Sacred Harp has been described as four-part SATB a cappella heavy metal music. One teacher (Billings) said that each section should sing as if it was going into battle with the objective to obliterate the others. No vibrato. It can be loud!
Paul Kostka started singing Sacred Harp in 1995 at the All California Convention, and was hooked for life. He now leads the singing in Palo Alto, and regularly (co)leads Sacred Harp workshops for the SF Folk Music Club.
Jenny Solheim heard shape note singing for the first time when she was five days old, when the St. Louis shape note singers (including her dad) sang to her over the phone. She grew up singing shape note music and now sings regularly with the San Francisco, Berkeley, and Palo Alto shape note groups. She has traveled to shape note events throughout the US and in Norway, and she has also written several shape note songs.