Thoughts on hosting a singing workshop

[sonia]

Yesterday I hosted a Balkan singing workshop. My cat prowled around a lot (which I expected) and yowled a lot (which I did not). I felt like the embarrassed parent of a noisy toddler. Fortunately cats, unlike toddlers, can be put outside, even on a cold day. Also, I offered to take the teacher, Daniela Ivanova, out to dinner afterward, but her husband overrode my protests and paid the bill instead.

jesse_the_k recently posted about the mantra she came away with after reading one of my articles. Her version is "I am doing the perfect thing!"

Lying in bed last night, trying to calm my intense embarrassment, I took her words and changed them to, "It went perfectly!" And it worked.

Yesterday I hosted a Balkan singing workshop. Everyone who said they'd come showed up. We had 11 people, which is a comfortable size for my living room. We worked on four beautiful, interesting songs. On my own behalf, I can't say "learned" yet, but I'll get there. It looked like everyone had a good time. I certainly did.

Thanks, jesse_the_k, for reflecting my words back to me in a new way!

I've been thinking about the workshop in relation to an article jesse_the_k linked to, The Tyranny of Structurelessness. (What can I say, I'm her newest fan!) The workshop came about because Daniela and I have met and gotten along well at past events. I mentioned to her that I'd like to have a singing workshop sometime, then she emailed me with some dates, then I posted it to my singing group and another mailing list, and ta-da! it happened.

Yes, friendship creates power. Also, being willing to step into the unknown and take ownership of an event creates power. The article talks about the problems with structuring groups around friendship. What I'm seeing is that many events wouldn't happen at all without the combination of agency and support that friendship, or at least cordial respect, creates. Perhaps the difference is that the article talks about larger political groups, and I'm talking about smaller recreational ones.

Still, I didn't know, growing up, that I could create an event simply with imagination and the help of friends. That's worth knowing.

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

I'm chuffed! So happy to participate in thinky ping-pong.

I adore Balkan music — although it wants the same perfection demanded by Bach or Britten, its novel minor scales are unsettling enough to permit me (as a listener) to enjoy them from the hearts and diaphragms of amateur choristers.

One of the happier cultural institutions of second wave feminism were amateur feminist choirs. Some of them foundered because of the lines between choir-director-as-friendly-leader vs. choir-director-as-power-hungry-tyrant vs. choir-director-as-paid-part-time-worker. Madison's choir, Womonong, lasted from 1975 − 2000. Some Googling shows me that the Sister Singers Network provides skill-sharing and an exceptionally non-heirarchichal governing structure (spokes & hubs) and continues its work nationally.

Before I became ill, I played rhythm guitar and sang alto in the sort of bands that lead the crowd singing at your local rally, as well as weekends at the coffeeshop.

[sonia]

Sounds fun to play & sing at rallies & coffeeshops. I hear (imagine?) a wistful tone there.

Yay Balkan music! Listening to amateurs does have painful points, but singing as amateurs is fantastic. Ecstatic, in the old sense of that word.

My group is mixed men & women, so I'm not sure we qualify as a feminist choir. I'm not sure what it would take to qualify, actually. We do think men & women are equal. We don't sing explicitly feminist material.

I notice occasional tension between friendly and being a leader. Because I defer to some members' musical experience, at times I have to push back when they try to take over, say, time management as well. It does seem to be working out overall, to my joy.

[castiron]

Ivanova did a dance workshop down here a couple years ago, and it was really nifty. She's very talented.

[sonia]

We're lucky enough to have Daniela living about an hour north of here, so we get to see her a few times a year. She's a lovely person!