PAINTING BY ISABEL MARIPOSA GALACTICA
In the workshops, we will focus on freeing up, strengthening, and enjoying our voices through group singing. We will practice various exercises to open the voice, improve, and deepen our breathing patterns, and increase resonance. The exercises, including a morning vocal routine are uplifting, heart lightening, powerful practices you can carry with you and practice for the rest of your life. During the workshop we will apply these methods as we learn and sing a collection of beautiful songs. These songs are full of powerful images we will discuss so you can experience them on all dimensions, musically as well as metaphorically. You will leave the workshop with recordings of the group singing the songs as well as lyrics and the phonetic and literal translations so you can continue to practice them on your own. A quote from the great producer Brian Eno beautifully sums up my feelings on singing:
“I believe in singing. I believe in singing together. Well, there are physiological benefits, obviously: You use your lungs in a way that you probably don't for the rest of your day, breathing deeply and openly. And there are psychological benefits, too: Singing aloud leaves you with a sense of levity and contentedness.
And then there are what I would call "civilizational benefits." When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to subsume yourself into a group consciousness because a capella singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That's one of the great feelings — to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue.
A recent long-term study conducted in Scandinavia sought to discover which activities related to a healthy and happy later life. Three stood out: camping, dancing and singing.
I believe that singing is the key to long life, a good figure, a stable temperament, increased intelligence, new friends, super self-confidence, heightened sexual attractiveness and a better sense of humor."
Haleh is a musician, vocalist, and poet living in NYC. She has toured across the country and in Europe, playing various venues such as Carnegie Hall, UNC Memorial Hall, the Bonnaroo Festival, and WorldFest in Chicago. She has recorded and released for projects such as The Mast and Sabila Sabila as well as for film and major TV networks. She is currently working on a commission for a musical theater piece and in her free time, she enjoys teaching vocals in private and group settings. She believes singing is one of the most uplifting and soul-nourishing practices one can do.
You can hear some of her music here: