PMN-NYC Mid-Summer Convergence July 19-20, 2024 New York City The following schedule is provisional. Final schedule may include changes, cancellations, and additional offerings. (REC) = This session will be recorded and uploaded to the PMN Video Archive. |
EVENT COLOR CODE:
[In Person + Zoom] Event takes place in person WITH option to join by Zoom. | [In Person Only] Event takes place in person WITHOUT option to join by Zoom. |
Friday, July 19, 2024 - Henry Winston Unity Hall (HWUH), 235 West 23rd Street, New York, NY (Between 7th & 8th Ave.) | ||||||||
6:30PM - 10:00PM (ET) | Hybrid Round Robin (REC) [In Person + Zoom+Livestream] PMN Members anywhere in the world may register to perform in the Hybrid Round Robin, which begins promptly at 6:30pm (ET). The in-person gathering space will be Henry Winston Unity Hall 235 West 23rd Street, New York, NY (Between 7th & 8th Ave.) on the 7th floor. Doors open at 6:00pm. Any PMN member signed up to perform in the Hybrid Round Robin who comes to HWUH in person may perform from the space. Their audience will be people gathered together in person as well as the larger audience watching from home on Zoom. Attendees will see performances by PMN members from around the world. | Join Zoom Meeting: link Meeting ID: MeetingID Passcode: PMN Zoom Host: NAME | ||||||
Saturday, July 20, 2024 - Henry Winston Unity Hall (HWUH), 235 West 23rd Street, New York, NY (Between 7th & 8th Ave.) | |||
9:30AM - 10:00AM | Registration Opens [In Person Only] Enjoy coffee and the company of others. We’re not serving a regular breakfast but we will have snacks available. | ||
10:00AM - 10:15AM (ET) | Opening Ceremony [In Person + Zoom] @7th Floor (REC) Music, movement, and introductions to get the day started. Get oriented to the structure of the Convergence, and meet fellow attendees. | ||
Wrksp #1: 10:30AM -11:45AM (ET) | [In Person + Zoom] | [In Person Only] | |
7th Floor | 6th Floor, Space #1 | 6th Floor, Space #2 | |
1A) Music from the Poor People’s Campaign Arelis Figueroa Lindsey Wilson Ben Bath Join Zoom Meeting: link Meeting ID: MeetingID Passcode: PMN Zoom Host: NAME | 1B) Escondidas / Hidden Protest Songs - Social political music during the 70’s dictatorship in Argentina Ruben Gonzales | 1C) New Songs In Old Styles Song Swap Steve Suffet | |
Wrksp #2: 12:00PM- 1:15PM (ET) | 2A) Build Your Confidence as a Song Leader Luci Murphy Join Zoom Meeting: link Meeting ID: MeetingID Passcode: PMN Zoom Host: NAME | 2B) Music and Harmony for Uniting and Inviting Hudson Valley Sally: Dave Tarlo, Terry Colliton, Laurie Siegel | 2C) Don’t Bore Us; Let’s Write a Brilliant Chorus! Lindsey Wilson Judy Gorman |
1:15PM- 2:30PM (ET) | Lunch - 7th Floor | ||
Wrksp #3: 2:30PM- 3:45PM (ET) | [In Person + Zoom] | [In Person Only] | |
7th Floor | 6th Floor, Space #1 | 6th Floor, Space #2 | |
3A) Chopping Wood: Songs, Stories, and Legacy of Pete Seeger David Bernz Join Zoom Meeting: link Meeting ID: MeetingID Passcode: PMN Zoom Host: NAME | 3B) Jam Session Dilson Hernandez Jendog Lonewolf | 3C) Songs for Protest Actions Nikki Nesbary (DC Labor Chorus) Cara Schwarz (NYC Labor Chorus) | |
4:00PM- 5:30PM: | Open Space: Rehearse, Collaborate, Jam [In Person Only] We’re encouraging artistic collaboration in performances for the Saturday Night Collaborative Concert. Use this time to create new artistic connections, rehearse your music with others, jam in break out rooms, create an impromptu workshop, or whatever else you wish to do. We will also organize a structured conversation about the future of The People’s Music Network. | ||
5:30PM- 6:30PM (ET) | Dinner - 7th Floor | ||
6:30PM - 9:30PM (ET) | PMN Collaborative Concert [In Person + Zoom + Livestream] (REC) The collaborative concert is the place at PMN where all the musical collaborations built earlier in the day have a chance to be witnessed by the community, both in person and on the livestream. It is also a chance where individuals may bring songs to the community that haven’t yet been heard earlier in the weekend. We just ask you to consider if there are ways you can include other musicians in whatever performance you do. The performance lineup for this event will include just the artists who are participating in person. We’re also prioritizing groups that are performing as ensembles. A serious effort will be made to include as many participants as possible. Check out the livestream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TweRvruB1II Watch PMN Collaborative Concerts from the past: January 2024; February 2023; October 2022. | ||
(Back to main registration page for the 2024 PMN-NYC Mid-Summer Convergence)
Workshop Descriptions
Saturday, July 20, 2024, Workshop #1:10:30AM -11:45AM (ET) | |
1A) Music from the Poor People’s Campaign Theomusicology, art, and culture are central to the work of building the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for A Moral Revival, because these forms of communication are essential for moving people’s hearts and minds. Music helps us gather. It shapes the atmosphere, and sets the stage for the spirit to transform our actions. It reminds us what vision for the world we’re coming together to carry forth. Music is integral to building the movement, not a decoration or “entertainment”. In this workshop, Arelis Figueroa, Lindsey Wilson, and Ben Bath will lead new songs from the PPC tradition, and we will learn the songs together. Facilitators:
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1B) Escondidas / Hidden Protest Songs - Social Political Music During the 70’s Dictatorship in Argentina In this workshop we learn songs that were made during the dictatorship in Argentina that carry a powerful social and political message. How do you say what you have to say when they don’t allow you to say it? This was a practical question for surviving the dictatorship. We will survey melodies and words as well as the context in which these songs were created. We will examine songs coming from the Rock Nacional movement which, contradicting its name, encompassed a wide range of musical styles and lyrical intentions. We will learn, sing, and listen to songs by Leon Gieco, Charly Garcia, and Maria Elena Walsh, among others. Facilitator: Ruben Gonzalez: Originally from San Juan Argentina, Rubén González is a singer songwriter, musician and educator residing in New York City. His music is a journey crossing borders between distant places and spaces: South and North America, politics and poetry, pain and humor. | |
1C) New Songs In Old Styles Song Swap Let’s share newer songs that are consciously written in older traditional styles, such as Appalachian, Celtic, Dixieland, ragtime, Delta blues, Gospel, or country swing, to name just a few. In Ireland and Great Britain this is known as “writing in the tradition,” and it is something that political singer-songwriters on both sides of the Atlantic have done. Think of the SNCC Freedom Singers, Tommy Sands, Peggy Seeger, Ewan MacColl, Jean Ritchie, Big Bill Broonzy, Huddie Ledbetter, and Woody Guthrie, just to name a few. Facilitator: Steve Suffet: Old fashioned folk singer in the People’s Music tradition. www.stevesuffet.com | |
Saturday, July 20, 2024, Workshop #2:12:00PM-1:15PM (ET) | |
2A) Build Your Confidence as a Song Leader Performance Skills Participants will gain tools to be a strong spark for spirited group singing. We begin with foundational breath practices that strengthen your singing voice. Select participants will be given a chance to practice their song leadership skills with the group. The purpose is learning song leadership skills, not performing your song. To have a chance at practicing, you must know the song you wish to lead by heart. Please only bring sing-alongs where people sing on all or almost all the words with you. Selected song leaders will be coached to facilitate a cohesive group sound by practicing how to: 1) Be musically consistent. 2) Deliver each part of the song to allow singers to digest what they’re hearing. 3) Convey a deep understanding of the words so that people can feel it. 4) Exaggerate consonants to make each word unmistakable. 5) Break down your teaching into the constitutive elements that make a song: First, words. Then, rhythm. Finally, melody. Facilitator: Luci Murphy: founding member of The People’s Music Network and the founder of the Black Workers Center Chrous in Washington DC. | |
2B) Music and Harmony for Uniting and Inviting As Pete Seeger taught all of us, music is a powerful tool for, as the title says, uniting and inviting. Hudson Valley Sally has always tried to both present great music with good musical arrangements, and at the same time, find ways to include our audience in the music. In this workshop, we will discuss some of the elements of trying to combine those seemingly opposite ideas. We will cover such topics as song selection, different ways of inviting audience participation, and creating harmony and harmonies. This is not so much a song swap but an idea swap about new ways of approaching audience involvement. Arrive with your voice and plan to leave with a deeper understanding of the power of Pete’s ideas. Facilitators: Hudson Valley Sally: Dave Tarlo, Terry Colliton, Laurie Siegel www.hudsonvalleysally.org | |
2C) Don’t Bore Us; Let’s Write a Brilliant Chorus! One of the key elements of a political protest song is the Chorus. It is the most often repeated part of the song and therefore gives crowds a chance to sing along. Let’s look at some songs where the chorus is quite effective, discuss what makes them effective, and work on crafting a chorus that works well for the song you are bringing. Facilitators:
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Saturday, July 20, 2024, Workshop #3:2:30PM-3:45PM (ET) | |
3A) Chopping Wood: Songs, Stories, and Legacy of Pete Seeger A discussion of Pete Seeger, his musical and political philosophy, and it’s applicability to these troubled times. The workshop will include selected excerpts from the newly published book “Chopping Wood, Thoughts and Stories of a Legendary American Folksinger” (released May 3rd 2024 by Jawbone Press), and musical examples from the book and beyond. The floor will also be opened up for questions, discussion and for participants to contribute songs they have written that were inspired in some way by Pete. Copies of the book will be available for those who want them. Facilitator: David Bernz is a 50 year folk musician hailing from Beacon New York. His performance ensembles have included “Dave, Perry, Rande, “Stone Soup” and “Work o’ the Weavers” and he has released CDs with each. David has also received two Grammy Awards producing CDs for Pete Seeger including Best Folk Album 2008 and best children’s album 2010. David, along with his songwriter son Jacob Bernz currently owns and operates Main Street Music, a stringed instrument store located in Beacon NY. https://www.prairielights.com/book/9781916829022 | |
3B) Jam Session This session is open to all rappers, singers and instrumentalists. Not genre specific. We’ll have a beat maker on hand that people can sing to or rap to. Other instrumental accompaniment is also welcome. We’ll make a beautiful sound together. Facilitators:
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3C) Songs for Protest Actions Let's engage our spirits and our voices as we learn and rehearse both old and new songs for protest actions. Participants are invited to bring songs of their own that they have found effective for facilitating group singing at marches and rallies.
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