There are three types of events listed on our calendar:
- MMC Workshops and Retreats planned collaboratively with hosts around the United States and Canada;
- Local Practice Groups led by presenters and participants from the Music that Makes Community network, providing opportunities to hone our skills and support one another in song leading;
- Community Events presented by organizations affiliated with MMC for the benefit of the wider musical community.
Upcoming Events
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Monday, April 10, 2023 at 06:30 PM
Zoom
Gather for an informal singing time to re-center our hearts in community. Simple songs will be led paperlessly/taught by ear by Conie Borchardt, other song leaders, and you, if you have a song to share. Visit Conie's website for the Zoom link!
Join us. Bring friends. (Signup for the email reminder here; select Heart Songs)
Songs will be about the human experience and in that way, spiritual in nature, but not specifically religious. This is a space intended for self-care, however that shifts for you in every moment. -
Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 06:30 PM
Location varies
Join Sylvia Miller-Mutia, David Poole, and other lovers of singing from in and around Albuquerque, NM, for a monthly Music that Makes Community Song Circle. We sing together the first Tuesday of each month for 75 minutes, beginning at 6:30pm, with the option to gather for fellowship beforehand. We rotate locations and responsibility for "hosting" among interested participants. *NOTE: We're gathering the second Tuesday of the month on account of Holy Week.
We focus on teaching, learning, and sharing songs together in an "oral tradition" style of music-making. We sing songs from a variety of traditions as well as songs of our own creation. We lean heavily on musical forms that lend themselves to learning by ear and singing from the heart, including: simple melodies, rounds, simple songs with layered harmonies, echo songs, and "call and response" songs.
We take risks. We experiment. We make mistakes. We laugh. We learn. We encourage one another. We sing. We welcome you to join us!
Contact organizer Sylvia Miller-Mutia for more information or for the location of our next gathering! -
Wednesday, April 19, 2023 at 06:00 PM
Bethany UCC in Chicago, IL
Music that Makes Community's Chicago Practice Group gathers monthly at Bethany United Church of Christ. All are welcome to sing with others, learn new tunes, and strengthen your song leading skills!
This month, Paul Vasile will join us in singing and also lead a discussion about a possible MMC workshop in Chicago in the fall. -
Monday, April 24, 2023 at 06:30 PM
Zoom
Gather for an informal singing time to re-center our hearts in community. Simple songs will be led paperlessly/taught by ear by Conie Borchardt, other song leaders, and you, if you have a song to share. Visit Conie's website for the Zoom link!
Join us. Bring friends. (Signup for the email reminder here; select Heart Songs)
Songs will be about the human experience and in that way, spiritual in nature, but not specifically religious. This is a space intended for self-care, however that shifts for you in every moment. -
Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 02:00 PM
Zoom
To kick off another round of Composing Ourselves, a series of online workshops that encourage musical creativity and play, Paul Vasile will offer an introductory webinar on Wednesday, April 26 from 2 to 4 p.m. ET focused on writing congregational songs. With examples drawn from his experiences as a song leader and composer, as well as music from varied cultures and traditions, he'll invite participants to explore:
- Rhythm and meter rooted in the text
- Melodic shapes and musical syntax
- The expressive potential of vowels and consonants
- Song structures and their connection to liturgical function
There will be lots of singing together, opportunities for reflection and questions, and break out space to experiment and play together.
In the weeks and months following the webinar, MMC will offer additional opportunities to learn from guest composers and text writers in our community. We'll host gatherings where you can share what you're writing and even offer one-on-one coaching for those who might welcome a more personal opportunity to share their work and receive feedback.
The webinar is offered on a sliding scale, between $80 and $40. The registration fee includes a video recording and a link to songs and resources shared throughout the webinar. We ask you to pay what is generous and affordable for you, with gratitude for the time and skill of our presenters. Scholarship support is also available, if needed, so please reach out if cost will prevent your participation.
Register here! -
Tuesday, May 02, 2023 at 06:30 PM
Location varies
Join Sylvia Miller-Mutia, David Poole, and other lovers of singing from in and around Albuquerque, NM, for a monthly Music that Makes Community Song Circle. We sing together the first Tuesday of each month for 75 minutes, beginning at 6:30pm, with the option to gather for fellowship beforehand. We rotate locations and responsibility for "hosting" among interested participants.
We focus on teaching, learning, and sharing songs together in an "oral tradition" style of music-making. We sing songs from a variety of traditions as well as songs of our own creation. We lean heavily on musical forms that lend themselves to learning by ear and singing from the heart, including: simple melodies, rounds, simple songs with layered harmonies, echo songs, and "call and response" songs.
We take risks. We experiment. We make mistakes. We laugh. We learn. We encourage one another. We sing. We welcome you to join us!
Contact organizer Sylvia Miller-Mutia for more information or for the location of our next gathering! -
Monday, May 08, 2023 at 06:30 PM
Zoom
Gather for an informal singing time to re-center our hearts in community. Simple songs will be led paperlessly/taught by ear by Conie Borchardt, other song leaders, and you, if you have a song to share. Visit Conie's website for the Zoom link!
Join us. Bring friends. (Signup for the email reminder here; select Heart Songs)
Songs will be about the human experience and in that way, spiritual in nature, but not specifically religious. This is a space intended for self-care, however that shifts for you in every moment. -
Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 01:00 PM
Edina Community Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN
In-person: 1:00 pm- 5:00 pm CT
Online: 1:00 pm- 2:30 pm CT
Join a group of intrepid choral directors and singers for an afternoon playdate on May 18, 2023, exploring oral/aural tradition teaching practices and how they can be implemented in church, school, and community choral contexts.
Dr. Elisabeth Cherland, Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and Paul Vasile will invite us to explore:- Strategies for integrating oral/aural tradition learning in rehearsals;
- Models of ways paperless singing engages singers' ears, eyes, and bodies to serve musicianship and style;
- Practices for encouraging community care and expression through song;
- The healing capacity of singing, as we continue to recover from the collective trauma and challenges of the pandemic.
The day will include times of moderated reflection, where participants share what they are experiencing and noticing as we sing with and without printed music.
We'll gather in the Sanctuary of Edina Community Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN. You are also welcome to register to attend via Zoom to participate in the first 90 minutes of the workshop (1 to 2:30 pm CT), which will welcome online guests in a multi-access/hybrid format.
Registration fees are on a sliding scale, from $100 to $50 per person, which includes access to a recording of the Zoom portion of the workshop, as well as resource materials and music. We ask you to pay what is generous and affordable for you, with gratitude for the time and skill of our presenters. Additional scholarship support is also available, if needed.
FACILTATORS:
Elisabeth Cherland is a fourth-generation choral conductor as well as professor, singer, song leader, violinist, and Lutheran church musician. As Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University, Mankato, she teaches courses in choral methods, conducting, private voice, and conducts the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. Prior to her appointment at MSU she was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.Dr. Cherland earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington, a Master of Music Education with Certification degree from VanderCook College of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music and English from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Her research interests include women in academia, feminist and narrative research, choral settings of Emily Dickinson poetry, song leading and paperless music pedagogy, social justice in the choral classroom, the role of the modern cantor, and the effects of corporate singing on mental health.
She lives with her partner Kent and their two sons, Elijah and Leif, in St. Peter, MN. She loves storytelling and story-hearing, doughnuts, bubble tea, laughing, knitting, running (when the temperature is perfect and the course is flat), and sunshine when it’s available.
Paul Vasile serves as Executive Director of Music That Makes Community and is passionate about modeling and sharing leadership practices that sustain the musical and spiritual life of communities. He mentors and supports an ecumenical network of song leaders across North America who are committed to oral tradition (“paperless”) song leadership practices. Committed to expansive, imaginative, and hospitable experiences of music making wherever he goes, Paul’s leadership builds trust, invites spaces of creativity, vulnerability, and play, and supports practices of reflection and holistic learning. Recognized as a multitalented musician and liturgist, he is committed to building, renewing, and reshaping faith communities through the ways they worship and sing together. -
Friday, May 19, 2023 at 06:30 PM
Good Courage Farm
Good Courage Farm and Music that Makes Community invite you to a Community SING honoring Endangered Species Day on Friday, May 19 at 6:30 p.m. The evening of participatory singing will be facilitated by Conie Borchardt, Kerri Meyer, and Paul Vasile.
When we sing, we connect with one other and with something larger than our individual selves — whether it’s community or the Sacred. Join us for this uplifting experience of learning and collaboration, as we share songs from varied musical and spiritual traditions that invite us to care for our fragile Earth and all the creatures that find a home here, especially those who are endangered or threatened.
The event is free and open to all who love to sing, regardless of musical experience or training. Freewill donations are welcome and help support the work of Good Courage Farm and Music that Makes Community.
Good Courage Farm is the faith-filled response of the Rev. Kerri Meyer and Dr. Jen Blecha to the call of the Holy Spirit to join in the renewal of God's good earth and to follow Christ's example of feeding all who hunger. The farm uses organic and increasingly-regenerative methods to grow lots of perennial food crops. The 18-acre farmstead is home to chickens, ducks, goats and a few stray peafowl, as well as to myriad nations of other creatures - songbirds, frogs, snakes, grasshoppers, bats and more. The barn, built in 1927, houses worship services and fellowship events. We sing morning and evening prayer in our silo chapel. The Well House offers a quiet space for individuals on spiritual retreat.
Connected to the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, and located on the ancestral homelands of our Wahpekute and Mdewakanton neighbors (read our land acknowledgement and our commitment to reparations), Good Courage Farm is a place where neighbors of all faiths and none gather to work for food justice and to witness God’s renewing love for all of Creation. At Good Courage, friends of God and God's good Earth gather in worship, fellowship, community building and labor. We are blessed to be in partnership with Episcopal Church in Minnesota and the larger faith-based food and agriculture movement. Embedded in the beauty, abundance and travail of farming, Good Courage offers hospitality and space for service, sacrament and sabbath.
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Monday, May 22, 2023 at 06:30 PM
Zoom
Gather for an informal singing time to re-center our hearts in community. Simple songs will be led paperlessly/taught by ear by Conie Borchardt, other song leaders, and you, if you have a song to share. Visit Conie's website for the Zoom link!
Join us. Bring friends. (Signup for the email reminder here; select Heart Songs)
Songs will be about the human experience and in that way, spiritual in nature, but not specifically religious. This is a space intended for self-care, however that shifts for you in every moment.