Local Practice Groups are generally organized by participants of MMC events, to get together and practice their singing. You can use this calendar page to set up a new singing event near you, or get in touch with MMC to help you figure out the best way to organize other people in the community to form a local practice group.
Upcoming Events
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Tuesday, April 07, 2020 at 05:30 PM
Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore, MD
Our Baltimore Practice Group meets again on Tuesday, May 5 at 5:30 p.m., hosted by the Cathedral of the Incarnation in downtown Baltimore. If you've been curious about paperless music traditions and practices or if you've attended many a time, you're all most welcome.
RSVP below. For more information, please contact coordinator Barbara Cates.
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Tuesday, April 07, 2020 at 06:30 PM
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brunswick, ME
Brunswick, Maine folks...great news! A new practice group has banded together in your area and you're heartily invited to join in. Here's a little description of their practice:
Join us in an hour of singing together. For fun, not performance! Paperless singing, simple songs to deepen our spirits. Come just to sing, or bring a song to share if you like. All are welcome! -
Sunday, April 19, 2020 at 02:00 PM
St. John's Episocopal Church Rectory in Kingston, NY
Singing Spirit: Interfaith Practice Group will be meeting every third Sunday of the month from 2-3:30 pm in Kingston, NY. Bring a song to share! We explore songs from all faith traditions and none, Music That Makes Community, Threshold Choir songs, Circlesinging, and whatever else you bring along!
A description of the practice: "Come for a time of sharing songs to deepen our spirit and watch her fly, heal the planet, hold one another along the way, and bring peace to one another." -
Tuesday, May 05, 2020 at 05:30 PM
Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore, MDOur Baltimore Practice Group meets again on Tuesday, May 5 at 5:30 p.m., hosted by the Cathedral of the Incarnation in downtown Baltimore. If you've been curious about paperless music traditions and practices or if you've attended many a time, you're all most welcome.
RSVP below. For more information, please contact coordinator Barbara Cates.
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Tuesday, May 05, 2020 at 06:30 PM
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brunswick, MEBrunswick, Maine folks...great news! A new practice group has banded together in your area and you're heartily invited to join in. Here's a little description of their practice:
Join us in an hour of singing together. For fun, not performance! Paperless singing, simple songs to deepen our spirits. Come just to sing, or bring a song to share if you like. All are welcome! -
Wednesday, May 06, 2020 at 07:00 PM
Episcopal Church of Our Saviour in Arlington, MA
From L-R: Christiana Dutton, Rev. Nancy Wilbanks, Ken Livak, Fiona Vidal-White and Andrew Heintz.
Interested singers in the area are welcome to join us the first Wednesday of every month at 7 p.m. Please come if you love to sing in a group in unison or improvised harmony, without printed words or music. Feel free to bring a song to teach.For more information contact organizer Fiona Vidal-White.
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Tuesday, June 02, 2020 at 05:30 PM
Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore, MDOur Baltimore Practice Group meets again on Tuesday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m., hosted by the Cathedral of the Incarnation in downtown Baltimore. If you've been curious about paperless music traditions and practices or if you've attended many a time, you're all most welcome.
RSVP below. For more information, please contact coordinator Barbara Cates.
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Tuesday, June 02, 2020 at 06:30 PM
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brunswick, MEBrunswick, Maine folks...great news! A new practice group has banded together in your area and you're heartily invited to join in. Here's a little description of their practice:
Join us in an hour of singing together. For fun, not performance! Paperless singing, simple songs to deepen our spirits. Come just to sing, or bring a song to share if you like. All are welcome! -
Thursday, June 11, 2020 at 06:00 PM through June 14, 2020
Rivendell Retreat Centre in Bowen Island, BC, Canada
Join us for a three-day retreat on Bowen Island, British Columbia and develop your skills and confidence as a song leader! Share in a spacious time of learning, singing, and reflection with leaders from Music that Makes Community and fellow musicians, clergy, educators, and community leaders.
The workshop will be facilitated by Conie Borchardt and Paul Vasile, joined by Caitlin Reilley Beck, Patti Powell, and Emilie Teresa Smith, leaders of the Vancouver Sacred Song Circle.
- Learn leadership skills and strategies for sharing paperless (aural/oral tradition) songs;
- Build a repertoire of songs that can be led with groups of varied ages and musical experiences;
- Worship and reflect in community, deepening into spaces of listening and mutual support;
- Compose paperless music to share with your community;
- Develop your skills in small group sessions;
- Connect with like-minded leaders and find resources for creative worship and liturgy;
- Explore how the energy we create through singing affects what we do in worship as a whole, as well as other parts of our human lives;
Rivendell Retreat Centre is located on 6 1/2 acres atop Cates Hill on Bowen Island, a short ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay and West Vancouver. It is hosted by a volunteer Christian community, rooted in the gospel values of Jesus and the practiced traditions of prayer, silence, simplicity and hospitality.
Check-in begins at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday and we'll officially begin with dinner at 6:00 p.m. We conclude our time together on Sunday morning, departing before noon. View the retreat schedule here.
Registration:
Fees are on a sliding scale, from CAD $450 to 700 CAD per person, including three nights of lodging at Rivendell, healthy, catered meals, and all workshop materials. We ask you to pay what is generous and affordable for you, with gratitude for the time and skill of our presenters.A few single rooms are available on a first-come, first-served basis. If you are comfortable sharing a room please indicate on the registration form and we would be happy to pair you with a compatible individual.
Many denominations have continuing education or professional development funds that may be used to cover costs. Scholarships also are available for students, seminarians, seniors, and congregations with limited financial resources. Please contact Paul Vasile at paul@musicthatmakescommunity.org or (929) 266-4662 if you have any questions or to inquire about financial support.
Travel and Carpooling
The only route to Bowen Island is via a short ferry ride from Horseshoe Bay. For details of ferry fares and schedules please refer to www.bcferries.com. For detailed directions to Rivendell, visit their website.We are pleased to offer the option of carpooling with others and will hire a small van if additional space is needed. Please indicate if you can transport others or will need transportation on the registration page.
Music that Makes Community is a non-profit organization working with ecumenical communities and leaders to empower and liberate communities' spiritual life through singing. For over ten years we have developed and shared music leadership practices grounded in a theology of welcome and generosity for the benefit of musicians, clergy, and lay leaders throughout the United States and Canada. Our hope is that MtMC offerings supplement and enhance what congregations already do, offering repertoire and leadership skills that support vibrant, communal music making. Watch this short video to learn about the unique work we're doing around the United States and Canada.
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Sunday, August 09, 2020 at 06:00 PM through August 15, 2020
Ring Lake Ranch in Dubois, WY
MMC founder Donald Schell will lead a seminar at Ring Lake Ranch this summer, joined by Paul Vasile. You're welcome to join them in this special place of refreshment and recreation set high in the Wind River Mountains of Wyoming.
Find individual and family registration rates as well as information about Ring Lake Ranch on their website.
When anyone asked jazz trumpeter Clark Terry how he made jazz, he’d respond – “Simple – you imitate, assimilate, then innovate.” So it all begins, and so we began – shared attention, communication in listening, and imitation – not just music-making, but all the improvisations of our emergent humanity. This seminar’s playful practice of improvisational song, wordless storytelling, and shared experience-and-reflection noticing and wondering will point us toward rediscovery of ourselves as persons-in-community, shared conscious mind, the image of God that Gregory of Nyssa insists belongs to all of us together in our one humanity.