Welcome
Village Harmony is the umbrella organization for a diverse range of choral, world music and harmony singing activities under the direction of Larry Gordon and Patty Cuyler. Our ensembles include Village Harmony, Northern Harmony, Boston Harmony, the Brooklyn World Music Chorus, the Chicago World Music Chorus, and our many Village Harmony Summer Camp ensembles.
Registration for all open programs is through the links you will find at the top of this page. Don’t wait. Register online now.
Our most extensive programs are our one, two, and three-week singing camps. Village Harmony Camps are un-auditioned, inclusive programs for people who love singing together. Since 1990 the teen & adult singers of Village Harmony camps have been traveling and performing throughout New England and an ever-widening swath of the globe, participating in cultural exchanges and delighting audiences with their heart-felt renditions of traditional harmony singing from around the world.
We focus on polyphonic harmony singing traditions, especially from South Africa, Georgia, Corsica, Eastern Europe and the Baltics. Each camp has three music leaders, including native teachers who bring first hand expertise in particular traditions. With seemingly easy command of phenomenally varied singing styles and infectiously joyous stage presence, Village Harmony ensembles always knock people’s socks off.
You can download a copy of our 2018 camp brochure here (pdf).
Our basic model for each camp session, regardless of location, is the same. We begin with an intensive residential rehearsal week where singers get to know one another and learn a concert program. We place tremendous emphasis on authenticity, understanding the spirit and vocal style of each genre, and appreciating the joy of singing together and with conviction. Within this rigorous structure camp groups are nonetheless very relaxed and non-competitive, with a deliberately democratic atmosphere. The framework of each residency is communal, with everyone helping to cook and clean.
The shorter residential camps wrap up with one or two concerts close by. But for participants in the traveling camp sessions the adventure is just beginning: everyone and everything gets packed up as the group embarks upon a one- to two-week-long concert tour. While on tour the ensemble travels nearly every day and performs virtually every night, stopping en route to hike and swim and explore sites of interest. The venues are mostly in small towns which treat the group with delicious potluck suppers and arrange local homestays. The intense immersion in new repertoires and the myriad challenges of polishing concert performances to a high sheen are exhilarating for all involved, and engender a close community by the end of camp.
We are committed to making Village Harmony programs accessible by keeping expenses and tuition fees as low as possible, and we offer generous financial aid. In recent years we have greatly expanded our scholarship program for low income students in our teen camps, as well as offering full support to students from eastern Europe and South Africa to come to the US to participate in our teen traveling camps.
“Your work continues to shine a bright light in the world.”