Classes Descriptions 2025

Class #1:  (size limit 8)

 Old wine in New Bottles!

 reinventing your favourite popular songs.

Many popular songs are simple and straightforward enough that they can be reinvented and re-imagined in many ways. You can vary the tempo, change the groove (e.g. in jazz, changing a swing tune to a bossa nova), create new chords, and even mess with the melody. Songs are resilient and can take a lot of messing around without losing the essence of the song. Bring your favourite tunes and let’s see where we can take them! You are welcome to bring original 

material as well.

Class #2

Ensemble: Stayed on Freedom

songs of protest, power, and perseverance

Come  and lift your voice as we sing to protest injustice, reclaim power, and  win back freedom. Music includes African-American civil rights songs  such as “We Shall Overcome” as well as classic pop anthems including  “For What It’s Worth”, “Blowin’ in the Wind”, and “Imagine”.

Class #1:

Blues and Swing

 This is a group repertoire class where we’ll learn  some arrangements, juicy solo pieces and a few sing-a-long tunes.  Exploring music based out of the African American lexicon, we can better  appreciate stylistic choices and grooves that can add to our musical  and vocal prowess! (We might do a little vocal improvisation,too!) 

Class #2: 

Sing Around the World  

Using grooves and inspiring repertoire from Brazil, Portugal, Italy and other places, we will strengthen and gain insight into our voices and other cultures!

We’ll build our international songbook while learning what makes the music from these places unique: how we can utilize our voices, how to sing in different languages, what rhythmic information will help us - all these things can help us grow as singers and enrich us!

“Extra: Bonus class” Jennifer and Michael

Singers’ Master Class - Saturday night only (Limit 6 )*

A safe and fun space to take a risk, connect with your audience, build confidence, and bring honesty and emotional depth to the songs you sing, and to your ongoing process as a singer. Come prepared with a song of your choice memorized. Please bring sheet music or a chord chart.

*if there are more than 6 people who register for Masterclass there will be a lottery (ie names pulled from a hat)

Class #1: 

Songs that Build Community

In this class we will learn harmony songs that build community: for choirs, community groups, protests, around the table, at the park... songs that get any group singing in harmony together before you know it! Sarina writes and teaches simple, satisfying songs touching on big themes like the cycles of the seasons, showing up for each other and ourselves and the planet, how to embody and use our powerful voices. All songs will be taught by ear and all voices are welcome!

Class #2: (limit 8) 

Songwriting Workshop
Sarina Partridge is a  song-leader and song-weaver, creating new songs inspired by the wild  around and within each of us – and she is excited to welcome you into  her songwriting process! In this class, we will explore “listening  in” for a song seed – a melodic or thematic song fragment that is trying  to come through you. Participants will have time to gather observations  and inspiration in the natural world. People will develop their little  song seed into something that is singable and satisfying, both musically  and emotionally. Once a basic song is formed, folks will have the  opportunity to collaborate with other participants, supported by Sarina,  to add vocal harmony and/or instruments if desired.

All experience levels welcome, even if this is your first time crafting a song!