Directed by Anne Heider

Evenings of June 23, 24, 25, 26 and 30; July 1 and 2. 

Polyphony Camp: Singing Together for the Fun of It

Anne Heider
Roosevelt University

Please note that this event has been cancelled.

Seminar Description “Group singing is intrinsically one of the most human of experiences,” wrote Harvard’s Jameson Marvin. “There is no more poignant salve to the human condition than the sight and sound of voices joined together to express a commonality of spirit.”  That’s why Polyphony Camp (say “pol-LIFF-any”) is not about rehearsing for a choral performance, it’s about sharing the pleasures of singing together:  the gentle art of listening to others while singing, the thrill of singing in harmony with others, the healthy physical exercise of singing.

What’s polyphony?  It’s harmony that’s woven from strands of melody, so that all the voices have interesting tunes.  Sometimes you introduce a new melody, sometimes you echo or respond to someone else’s melody.  Polyphonic (poli-FONN-ic) music is like a good conversation among friends.

The music we’ll sing ranges from rounds and canons to ancient chants to folksongs, spirituals, hymns, madrigals and motets.  Each session begins with learning and singing by ear, then moves to music that calls for eyes as well as ears—that is, for some basic sight-singing skills.  Some sessions will include improvisatory singing.  Campers can expect to be standing and moving around as well as sitting in a circle—no rows of chairs!—so the choral soundscape is always alive with new encounters.  We never use a piano, and we sing for one another, not for a future audience.  Singing with other people just for fun is one of the least expensive and most satisfying forms of entertainment the human race has ever discovered!
 
You don’t have to audition for Polyphony Camp.  Registrants are taken on a first-come-first-served basis.  This workshop is appropriate for adults and high-schoolers.  Previous experience in a chorus is welcome but not required.

There will be seven evening sessions:  June 23, 24, 25, 26 and 30; July 1 and 2.  Tuition is $100 for five or more sessions and includes your songbook.

Anne Heider is an award-winning conductor, composer, arranger, and teacher. She is Associate Professor of Music and Resident Choral Conductor at Chicago College of Performing Arts, Roosevelt University; is active as a guest conductor and choral consultant; and serves on the board of the national service organization Chorus America. Dr. Heider is artistic director emeritus of the professional chamber choir Bella Voce (founded as His Majestie’s Clerkes), which she led for over sixteen years to consistent critical acclaim and international recognition. She has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Cedille Records, Centaur Records, and Narada. Choral octavos of editions and arrangements by Dr. Heider are published by GIA; her scholarly editions of 16th-century Huguenot psalmody by Claude Le Jeune were published by A-R Editions in 1989 and 1995. She has led her signature summer workshop, Polyphony Camp, in Chicago and in Leipzig, Germany, and looks forward to bringing it to Grand Rapids.

Applicant Information

Seminars & Workshops 2008

For further information contact:
Seminars in Christian Scholarship
Calvin College
1855 Knollcrest Circle SE
Grand Rapids MI 49546-4402
616.526.8558
fax 616.526.6682
seminars@calvin.edu