Teen Traveling Camp I

June 26-July 12, 2025

  • Leaders: Patty Cuyler, Lonnie Norwood & Liam Kantor

  • Rehearsal location: Stump Sprouts Lodge, Hawley, MA

  • Tuition: $1900
    Financial aid is available for this camp, based on need. You'll need to apply first and pay your deposit. Should we not be able to make the finances work for you, you may withdraw your registration with no penalty.

Our first teen traveling camp of the summer will be led by Village Harmony director Patty Cuyler; gospel singer and a director at Chicago Children’s Choir, Lonnie Norwood from Chicago; and VH alumnus and fiddler Liam Kantor.

Repertoire will include American folk and gospel repertoire, songs from Corsica, South Africa and eastern Europe, and Irish folk songs. Liam will also put together a folk band to add to our concert with any instrumentalists who join us.

Village Harmony’s 17 day-long teen traveling camps are open to young singers ages 12 to 18. Auditions aren’t required to attend our Village Harmony (VH) camps. If you like singing full force and galumphing about the countryside performing for appreciative audiences, these summer camps are for you.  

Like all VH teen camps, we will begin with a week of rehearsal in residence at a retreat center. This summer’s programs will be held at one of our favorites—Stump Sprouts Retreat in Hawley, western Massachusetts.

  • Patty Cuyler

    Patty Cuyler, a dynamic workshop leader and choral director internationally-renowned for her expertise in teaching Corsican, Georgian and South African music became co-director of Village Harmony in 1995 and has been the organization’s sole director since Larry Gordon’s death in late 2021.

    Over the years Patty spear-headed the expansion of Village Harmony’s reach into the four corners of the globe. It was primarily her vision and labor that shaped VH’s response to the pandemic year and launched our online programs.

    Patty founded the community world music choir Boston Harmony in 2005 and the Chicago World Music Chorus in 2013. She currently makes her home in Marshfield VT.

  • Lonnie Norwood

    Born and raised on the South Side of Chicago, Lonnie Norwood, Jr. grew up with an unquenchable passion for music and community service. He knew early on that both would be integral parts of his life's work.

    Lonnie is a sought-after expert in traditional African American sacred music, educating educators and ensembles on its historical significance, vocal techniques, and the Black liberation aspects within the extensive musical repertoire. Norwood holds workshops frequently with schools, universities, and community choirs. Other educational outreach efforts include exchanges in Nassau, The Bahamas with members of the Bahamas National Youth Choir and Bahamian musicians, Victory Vocals of Accra, Ghana, various choral directors and vocalists in Trinidad and Tobago, Nigerian diasporan musicians, and Vancouver-based SongRoots.

    Lonnie is currently acting as president of Village Harmony's board of trustees.

  • Liam Kantor

    Liam Kantor is a vocalist and instrumentalist based in Evanston, IL. From an early age, he was steeped in the world of traditional music, learning fiddle tunes and folk dances from his teachers and family alike. During the pandemic, he spent a year in Marshfield, VT, working with Village Harmony, to organize workshops and perform online concerts with Northern Harmony.

    Currently pursuing a degree in ethnomusicology, Liam's musical interests span a wide range of traditional folk styles from around the world with a focus on New England-style and Celtic fiddle music and traditional ballads of those regions.

    Liam has a particular passion for finding ways to bring people into community through art and, particularly those who might not think to find connection through art. Thus, drawn to community-based musical traditions, he finds himself most at home singing in choirs, playing in jam sessions, and trading songs around campfires.

Residential & rehearsal space

Stump Sprouts Lodge, Hawley, MA:
Hand-built and furnished almost entirely with wood harvested from our land, the Lodge has seven guest rooms, a large living room and a complete kitchen and dining room. Everywhere there are large windows taking in the magnificent view. Lofts, cozy nooks, art work, plants, and a fireplace.

Not exactly a hotel, motel or B&B, Stump Sprouts is in a unique category of its own. In keeping with the owners’ simple philosophy, overnight guests share bathrooms and bring their own sheets, blankets, pillows & towels (there will be a limited number of sets for rent if you cannot do this for some reason).

All rooms have a double bed in them and most have a single or bunk bed as well. Rooms are decorated with original art, barn board, old farm implements, etc.

Village Harmony’s rehearsal space will be in a beautifully refinished barn, with superb cross-ventilation and large windows looking out over a gorgeous mountainscape.