Come sing with Village Harmony
“As an artist and educator, I was delighted to be in the presence of leaders so knowledgeable and comfortable with sharing, that learning was effortless--even with the challenge of unfamiliar languages and diverse musical styles. This aspect of Village Harmony bears great weight in our global community, as music is surely one of the best ways to connect people of different cultures.”
Village Harmony runs traditional music study-performance programs just for teenagers, alumni trips for older teens & young adults, residential weeks primarily for adults and international camps for mixed age groups. Each session is headed by a trio of music leaders fluent in a wide range of traditions and highly experienced as teachers.
Our no-holds barred attitude toward what is possible has resulted in ensembles whose sound remains dynamic, unpredictable, and absolutely exciting year after year. With their clear command of radically-varied singing styles and infectiously joyous stage presence, Village Harmony ensembles always knock people’s socks off.
Registration now open:
New Zealand Winter Camp
Jan. 18-Feb. 3, 2027
We still have (very) limited space at Village Harmony’s second study-performance tour in New Zealand this January.
While it will be deep winter in the northern hemisphere, the 18 day-long program will begin with a southern hemisphere summer-time rehearsal week in residence at the Magnificat Retreat Centre in Featherston, with a stellar team of VH teachers—Lala Simpson, Patty Cuyler & Brendan Taaffe—and local Maori musicians, teaching a mixed repertoire of Malagasy, Maori, American and diverse world musics.
Once done with our rehearsal week we will enjoy New Zealand’s famous nature and hospitality to the fullest as we we spend 9 days touring around the country’s North Island.
Registrations are being accepted on a first-come, first-served basis for this international friendship program. Auditions are not required.
Plan to come early or stay on afterward to explore more of New Zealand's geographic wonders.
Winter Weekend - Friday-Sunday, Feb. 19-21, 2027
Join us at Village Harmony’s annual Winter Weekend full of singing, dancing, feasting and celebration at Hulbert Center in Fairlee, Vermont.
Leaders: Patty Cuyler, Julio Morales, Suzannah Park & Sinead O’Mahoney
Location: Hulbert Outdoor Center, Fairlee, VT
Price: Tuition includes accommodations in comfortable shared rooms plus six meals:
- $350 per person in 4-person deluxe bunk rooms
- $410 per person for a double room (limited availability)
- $275 special discounted price for teen singers
- $275 for commuters (includes lunches & suppers)
These were our 2026 Offerings
New England Teen Traveling Camps
Teen Camp #1: June 25-July 11, 2026
Led by Sinead O’Mahoney, Matlakala Bopape & Scott Sexton
Teen Camp #2: July 10-26, 2026
Led by Lysander Jaffe, Liam Kantor & Lexi Ugelow
Rehearsal weeks for our annual teen camps take place at Stump Sprouts Retreat Center in the hills outside Hawley, MA, followed by a 10-day performance tour around New England.
Village Harmony’s teen camps are open to young singers ages 12 to 18.
No auditions are required. If you like singing out and enjoy the touring life, ours is the program for you.
North American Adult Singing Weeks
Quebec Week: June 21-28, 2026
Led by Mary Cay Brass, Nicholas Williams & Frank Watkins. A first for Village Harmony: a day camp set in North Hatley in the eastern townships of Quebec, with out-of-town folks largely hosted overnight by local singers.
Oregon Week: July 6-12, 2026
Led by Avery Book, Natalie Nowytski & Heidi Wilson. Our annual program in southern Oregon, in residence at St. Benedicts Retreat in McKenzie Bridge,.
New England Week: July 13-19, 2026
Led by Suzannah Park, Matlakala Bopape & Magda Sharff. Our annual program in western Massachusetts, in residence at Woolman Hill Retreat Center in Deerfield. Commuters are always welcome at this camp week.
International Singing Camps
Cape Town: January 12-25, 2026
Led by Bongani Magatyana, Suzannah Park, Liam Kantor. Rehearsal week at Volmoed Retreat Centre in Hermanus, Western Cape, followed by a week in residence in the Gardens district of Cape Town
Guadalajara Week: February 7-15, 2026
Led by Wilmia Verrier Quiñones, Julio Morales, Patty Cuyler. In residence in Tlaquepaque. Our first program in Mexico.
Occitan Week: June 7-13, 2026
Led by Brendan Taaffe, Karine Berny, Audrey Peinado & Lorenzo Valera. In residence at the Monastère de Segries in Moustiers-San-Marie, Provence, France.
Corsica Camp: June 16-July 4, 2026
Led by Patty Cuyler, Carl Linich, Jean-Etienne Langianni, Frederic Vesperini & Cathy Graziani. Rehearsals in the village of Canari in the Cap Corse region of Corsica, France.
“It’s time to sing everyone!”
~ This was Larry Gordon’s signature call to rehearsals. We sorely miss Larry, VH’s founder, who died on November 9, 2021. Our memories of his joie de vivre live on—as does the sound of his strong bass voice in the many hundreds of concert recordings he made with Village Harmony and Northern Harmony ensembles.
VILLAGE HARMONY acts as an umbrella sponsoring a number of other activities, including:
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Boston Harmony - Led by Sinead O’Mahoney & Lysander Jaffe
Chicago World Music Chorus - Led by Patty Cuyler, Mollie Stone & Lonnie Norwood
Wild Asheville Community Chorus - Led by Suzannah Park
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We not only bring expert international tradition bearers to teach at our programs but also aid and sponsor foreign folk music ensembles to come to the USA to perform on tour—the most recent of which was Ensemble Zedashe from the Republic of Georgia.
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Since the pandemic years Village Harmony has been recognized for its success in connecting international teachers with community and university choirs interested in learning songs from authentic sources. We arrange not only for zoom teaching sessions but also offer access to an online platform with parts, pronunciation and performance recordings, plus background resources, to best aid singers to produce an authentic performance result.
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This is something we are working on: an interactive library that will allow searches of the our music archive by teacher, camp session, genre or year. We aim to honor VH founder Larry Gordon’s personal legacy of sharing music through this ongoing project. We have also amassed a vast archive of digital teaching resources that we hope to make public in the future. If you’d like to help support these projects through a donation, click on the link below.
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Northern Harmony is the name of the highest level, semi-professional touring group—always a shifting collaboration of singers—under Village Harmony’s umbrella. Under founder Larry Gordon’s wing these groups toured and performed widely from 1993 to his death in 2021 throughout America and Europe to great critical acclaim. We hope to resurrect the tradition before long.
Our Mission
Village Harmony is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) educational organization dedicated to the study, performance and celebration of diverse styles of traditional choral music. Working with an international team of culture-bearing musicians we provide a wide range of educational and performance opportunities for amateur musicians around the world. Our aim is to promote cultural awareness and community through direct and ethical cultural exchange.