Blue Ridge Choral Connection
Workshop Contents & Locations
Registration, 8:00-8:30 am
Location: Entrance Hall, Chapel, & Sanctuary
Note: Arrive early to register, get your music, enjoy some refreshments, greet friends, and get settled. Hot drinks & breakfast snacks will be available while they last. The first session (featuring Justin Stoney) will begin promptly at 8:30 am, so you’ll want to make sure you’re in the sanctuary when it starts.
Keynote Kickoff: Warm Up w/Justin Stoney, 8:30 am
Location: Sanctuary
Note: Justin Stoney will open the workshop with some brief remarks and an energetic session of vocal warmups that will prepare singers for a day of vocal fun.
Intro to Music Reading, 10 am
Location: Basement
Note: Musical notation is an effective way to capture instructions about how to perform a song from a composer and convey them to a performer. But it can also be a vexing mystery to beginning musicians. This workshop will break it down into elements so basic, relatable, and understandable that even a six-year-old cave man could follow along. If you’ve ever wanted to unlock the secrets of what you see on a page, this is the session to attend!
All Cords Rehearsal, 9 am
Location: Sanctuary
Note: Our closing concert at 4:00 pm is open and admission is free to the public. It’s your chance to show your friends and family your new skills. The grand finale will be a couple of epic songs all participants perform together. The joint rehearsal for those songs is during the nine o’clock hour. PDF’s of the scores are here, and you’re welcome to familiarize yourself with them prior to the workshop.
First Vocal Skills Master Class, 10 am
Location: Sanctuary, led by Justin Stoney
Note: Contrary to popular myth, singing isn’t a skill a few lucky people are born with and most other people don’t have. Rather, if you can speak, you can sing. And singing is a skill that can be improved with time and attention.
The public format for this session will allow you to watch Justin work with individual singers to identify and address barriers to better singing. Observers will get to see and hear what can happen when an artful, capable, and creative vocal instructor works with willing and cooperative students. Please note that the “students” for these sessions are not trained singers. They’re just ordinary people who want to improve their vocal skills wherever possible.
Intro to Music Theory, 11 am
Location: Basement
Note: This workshop will introduce you to the basics of music theory, such as basic chords, intervals, and key signatures.
If you’ve ever wondered why pianos have irregularly spaced black and white keys, this workshop is for you.
It will include a keyboard-focused demonstration of how the “circle of fifths” serves as a map of the musical universe that connects every note, chord, and key in a logical, useful pattern.
Lunch, 12 pm
Location: Sanctuary
Note: Lunch is included in the registration fee and will be served onsite in the Sanctuary.
Intro to Conducting, 11 am
Location: Chapel
Note: This workshop will introduce you to the basics of conducting. It will cover the basic patterns, such as 2/4, 3/4, and 6/8 time. Hands-on practice will be emphasized.
While prior training or experience isn’t necessary, if you are able to view the videos linked below and practice the basic patterns they demonstrate prior to the workshop, you’ll likely get more out this session than if you come into it cold.
The first video covers 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 beats, and is just 4 minutes long:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdvHUJ88tao
The second one is just 1:39 minutes long, but it adds 6/8 time:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzcydYNQex8
Second Vocal Skills Master Class , 2 pm
Location: Sanctuary, led by Justin Stoney
Note: Contrary to popular myth, singing isn’t a skill a few lucky people are born with and most other people don’t have. Rather, if you can speak, you can sing. And singing is a skill that can be improved with time and attention.
The public format for this session will allow you to watch Justin work with individual singers to identify and address barriers to better singing. Observers will get to see and hear what can happen when an artful, capable, and creative vocal instructor works with willing and cooperative students. Please note that the “students” for these sessions are not trained singers. They’re just ordinary people who want to improve their vocal skills wherever possible.
Applied Skills: Mini-Choir Rehearsals, 1 pm & 3 pm
Location:
Basement (Allisonia); Chapel (Brush Mtn.); Claytor Lake (Classroom)
Note: Participants will be divided into three choirs. Each choir will work with a director & accompanist to prepare two songs for performance at the 4 pm All Cords Concert.
All Vocal Cords Concert, 4 pm
Location: Sanctuary
Note: This closing concert is an opportunity to demonstrate what has been learned throughout the day. Each of the four choirs will perform the songs they’ve learned, and then join together to perform the final songs.
What better way is there to warm up a cold winter day than joining together in heartwarming and inspiring music?
