A wonderful group of 40 singers gathered for the singing workshop at the stunning Great Oak Hall at Westonbirt Arboretum led by Jane Harris, Director of Songways. Singers local to the area were joined by others from Gloucester, Cheltenham, Oxford, Taunton, Abergavenny, Malmesbury, Hereford, Bristol, Bath and Bradford on Avon. It was great to meet many new singers who were singing with Songways for the first time.
We began with the powerful South African song, Thina simunye – We are together, celebrating the joy of being able to sing together after months of Covid restrictions. All the songs were chosen to celebrate the natural world, including three from Jane’s album, One touch of nature: Everybody needs beauty, Go well and In the beauty of the world, find rest and be free. Jane led several songs with her violin and we enjoyed beautiful group improvisations, inspired by the poetry of Wendell Berry.
Comments from some of the singers:
A really wonderful day… I loved it
Superb venue… gorgeous songs
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