WORLD HARMONY & VOCAL IMPROV 

Each session begins with a thorough warm up, using breathing and relaxation to explore the physical apparatus that is our singing instrument, and finding the most natural and efficient way to use that instrument. Exercises combining vocal and physical activities follow, as students begin to join their voices into a group sound. Elise's theater and dance background combine with her vast musical experiences (from 20 years of choral singing with Robert Shaw & The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and Chamber Chorus to making her living as a "folk" singer) to create an amazing synthesis that calls in elements of Alexander Technique, Tai Chi, Skinner Releasing, and other body and voice systems.

Elise has a knack for making students fall in love with the sounds of music from around the world. Drawing from her vast linguistic experience (she speaks five languages fluently and sings in a dozen more) and her love of melodies and rhythms, Elise might have the class singing a Brazilian samba, a Congolese storysong, an Italian round, or four-part harmonies from Zimbabwe. There are also lots of songs in English, including songs from the African American tradition, quirky rounds, food songs, and lots more! All of the songs are broken down into easily learnable parts and become thrilling to sing in a group. Even people who think they "can't carry a tune in a bucket" in no time find themselves part of a glorious choir. The workshop will also stretch ears and imaginations with creative improvisations. Music reading is not a prerequisite.

Singer-Guitarist Elise Witt was born in Switzerland, raised in North Carolina, and since 1977 has made her home in Atlanta. She speaks fluent Italian, French, German, Spanish, and English and sings in at least a dozen languages. She has sung everywhere from New York's Carnegie Hall and the People's Voice Café to festivals like Clearwater's Hudson River Revival and Falcon Ridge; from Nashville's Bluebird Cafe to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change in Atlanta; and from the Jinotepe Harvest Festival in Nicaragua to the Popular Music Festival in Siena Italy. Elise was chosen to represent the state of Georgia for the Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary and she recently returned from a cultural exchange in South Africa. In addition to performing and recording, Elise has created a reputation as a masterful singing teacher, both for adults and children, encouraging even the most shy singers to revel in their voices and join with others to create joyful choruses. Elise's Singing For Fun classes in Atlanta have become legendary and her workshops and community residencies around the country and abroad draw and inspire both professional singers and self-professed "non-singers." Elise has 9 recordings on the EMWorld label and her music has been broadcast on radio and television around the world.

SINGING FOR FUN began 25 years ago, when Elise was part of the original Theatrical Outfit, an experimental theater company in Atlanta, that included Seven Stages director Del Hamilton, Atlanta actress Marianne Fraulo, nationally known touring dancer Celeste Miller, Elise, and several others. In the black box theater on St. Charles Avenue, in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood, the Theatrical Outfit created original plays, children's plays, and offered classes to the community in acting, dance, and music. Since that time, Elise has continued to teach her class at various locales around Atlanta, and has taken Singing for Fun on the road, teaching workshops and classes around the U.S. - The Swannanoa Gathering (where she is coordinator of "Sing & Swing week) in Asheville NC, Common Ground in Westminster MD, Virginia Tech University in Blackburg VA, The School for International Training in Brattleboro VT, Big Apple Circus Clown Care, Savannah Folk Music Society in Savannah GA- and internationally - University of Biel Switzerland, Casa per la Pace in San Gimignano Italy, Centro de Cultur Popular in Matagalpa Nicaragua, and aboard the Universe Explorer educational ship sailing through the Panama Canal.

HARMONY SINGING & VOCAL IMPROVISATION
Classes & Workshops with Elise Witt
Harmony in the world can be defined as people of many different cultures, customs, and beliefs recognizing and celebrating each others’ differences while also identifying with and sharing the traits common to us all as one human family. Likewise in music, harmony is the celebration of different sounds that, blended together, are pleasing to the ear and the spirit. However “pleasing” to one ear may be strange to another. Harmony is subjective and cultural. In this class, we will explore harmonies from many different cultures and traditions - from the familiar Triad Harmonies of folk, blues, bluegrass, spirituals, country, and gospel, to vibration unifying chants from Africa and the Middle East, to the exciting tight harmonies of the Balkans and the Appalachians. Beginning with the concept “there are no wrong notes,” we will experiment with creating different kinds of harmonies to become confident and creative harmony singers. We will play with songs as well as improvisations. From a simple break (solo) in a song, to an extended, emotional improvisation, to conversation with other singers and musicians - we will experient with super fun, illuminating games and exercises, and just plain supportive space for vocal improvisation. We will explore our wildly versatile voices - how to truly use all the colors in your voice. Get the gritty, technical, sensual sense of how the voice can draw powerfully on vocal wisdom from many cultures.
Music reading is not a prerequisite, but some knowledge of music theory can’t hurt.

For more information or to bring a Singing for Fun workshop to your community, Contact:

PO Box 148, Pine Lake GA 30072 e-mail emworld@mindspring.com