Song Carrier Retreat
Are you excited about Community Singing? Would you like to help gather people in your home community to twine voices and hearts in this all-voices-welcomed way? Are you intrigued about the possibility of helping to lead songs yourself?
Join Liz Rog, Annie Schlaefer, and Megan Eberhardt to learn and practice together the tools of community songleading in partnership with NoMi Song Circles. We will touch on many of the skills involved in successfully getting other folks singing, including: teaching in a clear call & echo style, picking the right song for the moment, finding a good starting pitch, showing the rhythm and melody in your body, building confidence, and modeling joyful and welcoming humility.
At this workshop, you will find connection to 27 other emerging songleaders; a chance to practice among supportive peers; songs and resources galore; and encouragement to go home and continue on the path!
We’ll talk about the history and culture of community singing. We’ll consider the singing wounds of our society and how we can be part of the healing. We’ll prepare to offer and receive hospitality through singing in community!
We can learn to serve in brave, humble, and collaborative leadership. This weekend is a time to begin, using the simple tools of song, conversation, slow-time, and good food.
- I have something to offer: how do I prepare myself to hold space?
- What practical and spiritual tools do I need?
- How can my leadership empower others?
- How do I listen well to the voices around me even as I am asking for their listening?
- When is it time to rest?
We’ll gather around these questions, and the form we use is songleading. We’ll stand as witnesses to each other’s stepping up, celebrating the different strengths and styles of each and all. The tools we practice can be used in everyday settings: around a kitchen table, in houses of worship, in healing spaces, in movements for change. Our workshop is a circle of belonging, and each person returns home with their own version of what it means to hold space with grace, energy, and ever-growing skill. This is the beginning.
If you feel called to begin or continue learning how to lead others in song and can hold a tune and rhythm reasonably well, this is for you. You don’t need to be a school-trained singer/musician, but even if you are, there is still plenty for you to learn at this workshop.
Who Should Attend
- Those curious about how to bring group singing into the spaces where your local communities gather.
- Those who have already stepped into leading singing in community.
- Those who are seasoned song carriers.
- Whether your gift to song and community is through bringing simple singing into your neighborhood or family, or you are leaning toward becoming one of the traveling bards who carry seeds of friendship and music across the land, this class is for you!
Itinerary:
Friday, October 16 — Community Sing — location TBD in Grand Traverse or Leelanau County (optional, but highly recommended!)
Saturday, October 17 & 18 — Song Carrier Leadership with songs, discussion, improvisation, and play — 9:00 am-4:30 pm each day (give or take)
Meals: Lunch on Saturday and Sunday and dinner on Saturday are included in the fee.
Retreat Details
Location: Green Door Folk School – 2312 E Kasson Rd, Cedar, MI
Date/Time: October 17-18, 9:00 – 4:30 each day
Prerequisites/Skill Level/Age Requirements:
- No prior experience required.
- Ages 18+
Lodging & Camping
On-site guest suites, camping, and home-stays are available.
- Home-Stay – Volunteers with the NoMi Song Circle will work to pair participants with local hosts and will do our best to meet every request (we are optimistic!) Participants will be sent a home-stay form after registering.
- Camping – Rustic tent camping is available around the fire ring behind the classroom for $15/night. Use of the classroom toilet and sink is available, but no shower. Please inquire about camping by emailing
juliebotsford@gmail.com. - Farm-Stay Guest Suite – Request a discounted farm stay on the Green Door Folk School property at Cedar North here: https://greendoorfolkschool.com/student-housing/
Scholarships
Wheatland Scholarship Fund
Students may also be eligible for scholarship support through Wheatland Music Organization:
https://www.wheatlandmusic.org/Online/Online/Scholarships/Available-Scholarships.aspx
Meet Your Instructors
Liz Rog
Songleader Liz Rog believes that singing together is a simple and powerful tool for restoring our sense of belonging and connection in community. She sings with all ages, teaching simple songs that can be woven into everyday life, into the seasons of the year, and into the changes and challenges of our lives. Liz delights in helping folks rediscover their ancestral birthright of group singing to nurture collective joy, courage, and healing. She and her husband Daniel Rotto raised two daughters in the Driftless of Northeast Iowa and are part of the international movement to re-seed communities with songs for connection, care, and renewal.
Megan Eberhard
Megan Eberhard is a professional musician and song leader best known in the Chicago area for leading community sings and vocal workshops at the acclaimed Old Town School of Folk Music. She is highly regarded in folk music circles for her work in creating inclusive, accessible, and participatory choral and group singing environments.
Annie Schlaefer
Annie has been collecting songs and facilitating song circles for 13 years in various communities (Northern Minnesota, Maine, Wisconsin) and has been co-facilitating a weekly local community song circle in Minneapolis with her friend Linnea Champ for 4+ years. This winter, Annie has been involved in Singing Resistance. She learned about this style of singing in 2012 in Decorah, Iowa from a local song-leader and now mentor, Liz Rog.