PMN Winter Convergence January 24-26, 2025 Central Park East II School Main entrance located at intersection of 1st Ave. & East 101st St. |
EVENT COLOR CODE:
MEALS | IN-PERSON ONLY | IN-PERSON & ZOOM | Zoom-Only *** All times listed are Eastern Standard Time |
Friday, January 24, 2025 | |||||
4:00 PM- 9:00 PM | Registration Open - Cafeteria | ||||
4:30 PM- 5:45 PM | PMN Pick Up Choir Rehearsal with Elise Bryant - Room 128 Legendary choral director, long-time PMN member, Elise Bryant, will lead a rehearsal for the PMN Pick Up Chorus, starting at 4:30pm. Please make travel plans so you can arrive early. The group coming to rehearsal will be in the first act of the concert taking place later that evening, starting at 7:30pm. In between rehearsal and showtime, Dinner will be served. | ||||
5:45 PM- 6:15 PM | Shabbat - Room 110 Come join us for a musical Shabbat ceremony open to EVERYONE. We will sing songs, light the candles, bless the wine and share challah. No prior knowledge necessary — come sing, hug and start the weekend with extra warmth. This tradition was brought to PMN by Mara Sapon-Shevin. | ||||
6:00 PM- 10:00 PM | Dinner - Cafeteria | ||||
7:00 PM - 7:30 PM | Schmooze/Socialize Room [Zoom-Only] While PMN folks gather in person in NYC for the concert, people who are participating online only are invited to join us in an open social via Zoom. If need be, we can break out into smaller groups within Zoom. This is a welcoming space for catching up, meeting new people, and connecting before the concert begins at 7:30pm (ET). Hosts: Eric Law, Joanie Calem | ||||
7:30 PM - 9:30 PM | Friday Night Concert Auditorium - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: One-way Broadcast] The Friday Concert is a major event within the larger Winter Convergence. It features performances by four choral ensembles plus the PMN Pick up Choir led by Jane Sapp. One ticket to the show is included when you register for the convergence. You can read about all the acts and buy tickets for people who are not coming to the rest of the convergence on this page: https://peoplesmusic.org/event-5991272 | ||||
Saturday, January 25, 2025 | |||||
7:30 AM - 9:15 AM | Breakfast - Cafeteria | ||||
8:00 AM - 11:00 AM | Registration Open - Cafeteria | ||||
8:45 AM - 9:00 AM | Opening Ceremony - Cafeteria Music, movement, and introductions to get the day started. We’ll remember PMN members who have passed away. Get oriented to the structure of the Gathering. | ||||
Wrksp #1: 9:15 AM - 10:35 AM | A) Auditorium Floor 1 | B) Library Floor 2 | C) Rm. 128 Floor 1 | D) Rm. 118 Floor 1 | Z) Zoom Only |
1A) The Life and Music of Pete Seeger [One-way Broadcast] Jason Baker & Merry Trudeau | 1B) Trans-Atlantic Song Swap [Hybrid Participation] Steve Suffet Joanie Calem | 1C) Protecting your Singing Voice Elise Bryant | 1D) Hip Hop History, Expansion, and Evolution Wallace St. Claire | 1Z) The Pros and Cons of Performing Online Tret Fure, Charlie King & Annie Patterson | |
Wrksp #2 10:50 AM - 12:10 PM | 2A) Choral Song Swap Nikki Nesbary & other choral leaders | 2B) Getting the Word Out: A “PR”imer [Hybrid Participation] | 2C) Jam Session Dilson Hernandez Jendog Lonewolf | 2D) Songs & discussion about Political Work outside the Election Season Sandy Pliskin | 2Z) Songs for Day 6 of the New Administration! Eric Law, Joanie Calem [Zoom Only] |
12:25 PM - 2:00 PM | Lunch See the menu. | ||||
1:15 PM - 2:00 PM | Community Gathering/ Membership Meeting - Cafeteria - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: One-way Broadcast] Singing. Elect and re-elect Steering Committee Members. Strategize PMN’s future. Thank PMN Monthly Sustainers. | ||||
Wrksp #3: 2:15 PM - 3:35 PM | A) Auditorium Floor 1 | B) Library Floor 2 | C) Rm. 128 Floor 1 | D) Rm. 118 Floor 1 | Z) Zoom Only |
3A) Activist Ensemble: How We Organize in 2025 and Beyond Nikki Nesbary & other choral leaders | 3B) Using Music To Bridge Differences [Hybrid Participation] Adele Rolider Joanie Calem Dilson Hernandez Lindsey Wilson | 3C) How Can a Song Change the World? Anand Gan | 3D) Cántalo en Español y Inglés!/Sing it in Spanish and English! David Tarlo Ruben Gonzales | 3Z) If I had a Song: Songwriters Peer Feedback Session Eric Law, [Zoom Only] | |
3:50 PM - 4:50 PM | Plenary: Songs in the Key of Resistance – We Sing Freedom! Auditorium - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: One-way Broadcast] | ||||
Throughout history, music has been a powerful force in shaping social movements, building collective identity, and sustaining the long struggle for justice. In this plenary session, we explore how artists are not simply allies to movements but integral to them — as leaders, participants, and storytellers of resistance. This plenary, featuring leaders from the Kairos Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice (Charon Hribar, Pauline Pisano, Ciara Taylor) and members of PMN who have been building with the Kairos Center and the NYS Poor People's Campaign, will demonstrate and explore the strategic uses of song to build emotional and ideological commitment to the work of social change. From rallying cries of freedom to songs that deepen our connections to one another, music has the power to forge clarity of purpose across movement organizations, strengthen direct action campaigns, and deepen long-term commitment to the struggle. | |||||
5:00 PM- 6:15 PM | Free Space / Rehearsal Time During the Free Space, you can propose a workshop, activity, or jam right up to the very last minute. The deadline for proposals is Saturday at 4:00 PM. You can also use this time to prepare a collaborative piece for the Saturday Night Round Robin, or visit the sales table. | ||||
6:00 PM- 7:15 PM | Dinner - Cafeteria | ||||
7:15 PM- Midnight | Round Robin Collaborative Concert Auditorium - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: One-way Broadcast] This event is an evening of sharing by PMN members and friends. Sign up takes place in-person during the day at the registration table. We especially encourage first time members to participate. Participants are invited to sign up to share one song, spoken word, storytelling, or dance piece. There is a 5 minute time limit for each performer. There is no set topic. We simply ask that participating artists relate their performance to PMN's mission of using music, poetry, and other forms of cultural work as catalysts for a just and peaceful world. The Round Robin is the quintessential activity of People's Music Network Gatherings. You can read a brief history of the People's Music Network written by Charlie King and Luci Murphy, which describes the first Round Robin in 1977. | ||||
Sunday, January 26, 2025 | |||||
7:30 AM- 8:45 AM | Breakfast - Cafeteria | ||||
Wrksp #4: 9:00AM- 10:30AM | A) Auditorium Floor 1 | C) Rm. 128 Floor 1 | D) Rm. 118 Floor 1 | E) Rm. 112 Floor 1 | Z) Zoom Only |
4A) Songs of the Spirit Joanne Tuller | 4B) TBA | 4Z) Songwriter Showcase Swap Joanie Calem | |||
Wrksp #5: 10:45AM- 12:15PM | 5A) Song Swap: “The Times They Are A-Changin'” Paul Kaplan | 5C) What Song Do You Long to Write? Judy Gorman, Ruben Gonzalez, Violizzy | 5D) Performance Lab for Activist Musicians Ben Grosscup | 5Z) Online Songs of the Spirit Joanie Calem [Zoom Only] | |
12:15PM- 1:30 PM | Lunch - Cafeteria | ||||
1:30PM- 2:00PM | Closing Ceremony - Cafeteria | ||||
2:00PM- 2:30PM | Clean Up | ||||
(Back to main page for the PMN Winter Convergence)
Workshop Categories
- Creative Process: Develop new creative work.
- Culture of Struggle: Understand traditions of music from specific struggles.
- Participatory Music Making: Singing or jamming together in a structured way.
- Music in the Movement: Knowledge and strategies for music in today’s social justice struggles.
- Music Promotion: Being an independent working artist, doing people’s music
- Musical Skills Instruction on vocal, instrumental, and/or performance techniques.
- Song Swap: Bring songs to share in a round. Leaders set the tone at the start.
Workshop Descriptions
Saturday, January 25, 2025, Workshop #1: 9:15AM - 10:35AM | |
1A) The Life and Music of Pete Seeger (Musical Traditions/Group Singing) Auditorium - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: One-way Broadcast] Explore the life, music and philosophy of Pete Seeger through stories and singalong songs. This workshop is family-friendly and is for both adults and children. Presenters:
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1B) Trans-Atlantic Song Swap (Song Swap) Library - Floor 2 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: Hybrid Participation] In this “getting to know you” session, PMN members in North America and our musical comrades in the United Kingdom will share songs on-line, with the hope that we will find opportunities to do so in-person in the future. We will have 15 participants. Each will have up to 5 minutes to share one song. Co-hosts:
Performers: 1. Lindsey Wilson* 9. Colleen Kattau* 2. Dorten Yonder (5-member band) 10. Skinner & T’witch (duo) 3. Pat Lamanna 11. Jendog Lonewolf* 4. Russ Chandler 12. Paul Steele 5. Gary Allard* 13. Joanie Calem 6. Liz Philipson 14. Jack Warshaw 7. Paul McKenna 15. Steve Suffet* 8. Tayu Aluko | |
1C) Protecting your Singing Voice (Performance Skills) CHORAL TRACK Room 128 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] How can you project your voice on a picket line or a mass action and yet not strain your voice? The participants will engage in exercises of the breath and the body to make space in the voice and project their voices without stressing the muscles around the vocal chords. Teacher:
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1D) Hip Hop History, Expansion, and Evolution (Culture of Struggle) HIP HOP TRACK Room 118 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] In this workshop, Wallace will share how Hip Hop as a form of musical expression has evolved since its start in the 1970s, a cultural moment, he directly participated in. The discussion format will be highly participatory and their will be space for sharing music as well. Presenter:
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1Z) The Unlimited, Invisible, Inaudible Audience: The Pros And Cons Of Performing Online
Among other things we will share our experiences about:
We invite you to share what have been some of your best experiences? And worst ones? Lessons learned. Presenters: | |
Saturday, January 25, 2025, Workshop #2: 10:50AM - 12:10PM | |
2A) Choral Song Swap (Song Swap) CHORAL TRACK Auditorium - Floor 1 Are you a member of a labor or social justice chorus? Want to learn some new songs in a fun and interactive environment? Join Nikki Nesbary and fellow chorus members and leaders from far and wide for a choral song swap. During the workshop, participants will get to know each other and learn from fellow choruses by sharing songs that we can take to the streets, the halls of Congress, and anywhere we sing for justice. How to participate: We’ll have a set of songs to get us going and encourage everyone to bring a song or two to share. Together, we will raise our voices and instruments to form one big sound! Facilitator: Nikki Nesbary: DC Labor Chorus, SongRise DC Chorus members and leaders attending PMN include folks from: | |
2B) Getting the Word Out: A “PR”imer (Music Promotion) Library - Floor 2 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: Hybrid Participation] Learn how to promote yourself and your music in this participatory workshop led by a veteran public relations and strategic communications professional. Topics will include crafting bios and one-sheets, media relations & radio promotion, artist websites and EPKs, and how to effectively and efficiently use social media. Presenter:
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2C) Jam Session (Participatory Music Making) Room 128 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] This open Jam Session invites all singers, rappers, instrumentalists, and thinkers to join us for this non-genre-specific freestyle workshop. We'll create music, lyrics, and beautiful harmonies together, on the spot, and will have live production being created, as well as other instruments to accompany participants. We’ll work together to read the room, listen to each other, and make space for each person’s unique ways of participating. Let’s sing and rap our way to exciting new words, sounds, and songs! Facilitators:
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2D) Songs & Discussion about Political Work outside the Election Season (Song Swap) Room 118 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] We Voted... So What! However people chose to deal with the election in November, it is over now. How do we respond to the current crises we face? Where does our music fit into those struggles? What causes deserve our support, and what message(s) can our music offer to build courage and spread an alternative vision of the future? Please bring songs about grieving what we've lost, as well as taking our next steps in social change/building movements post-election, and consider sharing thoughts on how these songs relate to your political work. Facilitator:
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2Z) Songs for Day 6 of the New Administration! (Song Swap) [Zoom Only] For this online song swap, PMN members will gather on Zoom to share songs and poems to discuss the political, economic, and ecological crisis in the United States following the inauguration. There is no sign up ahead of time, just show up to the session. We'll grapple with threats magnified by the 2024 US Presidential election including but not limited to right-wing authoritarianism, Christian nationalism, state-sanctioned criminality, and attacks on immigrant communities. We're singing about the persistent continuity of racism, poverty, militarism, and environmental destruction in our society, and the impact on the whole world. As a community, the People's Music Network gathers strength and courage to face scary challenges by singing songs that nourish our spirits, and help us make sense of events unfolding around us. Come be inspired and renewed through this participatory process of sharing a politically-conscious musical culture. Facilitators:
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Saturday, January 25, 2025, Workshop #3: 2:15PM-3:35PM | |
3A) Activist Ensembles: How We Organize in 2025 and Beyond (Music in the Movement) CHORAL TRACK Auditorium - Floor 1 Are you a member of an activist choir or music ensemble? Want to learn tools, tactics, and tips for effectively organizing in rapidly changing times? In this participatory workshop, representatives from activist choral groups will share how they lead and organize – both internally and with allies in the movement – to be catalysts for a more just, peaceful, and liberated world. Attendees will hear from song leaders and discuss collaborative ways ensembles create performances that move the hearts and souls of participants in rallies, marches, and other social justice events. What we’ll discuss:
Facilitator:
Participating Choral Groups: | |
3B) Using Music To Bridge Differences Library - Floor 2 [IN-PERSON & ZOOM: Hybrid Participation] In this workshop, we’ll look at how to deepen our understanding of each other when we have differences in perspective and experience. We’ll begin by introducing some ideas about ways to be curious and interested about differences between us. We invite participants to bring songs about inclusion, as well as about specific conflicts going on in their communities or elsewhere in the world, such as West Asia, Russia, Ukraine, Sudan, and other places. The format is partly a song swap in which participants introduce and share songs, as well as improvize and teach songs or choruses. We’ll delve into the creative process and our work towards building community from within and around us in our larger world. This workshop will be for folks who want to strengthen their ability to reach across differences and disagreements, including using their music (song writing and sharing), to do so. There will be space to say what it is you are trying to address, and/or how the song expresses how you feel about an issue or conflict… This workshop is a space for those interested in growing their ability to communicate about their songs, as well as listen more deeply to others. We will have some folks as resources to assist individuals process challenging emotions, if they should arise. Facilitators:
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3C) How Can a Song Change the World? (Culture of Struggle) Room 128 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] This workshop examines popular songwriters who used their powerful artistry not only to write great songs, but also to meet their historical moment and inspire change. We’ll consider anthems such as, "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, "Change is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke, "Imagine" by John Lennon and others. We'll discuss the historical context and stories behind these songs, and break them down from a musical and lyrical standpoint, to analyze what makes them so important and impactful. If you have a song of historical significance, consider bringing it and be ready to discuss its importance to creating a culture of social change. Facilitator:
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3D) Cántalo en Español y Inglés!/Sing it in Spanish and English! (Culture of Struggle) Room 118 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] We’ll learn how to make and sing songs in Spanish and English, through fun, rhythmic compositions along with socially conscious stories in song and dance. This workshop is family-friendly and is for both adults and children.
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3Z) If I had a Song: Songwriters Peer Feedback Session (Creative Process) [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. Facilitator:
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Sunday, January 26, 2025, Workshop #4: 9:00AM-10:30AM | |
4A) Songs of the Spirit (Group Singing) Auditorium - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] Songs of the Spirit is a PMN tradition since 1982. We gather in a large circle for a cappella singing of inspirational and empowering songs. Between songs, we pause, breathe and feel the energy and connection of the group. Please select songs that can be learned immediately and where essentially the entire song can be sung by every voice. Because we are aiming to achieve full group participation throughout, we ask that you not choose songs in which only the leader knows the verses or which preclude full participation. If you’ve already initiated one song, make space for someone else to do this. Songs of the Spirit allows us to practice spontaneity and responsiveness in a large group – both essential components of community building. We aim to transcend attachments we feel to specific songs and our own leadership and to become more aware of ways the whole group can feel inspired. We hope to conclude feeling centered and grounded. Facilitator:
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4Z) Songwriter Showcase Swap Come share your favorite original song and 1-2 thoughts about your process of songwriting. Facilitator: Joanie Calem | |
Sunday, January 26, 2025, Workshop #5: 10:45AM-12:15PM | |
5A) Song Swap: “The Times They Are A-Changin'” (Song Swap) Come share songs about change – both catastrophic and hopeful. Facilitator:
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5C) What Song Do You Long to Write? (Creative Process) Room 128 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] Everybody has the ability to write a song that is inside them, just waiting to be released! We’ll suggest strategies throughout the workshop to help participants plant seeds for their next song. The workshop will be a space for these seeds to flower. The final product will be a new song (or the main structure of one), enabling each participant to express themselves creatively. Participants are encouraged to to share with the community, if they so choose. Facilitators:
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5D) Group Singing Performance Lab for Activist Song Leaders (Musical Skills) Room 118 - Floor 1 [IN-PERSON ONLY] 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. Facilitator:
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5Z) Online Songs of the Spirit [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. Facilitator:
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