Thanks to everyone who came to sing. Both days were special, and it was great to get back to Detweiler Meetinghouse.
Saturday: 70 singers from 3 provinces and 6 states; 37 leaders led 77.
Sunday: 53 singers from 3 provinces and 6 states; 41 leaders led 61 songs.
Friday: We didn’t count how many Shenandoah songs were lead on Friday evening. It was a bunch!
This year on August 24 and 25 we will host our third two-day convention. After holding a couple of all-day singings post-COVID, we are ready to hold a convention once again.
The first day of this year’s singing is Saturday, August 24 at the Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue in a mid-town area of Toronto known as the Annex. Following that on Sunday, August 25 we return to the Detweiler Meetinghouse at 3445 Roseville Road, North Dumfries, Ontario. We’ll sing each day from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with midday dinner on the ground.
But there is more! On Friday evening, August 23, there will be a Shenandoah Singing at the Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30p.m.
And we’ll hold an Evening Social on Saturday, August 24. Details will be available at the singing.
We are offering limited house accommodations for out-of-town singers, and arranging carpools for travel to Detweiler on Sunday. Please Contact Em Ekelund (emilyekelund@gmail.com)for more information.
For questions, more info, and/or to volunteer to help, contact singing@torontoshapenote.org.
You can also download the flyer for more details or join our Facebook group for updates. We hope to see and hear you there!
It’s been 5 years, but the Central Ontario Convention returns this year on the fourth Sunday, and the Friday and Saturday before: August 23-25, 2024. Full details will be available soon.
Join us for Eucharist in the hollow square, featuring hymns from the shape note singing tradition of The Sacred Harp hymnbook. Our congregational voices will be supported by experienced singers of this unique music tradition. Come worship and sing!
Details on Facebook and the church website.
The 2023 Central Ontario All-Day Singing was our 16th annual, held on Saturday, August 26 at Friends House in Toronto. The Friday night before we held an informal Shenandoah Harmony singing.
You are invited to the 2023 Central Ontario All-Day Singing on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday in August. Plus, come sing from Shenandoah Harmony book on the Friday night before in an informal singing.
When:
Where: Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 1C7.
Directions: Located in central Toronto, the Friends House is about a block north from the Bedford Street exit of the St. George TTC subway station. There is paid parking available on-street or in nearby parking lots.
COVID precautions:
We ask that singers bring proof of a negative test each day of singing and be mindful of their state of health and that of fellow singers.
Further precautions: Doors will be open and air purifiers will be running.
Check out the Facebook Event for more information. This is Ontario shape-note singers’ biggest event of the year, and one you absolutely shouldn’t miss! For questions, more info and/or to volunteer to help, contact singing@torontoshapenote.org.
Friday Evening Shenandoah Singing
Also at Friends House, we are holding a warm-up Friday evening singing, August 25th, 7:30-9:30 p.m. — an informal singing, primarily from The Shenandoah Harmony (with limited loaners available). More details in the Facebook event.
There’s a new, editable list of singings at shapenotesingings.com , so now you can find a singing wherever you go (both regular and annual)!
Sacred Harp ist a cappella Heavy Metal
Many of us know about the website Sacred Harp Breman. When we’re stuck trying to figure out a song, the robot voices are always there to sing our part and help us figure it out. All the Sacred Harp songs have been transcoded into playable sound files along with the poetry, a PDF, and links to YouTube versions of the song. It’s quite useful. The site also has a wealth of Shape Note tips, articles, videos, links, and a wonderful documentary about the formation of the Bremen Group called Shape, Rattle & Roll.
But now, this wonderful site is challenged. Read this from Paul Kolenbrander:
“Most of you will be familiar with the Sacred Harp Bremen website and will have heard the infamous robotic voices of our songs. The site, or rather the 3 sites, Denson, Christian Harmony and Shenandoah, continue to receive many visits daily.
It is with some hesitation that I write this post asking for help from the Sacred Harp community. The cost of keeping our sites running has risen sharply recently. With skyrocketing energy prices in Europe, hosting costs have also risen dramatically. Today our hosting company announced a hefty rate increase for the second time this year. This is now starting to get in over our heads. The last thing we want is to shut down the websites, but in order to keep them running I would like to ask for your help by making a donation. Any contribution is very welcome and greatly appreciated. We solemnly promise that any donation will be used exclusively for the websites.
The link below shows how to make a donation. If anyone has other ways to help us, please feel free to send me a personal message. Thank you in advance for your help!”
—Paul Kolenbrander
So, please think about chipping in if you are able: sacredharpbremen.org/en/donate
On Saturday, August 27, 2022 the Central Ontario All-Day Sacred Harp singing took place after a couple of years of delay. The previous evening, we held an informal singing from The Shenandoah Harmony. We sang at the Toronto Friends House, where we have been having our monthly singings.
Here are photos from the all-day singing with dinner-on-the-grounds.
And here are photos from the Friday evening Shenandoah Harmony singing.
[Updated Location]
You are invited to the 2022 Central Ontario All-Day Singing on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday in August. And we’ve added a Friday night informal singing.
When:
Where: Friends House, 60 Lowther Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5R 1C7.
Directions: Located in central Toronto, the Friends House is about a block north from the Bedford Street exit of the St. George TTC subway station. There is paid parking available on-street or in nearby parking lots.
Vaccinations and Masking:
The Toronto Shape-Note Community is a loving community that cares for our most vulnerable members, and as vaccinations are proven to reduce the spread of Covid-19, we would prefer that all participants are vaccinated. While we do not have the capacity to check, nor the interest in engaging in a compliance-relationship with our friends, we do trust that all who choose to join us will respect that trust, and honour our community’s preference. In the same spirit, although we do not require masking, we encourage it out of care for others. We also encourage taking and passing a rapid test before arriving.
Further precautions: Doors will be open and fans and air purifiers will be running.
Check out the Facebook Event for more information. This is Ontario shape-note singers’ biggest event of the year, and one you absolutely shouldn’t miss!!! For questions, more info and/or to volunteer to help, contact torontoshapenotesinging@
Friday Evening Shenandoah Singing
Also at Friends House, we are holding a warm-up Friday evening singing, August 26th, 7:30-9:30 p.m. — an informal singing, primarily from The Shenandoah Harmony (with limited loaners available). More details in the Facebook event.
