› Big Sing (Amberley Online)

About the Workshop:

The Amberley Big Sing aims to recharge our love for singing together. Feel supported, nurtured and nourished as you learn a new song written for sharing with community singers. Leaders will explore how to model CMVic values while leading singing online. Join us for a Big Sing!

This year's song follows on from last year's workshop on community singing and activism. Composed by CMVic members Nicole Johnson, Loz Irwin-Ray and Craig Barrie, it promotes climate- and social-justice causes. Learn the harmony part of your choice in a break-out room, and then sing them all together with others.

How to prepare for this session:

• Get ready to join a break-out room where you will learn the harmony part that best suits you, before coming back to sing them all together.

Downloads:

• Change is gonna come FULL-SCORE
• Change is Gonna Come LYRICS

Meet the Leaders: Loz, Jane, Nicki Craig Barrie & Emily Hayes

Loz Irwin-Ray:

Melbourne musician Loz Irwin-Ray is best known for the versatility, excitement and passion she brings to a room. Having grown up in contemporary choirs, she cherishes sharing the goal of filling a space with connection and harmony. Her love of the human voice, as our most honest and heartfelt mode of expression, is central to many of her musical endeavours.

Whilst studying at Monash University, majoring in Jazz Voice, she explored many genres and techniques that continues to utilise in her work as a session musician, musical director, composer and educator. She also discovered a flare for arranging, a deep interest that led to founding an a cappella ensemble turned band, Market Lane, in 2014. She is currently the director of Beyond The Bathroom Choir (https://www.facebook.com/BeyondTheBathroom), a community music organisation based in Brunswick who is opporerating online.

Loz is also a key member of local bands including Heads Down Thumbs Up, Belly Savalas and Sirens.

For more info: https://lozirwinraymusic.wordpress.com/

Jane York

Jane is a musical instigator with a decade of experience dedicated to the community building power of music. She has led singing and instrumental groups for people aged 9-90 with a focus on contemporary music for both beginners and advanced singers and players. She arranges and writes her own material and is well known for her surprising takes on well known songs.

She is the founder and director of contemporary community choir Just Holler, creative director of Big Feminist Sing, leads RMITs Big Sing Thing and uke group Strumming Singers. Her past roles include leading With One Voice Footscray, musical directing several stage productions for Nillumbik Youth Theatre and running music therapy groups for MIND, Community Houses, health centres and day respite programs.

She is an experienced workshop facilitator and regularly teaches in Regional Victoria and Qld and now on anywhere in the world on Zoom. Everyday (except Sundays) since March she has led a lunchtime singalong on Just Holler's Facebook page.

More info at www.janeyorksings.com

Nicki Johnson and Craig Barrie

When not sharing their homegrown music as indie-folk duo All the Way Home, Nicki and Craig sing with numerous choirs and ensembles including early music madrigal group Tierce de Picardie, a cappella quartets Songrise and The Junkman's Choir. Nicki leads several community choirs across Melbourne and Craig teaches bass, guitar and ukulele. Together they founded the Melbourne Uke’N’Sing Orchestra (MUSO), with arrangements to suit multiple skill levels and a focus on harmony singing. Whether online, in a room (when they are allowed to once more) or outdoors, they encourage playful participation from audiences of all ages. 

Emily Hayes

Emily Hayes is a fabulous singing leader and long-time supporter of community music making. She leads Rogues Choir in Brunswick, Heidelberg Mamas Choir and sings with Songrise Quartet. Em has researched Mother Goose and VOSA training methods and takes her own approach to singing with little tackers and their families, bringing modern yet satisfying songs with relevant social values. Em creates a wonderful atmosphere of inclusion for all ages and abilities.

How to Register:

• This workshop is part of Amberley Online (CMVic Singing Camp 2020). Check out the full program here!
• It’s totally FREE to join but please register online here as soon as possible.
• All workshops will be online on Zoom (you don't need to have a Zoom account to join in).
• After you register, you'll receive an email with a link, meeting ID and password for the whole event.
• You only need to register once, regardless of how many Amberley Online workshops you are joining.