of just under 20 mins shows our Contemporary Jazz set which we have been working with over the past few months and will give you a taste of the luscious harmony work you can expect to enjoy when working with me in this project. I think the girls were fab!! Hope you enjoy!
All the hard work of the previous few months was finally brought forward to some very rewarding performances at various locations during the Sunday of the festival. The group really enjoyed the day – sounding and looking fantastic! What a great bunch of ladies I had to work with…and a very enjoyable festival too! We have been invited to perform our collection of songs in a few more locations during the summer, so you may catch us elsewhere yet….before we move on to something new…..!
What a delightful day!! Such a treat to sing with 36 combined members from the Dunmanway, Ballincollig and Ballydehob choirs for a whole day. Lots of songs shared, laughter and also ideas for future activities together.
Really looking forwards to running and fully submerging into a week of creative songwriting and musical exploration. Anam Cara is situated in such a beautiful and peaceful location and Sue is a wonderful host. This popular Writers Retreat host an array of wonderful workshops and I am delighted to have been invited to contribute to this years programme. Please contact Sue for further information and to book your place. Come along and treat yourself! http://anamcararetreat.com/
I am putting together a choir to take along to this exciting choir festival filled with opportunities to work with great facilitators. If you are interested in joining us then get in touch soon for more info. Tickets are selling fast!!! Check the festival website and the programme to see what’s on.
Vocal Performance Group to appear at Ballydehob Jazz Festival 2017
Last autumn I set up a succession of workshops to prepare a group brought together specifically for performing at the Kinsale Jazz Festival. The participants enjoyed the project very much and said that working together with this approach for a one- off performance with more experienced singers was very rewarding. We learned four songs with a contemporary Jazz flavour over two full day workshops – some which were well known, some abstract and one written by myself. Many of the participants said that they would like to do more.
So based on this feedback I am launching a new project with a similar approach. Individuals sign up for monthly rehearsals and are expected to learn their parts and lyrics between rehearsals, thus speeding up the process of learning the songs and providing more time time for collectively polishing up the performance side of the project.
The next succession of workshops are working towards a performance at Ballydehob Jazz Festival for the May Bank Holiday Weekend. If you are interested in getting involved with this project then get in touch. Participants must be available for ALL rehearsals prior to the performance.
Caz Jeffreys 