“The human voice is one of our oldest and most precious technologies.”

— Brenton Zola, Harmonize Co-Founder

ABOUT THE BIG SING

Imagine ~ singing with a large ensemble of other members of your village and community in beautiful harmony. This unique gathering is more than a choir—it’s an opportunity to come together in the spirit of Ubuntu, the African philosophy that “I am because we are.”

We all have a different relationship with the idea of a “choir.” Some of us might have had difficult experiences in them growing up. Others of us might have had the time of our lives and now feel nostalgic. Others still might have watched from afar, wistfully longing to add our voice.

No matter your relationship to choral singing, the Big Sing is here to a create a connective experience for all. It’s an opportunity to sing in an impromptu choir of friends old and new, led by joyous facilitators (and a pianist). We’ll sing, laugh, maybe even cry. We’ll learn the foundations of what makes a choir sound cohesive and have takeaways about the behind-the-scenes magic of the world’s best ensembles — all while being beginner-friendly.

If you miss singing in a choir or have always wanted to try one: welcome.

Our Song: TAKE ME TO CHURCH

One of the most consequential songs of the last couple decades, Hozier’s Take Me to Church took the world by storm. The powerful and wrenching meditation on love, acceptance, belonging and being other resonated with hearts all the world. And now we will sing an arrangement of the song from the Harmonize team.

LEARNING BEFOREHAND

The best choirs come prepared :o). Sheet music and vocal recordings of each part will be available in a Google Drive folder before the event, sent in an email. It’s best to bring your own copy of the score, but we will have extras if you’re unable.

The more we prepare, the quicker we can get to the magic of harmonies that stir body and soul (Isn’t that why we do it?). That said, we’re all people with busy lives in a chaotic world. So don’t stress — our choir director and pianist will be there for us.

(If this style of structured singing isn’t for you, we have other events where we improvise or rap or just sing sleepy songs to each other — so check those out).

DURING THE EVENT, WE WILL:

• Ground together, melting away the stress of the day with help from our pianist
• Meet our conductor & warm our voices
• Connect with our fellow choir members
• Do some improvisational warmups to get out of our heads
• Sang!
• Refine sections
• Sang!!
• Record some beautiful videos!

BUT…I’M NERVOUS

We hear you. Singing can be really vulnerable. We do our best to make the environment warm and inviting to allow you to step into your bravery . You’re always welcome to check-in with a facilitator if you need support.