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Workshop Descriptions

Saturday, January 27, 2024, Workshop #1:

11:30 AM - 1:00 PM (ET)

**** The in-person event on Saturday, January 27, 2024 takes place at The People’s Forum (TPF), 320 W 37th St, New York, NY (Between 8th & 9th Ave.)

1A) The Musical Roots of Social Movements in the Black Community

Violeta Parra Stage – Ground Floor  [In Person @TPF + Zoom]

. This workshop will explore the spiritual and cultural roots of the music of Black-led social movements for liberation.  These roots are in the the Black Church and in many popular black musical forms.  Specifically, we'll look at the music of the civil right movement and the music of the Black Power Movement.  These musical traditions not only moved black people, but in many ways, the Nation as a whole.

Presenters:

• Jane Sapp wrote many songs for the Black Power and Black Nationalist Movements.  She is a member of the PMN Steering Committee.
• Luci Murphy:
• DuPree
• Lindsey Wilson

1B) Music in the Labor Movement

Paul Robeson Room – Lower Level  [In Person @TPF + Zoom]

The US Labor Movement is rich in music that flows from the struggles of working people, and the music itself reflects the cultural and racial diversity of the working class. This music offers great insight into the causes of exploitation, discrimination, and violence against workers.

This workshop will explore how music can be used to advance economic, social and racial justice to motivate and elevate workers in their daily fight for survival. We will share examples of different songs and explain something about how these songs function in a protest.  We will also discuss how the musical activists can inspire labor movement leaders to incorporate music in their organizing.

Bobby Greenberg: Vice-President of the NYC Labor Chorus,

Tristan Lion: Organizer with the Amazon Labor Union and NYC-PMN Local Chapter Member.

1C) Harness the Combined Power of Spoken Word, Poetry and Music

Media Lab –Lower Level  [In Person @TPF]

In this participatory workshop we explore the relationship between spoken word, poetry and music. Together, we will create musical backgrounds to spoken word, and set music to poetry. As part of the workshop, the presenters will also perform examples of these art forms both in English and Spanish.  Among the questions addressed:

• How are spoken word and poetry musical?
• How do poetry and spoken word overlap and how do they differ?
• How can music be used to give more power to words?

We will rely on our collective wisdom to answer these questions. Come prepared to make music and to be creative together!

Facilitators:

• Ruben Gonzalez
• Mario Cancel

1D) Embodied Songwriting

Claudia Jones Room – Mezzanine  [In Person @TPF]

Experience the profound synergy between your body, creativity, and collective energy. Dive deep into the intuitive craft of songwriting, bridging the realms of political and personal expression. Through embodied meditation, vocal yoga, improvisation, and group singing, we'll interpret excerpts from political songs like "This Land is Your Land," "I Hate the Capitalist System," and "Solidarity Forever." Harnessing these playful techniques, participants will collaborate in smaller groups, exploring innovative modes of expression while drawing inspiration from pivotal political song movements.

Workshop Leader: Anni Rossi

1Z) Song Swap: Songs of Our Time

[Zoom Only]

A highlight of PMN convergences is the chance to share your original songs with other songwriters and folks who appreciate music that addresses the burning issues of our time. Come to share a song or come to listen!  

Facilitator:  Joanie Calem

Saturday, January 27, 2024, Workshop #2:

2:15 PM - 3:45 PM (ET)

2A) Beyond Survival: Arts & Culture In The Poor People’s Campaign

Violeta Parra Stage – Ground Floor  [In Person @TPF + Zoom]

As artists we must find a way to sustain ourselves amidst the variability and uncertainty of a life devoted to creative expression. To support creative work, many artists find “day jobs” while others rely solely on their creative work to survive. Given this economic uncertainty, it can be difficult to factor movement work into the equation, since this work is usually unpaid and time consuming. How can artists sustain their creative vitality while also surviving in the unforgiving 21st century “gig economy”. Beyond surviving in this situation, how can artists constitute themselves as vital components of a fusion movement for justice along with millions of poor and dispossessed people who so tragically are being left behind by the wealthiest society in human history?

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival offers a path to approaching this question, beginning with its approach to shifting the narrative by shifting the narrator. By bringing individuals together to lift up their stories, the movement becomes about discovering solidarity across experience and identity, and to finding new ways to harness the power of creative art to articulate the movement principles. Ultimately, the role of arts and culture is to popularize the movement’s message.

In this workshop, members of the New York State Poor People’s Campaign Arts and Culture committee will explore how the principles of the PPC relate uniquely to creative artists. By revitalizing movement songs from the past and composing new movement songs for the present, arts and culture . This workshop is open to anyone interested in discovering how solidarity and joyous creativity can help to build a successful movement.

Facilitators:

• Daniel Blake: Saxophonist, composer and educator Daniel Blake is co-coordinator of the NY State Poor People's Campaign Arts & Culture Committee. In addition to performing he teaches at The New School, focusing on the intersection of music and social justice.
• Lindsey Wilson is a singer-songwriter as well as a proud member of the PMN Steering Committee, and the NYC Local chapter. She is also a workshop facilitator for Westhab, Inc. teaching work readiness training and life skill development.
• Arelis Figueroa is part of the Art & Culture team of the NYS Poor People’s Campaign. Originally from the Dominican Republic, she is the lead Pastor of La Iglesia del Pueblo, a community founded in the tradition of Freedom Church of the Poor.  She is Co-Chair of the NYC Regional Committee of the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for a Moral Revival.
• Jamel Coy Hudson

2B) Fifty Years of Hip Hop + Hip Hop Culture:  Evolution/De-Evolution/Re-Evolution

Paul Robeson Room – Lower Level  [In Person @TPF + Zoom]

        Participants will be taken on a journey through the first fifty years of Hip Hop and Hip Hop Culture, learning its origins, connections, evolution, de-evolution, and its re-evolution.  

Facilitators:

• Jendog Lonewolf is a Hip Hop MC, Photographer, and Cultural Worker.
• Don Don is a Hip Hop Curator and Radio Station DJ who highlights Hip Hop music with a positive message.

Educational Resources:

• www.BlackPowerRadio.com
• www.HipHopEdutainment.com
• www.TruthHipHop.com

2C) Songs of Hope and Imagination in These Times

Media Lab –Lower Level  [In Person @TPF]

This workshop celebrates how music renews and moves us forward in our collective commitments to peace, justice and a clean Earth for all life.  Participants will share songs of imagination and resilience - from social movements that came before us, to contemporary pieces that carry on that legacy, to originals that creatively envision the world that ought to be.  We will weave together some of the songs from the workshop to present at the collaborative evening concert.

Facilitators: Colleen Kattau, Hudson Valley Sally

2D) Group Singing Performance Lab for Activist Song Leaders

Claudia Jones Room – Mezzanine  [In Person @TPF]

Singing at strikes and protests can advance many purposes a movement has: 1) Generating courage and an embodied sense of collective power among adherents; 2) Intimidating political adversaries by demonstrating a movement’s collective strength; 3) Bringing joy and fun to movement events; and 4) articulating key ideas and messages the movement promotes.  Music reaches its greatest potential by engaging people in their fullness.

We’ll begin the workshop by collectively articulating what purposes we prioritize when incorporating group singing at protests.  The workshop will focus on music for street actions relating to current political issues and crises, such as the struggle for an immediate ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza, the struggle for a just transition away from fossil fuels, and struggles by unions to win improvements for workers.

In the performance lab, participants share parts of songs they intend for group singing at demonstrations.  Please give some context about how you intend to use the song so that workshop participants can help recreate the specific context of the demonstration where you’re planning to sing within the container of the lab.  Then, the group will critically discuss how the song and the performance did and did not serve the functions that we will have collectively listed.  The goal of this workshop is to deepen our awareness of the different elements of song craft, all of which are essential in contributing to the political purposes music can serve.  These elements include: choosing the right song for the right occasion, lyrics, scansion, rhythm, and melody.

Facilitators:

• BEN GROSSCUP draws upon activist folk singing traditions to bring new songs to sites of political struggle where they are most relevant, such as picket lines, strikes, anti-war demonstrations and marches, most especially in the past 3 months: rallies in support of the Palestinian Cause.  Based in Greenfield, MA, Ben serves as Executive Director of People’s Music Network, a diverse community of singers, artists, activists and allies that cultivates music and cultural work as catalysts for a just and peaceful world.
• STEVE SIEGELBAUM, a lifelong activist, educator, and the co-founder of two New York City public schools, has also served as coordinator of Pete Seeger’s Walkabout Clearwater Chorus.  Over the years, he has led songs and chants at a variety of street actions in Washington, NYC, and Westchester.  His own songs focus on issues of peace, anti-racism, Palestinian rights, and environmental justice.  In recent years, he has organized and led several workshops on activist songwriting, the music of Pete Seeger, and the crisis in Palestine/Israel at the Left Forum.

2Z) Collaborative Songwriting Across Political Differences

[Zoom Only]

Braver Angels Music Team members share how they facilitated workshops for songwriters to collaborate and perform songs together based on insights and learning from civil and insightful dialogue on politically divisive issues.

Workshop leaders:

• John Carroll - An award winning SingerSongwriter from Nashville, TN. He is a Co-lead for Braver Angels Music and led the 2023 national depolarization songwriting competition. He is currently a co-developer for a depolarization songwriting workshop recently featured in the New York Times article: "This is the Music America Needs”.
• Eric H. F. Law - A member of the PMN Steering Committee. He is part of the facilitation team for PMN’s monthly If I Had A  Song online gatherings.   He also volunteers for the Braver Angels Music Team for which he helps coordinate and facilitate Song Square - a monthly songwriting peer-feedback session.

Sunday, January 28, 2024, Workshop #3:

11:00 AM - 12:45 PM (ET)

**** The in-Person event on Sunday, January 28, 2024 takes place at Henry Winston Unity Hall (HWUH), 235 West 23rd Street, New York, NY (Between 7th & 8th Ave.)

3A) Learning Freedom Songs with a Gospel Sound  

7th Floor  [In Person @HWUH]

        We’ll learn a few songs in 4 part harmony, and sing them together.  The history of African American life and spirituality is inextricably entwined with spirituals and gospel music.  We will discuss the historical roots of this music as we’re learning it.  Participants will experience the collective voice as they learn and sing songs with Jane Sapp who will lead the choir.

Choir Leader:

• Jane Sapp is a powerful and highly regarded performer, songwriter, recording artist and educator who for many years has engaged with disenfranchised urban and rural communities in the United States and around the world.  She lives in Atlanta, Georgia and is a member of the PMN Steering Committee.  www.janesapp.org

3B) Hard Hitting Song Swap

6th Floor [In Person @HWUH]

Has something about an urgent social/political issue been left unsung this weekend?  Come bring songs against war, US Imperialism, the war economy, racism, the injustices of the healthcare system, the breakdown of the biosphere, the threats against women’s rights, and more.   At PMN, we talk a lot about group singing and the unity this brings.  Songs can also convey poignant critical thoughts on society.  Both kinds of songs are welcome in this space, but the emphasis will be on song and poems that make a clear point about injustices happening in the world.  Let’s have a political dialog, but not by talking.  This dialog will be done in verse!

Facilitators:  TBA

3Za) Songs of the Spirit [Zoom Only]

[Zoom Only]

Come join us in this shared experience of Community and Heart.  You're invited to enjoy a (digital) community circle where inspirational and empowering songs from many traditions rise up from the group.  Singers offer a song one by one without instruments or song sheets.  These are songs that people know or can learn easily without requiring a lot of teaching.

In this online event, we are drawing upon the tradition of Songs of the Spirit, which has been a consistent feature of PMN/SFS Gatherings since 1977.  One person will sing and others will sing along.  We ask everyone to mute themselves while the one person is singing, allowing all of us to at least see each other as we fill our separate physical spaces with music.

Between songs, we pause, breathe and feel the energy and connection of the group. We are sustaining this rich tradition during the pandemic, despite the inherent limits of Zoom.  One part of our tradition is recognizing that the silence is sacred.  In avoiding the urgency to fill a space with song, once we finally do fill a space with song, that song sinks in more deeply.  This is a wonderful opportunity to build community and to harmonize (in your own home) and to start the day with some grounded sacredness.

Facilitators:  Rebecca Pomerantz

3Zb) If I had a Song

[Zoom Only]

Songwriters in People's Music Network strive to write songs that wake people up, challenge the status quo, and reach people’s hearts and minds.  We don't believe it takes larger-than-life talent to create powerful songs.  Rather, the craft of songwriting involves skill, practice, hard work, and the willingness to listen to how our words and music land with others.

Through our monthly “If I Had a Song” workshops, PMN is building a loving and supportive creative community that provides songwriters with the honest listening we need.  Participants present a song-in-progress to like-minded songwriters, and then receive constructive feedback. We’d love to have you join us.

This is NOT a song swap.  We share original material and always benefit from the insightful feedback and suggestions that we receive from fellow songwriters.  We learn to listen non-defensively.  You are responsible for your own song, and can decide what – if any – of the feedback you choose to use.

Come join us at the convergence for a sample of our monthly online sessions!  Come to observe and/or present and get feedback on a song you’re working on.  We will get into break-out rooms, and will likely have time to work through 2-3 songs per breakout room.

Facilitators: Eric Law, Steve Deasy