Singing into Spring: Community Singing as a Spiritual Practice of Connection
Publication information:
Abstract
Workshop: This interactive workshop explores how community singing, rooted in oral traditions, creates connections between the earth, the seasons, and each other. Without written music, participants will learn a selection of songs that celebrate the coming of spring and communal bonds. We will also participate in Circlesinging, a form of improvisationally facilitated group singing. Yearly rituals form a spiritual loop that deepens our relationship with the world. We will experience how voice, earth, and community intertwine through shared singing, offering a living example of spirituality expressed through the arts and collective tradition. We will end with a May Crowning accompanied by song.
Presenter Biography
Susannah Keate is a taxonomist, information architect, and community singer. She is a member of Solringen, a group dedicated to reviving traditional folksongs through oral practices. Combining her love of folklore, seasonal rituals, and song, she explores how communal singing fosters a connection to earth, time, and community.
Lisa Mischke has worked as a music director and organist, primarily in the Roman Catholic church, for over twenty years. Her work is led by the question, “What is the liturgy of ecotheology?” Her experiences in dance, theater, ritual, and environmental activism are braiding themselves into a response.