BIMF presents Bulgarian Singing Workshop with Carol Freeman
Sun, 09 Jun 2024 (EDT)
03:30PM - 05:00PM
The exquisite music of Bulgaria is renowned for its remarkable vocal techniques as well as for its luxuriant melodies, intricate ornamentation, uneven rhythms, and exceptional two-voiced harmonies. Workshop participants will learn how to produce the distinctively powerful yet effortless sound of Bulgarian singers, and will learn centuries old, traditional songs taught in detail from original recordings, selected from a repertoire that includes solo, antiphonal, diaphonic, and polyphonic songs from musically diverse regions of Bulgaria, originally used to accompany women’s work in the fields, spinning and embroidering parties, rites of passage and folk holidays, and community celebrations, and complex free-metered songs traditionally performed to help pass the long winter nights.
This workshop will enable students to master challenging vocal techniques and elements of style that are an essential part of Bulgarian singing. We will learn to find the center of their natural voices, and effortlessly sing with increased comfort, clarity, and control, and learn how to sing intricate embellishments, microtonal scales, odd meters, and exceptional harmonies, through a process that is fluid and fun. Students will learn how to perfectly control intonation and produce optimal tone quality, and increase vocal strength, stamina, and flexibility. We will also learn how to shape a melodic line to effectively communicate a song with superb artistry and depth of expression. Though detailed and precise, the workshop will be conducted in a supportive, relaxed, and fun atmosphere. It is open to singers of all levels, and no prior knowledge of the languages or vocal styles is needed.
Well known as a performer, researcher, and teacher of a variety of Balkan, Greek, Judaic, and other singing traditions, Carol Freeman has performed since 1970 as vocalist for The Smyrneiki Kompania, Sevda Balkan Music Ensemble, Song of the Shtetl, Village Voices, and Zhenska Pesna, and as a solo interpreter of traditional song, and has appeared at major arts centers, festivals, museums, and universities, and on radio and television, throughout North America. A master vocal instructor, Carol Freeman has taught extensively as a private instructor and at specialized arts schools, music seminars, universities, and museums for four decades. She is a 2023 and 2024 NYS Council on the Arts Master of Folk Arts.
This workshop will enable students to master challenging vocal techniques and elements of style that are an essential part of Bulgarian singing. We will learn to find the center of their natural voices, and effortlessly sing with increased comfort, clarity, and control, and learn how to sing intricate embellishments, microtonal scales, odd meters, and exceptional harmonies, through a process that is fluid and fun. Students will learn how to perfectly control intonation and produce optimal tone quality, and increase vocal strength, stamina, and flexibility. We will also learn how to shape a melodic line to effectively communicate a song with superb artistry and depth of expression. Though detailed and precise, the workshop will be conducted in a supportive, relaxed, and fun atmosphere. It is open to singers of all levels, and no prior knowledge of the languages or vocal styles is needed.
Well known as a performer, researcher, and teacher of a variety of Balkan, Greek, Judaic, and other singing traditions, Carol Freeman has performed since 1970 as vocalist for The Smyrneiki Kompania, Sevda Balkan Music Ensemble, Song of the Shtetl, Village Voices, and Zhenska Pesna, and as a solo interpreter of traditional song, and has appeared at major arts centers, festivals, museums, and universities, and on radio and television, throughout North America. A master vocal instructor, Carol Freeman has taught extensively as a private instructor and at specialized arts schools, music seminars, universities, and museums for four decades. She is a 2023 and 2024 NYS Council on the Arts Master of Folk Arts.