In Harmony’s Way started twelve years ago with a group of Bay Area folk musicians who love group singing. It quickly grew into monthly singing sessions in Berkeley, open to the public, and festival workshops like this one! Come sing chorus songs, drinking songs, gospel songs, sea shanties, camp songs, silly songs, sad songs, or anything else with a chorus or refrain so people can sing along. The workshop leaders won’t be teaching, lecturing, or doing anything with much structure, except going in a circle so that as many people as possible can each take a turn. This will be a glorious session of harmony, laughter, chorus songs, and good company. Each person can lead a song or just sing along.
Deborah Sandler has been singing all her life. Her voracious appetite for song includes American and British Isles folk music, choral music, jazz, swing, show tunes, blues, gospel and spirituals, kids’ songs, rounds, and Jewish music. She holds an undergraduate degree in folklore, and is proud of having gotten college credit for playing and singing folk music. Deborah is one of the regular co-leaders of the monthly In Harmony’s Way sessions, and has been a San Francisco Folk Music Club member since 1979. She sings in her synagogue choir, an auditioned 100-voice symphonic choir, takes occasional jazz classes, and is always looking for more singing opportunities. When she isn’t singing, she practices family law in Walnut Creek. “When people first lift their voices to sing, and those notes spill out into the room, it is a moment full of magic and promise. Music touches hearts and brings people together. Come sing with us!”
Marlene McCall is an active member of the San Francisco Folk Music Club, one of the organizers of In Harmony’s Way, and an avid believer in the power of participatory music to bring people together, create fabulous music, foster fun, and enhance musical skills. An enthusiastic singer with eclectic tastes, she sings traditional British and American songs, rock & roll, jazz standards, 50s-60s-70s pop, folk and acoustic music.