OUR 11TH ANNUAL NATIONAL GATHERING

Workshop Schedule and Locations

SATURDAY A.M. - Session One (9:15 am-10:30 am)

(Sessions with an * are especially good for children)

We will share insights about music in the classroom and classroom management. This will include ideas about how to get students to take music as seriously as, for example, math. Bob Blue taught elementary school children for 23 years, and has been volunteering in an elementary school for seven years. He has also performed and written many songs.

We'll make a bottle-cap rattle (easy), a pill- bottle shaker (easier), a balloon drum from a paper-towel roll (easiest) and maybe a quickie rain stick also from a paper-towel roll. Materials provided. Use your new instruments this afternoon in Scott Kepnes' workshop! Nancy Schimmel has been storytelling since the 60's, songwriting since the '70's, and making crafty stuff since forever. She's tried out most of this instrument-making on a second-grade class.

Come learn and share songs from Vietnam, Japan, and other Asian countries. Pronunciation will also be discussed. Bring a song to share if you have one! Unity Nguyen teaches music in Oakland with several children's programs, including Growing with Music, the Oakland Youth Chorus, and Music in the Schools. Like the children she works with, the songs she sings come from many parts of the world, including Vietnam, where she was born. Pam Donkin, co-founder of the Magical Musical Express, has been a children's performer and chorus director for over 20 years. She also gives workshops for teachers.

What happens when your values clash with the institution where you are performing or teaching? How do you stay true to your ideals without alienating people? Come share songs and ideas .David and Jenny Heitler-Klevans perform together as Two of a Kind. They have performed all over the country in schools, libraries, daycare centers, festivals and many other venues. They live in the Philadelphia area.

We will dance and play some singing games, discuss the how-to's of leading dances, and share information about where to obtain more resources. Erik Hoffman, a.k.a. Mr. Fun, is one of the Bay Area's most popular dance callers, leading dances for all different age groups all over the US and beyond. He also teaches classroom music at two schools, and gives private lessons in fiddle and guitar.

What's a zipper song? One in which we "zip" in our own custom words for part of each verse, e.g. Old Mac Donald is a zipper song (cow, cat, horse, etc. get "zipped" in). There are lots more: songs in which we zip in feelings, endangered animals, people's names, places, occupations, etc. etc. Come learn some new ones, and share your favorites. Bonnie Messinger, from Portland, is a member of the Abalone Kids. She's been sharing songs and stories, in various languages, with kids of all ages, for over 25 years.

Musical or Basic Handsaw - Those folks completing this workshop will learn the principles of playing the saw and will make the saw sing. Handouts and loaner saws and bows will be available. Feel free to bring your own saw(s) or bow(s). Joe Eding is a classically trained musician with a B.A. in music from Willamette University. He currently teaches music to children - pre-school thru 2nd grade. He also plays (violin, viola, mandolin, & saw) and sings with the Golden State Ramblers, a folk music group. He has played the saw since 1983.

SATURDAY P.M. - Session Two (1:30 pm - 2:45 pm)

Bring questions and get answers on everything related to PA systems, microphones, speakers, recording equipment, etc. from an expert in the field of sound technology. Michael Harmon has been fascinated with the technical side of things musical from a very early age. He's a well-respected recording engineer and sound technician with many years of experience under his belt. He's also a fine guitarist who's played with various Celtic and old-time bands, and often accompanies Ingrid Noyes at shows for kids and families.

Bring your drums, percussion, whistles, homemade instruments, handclaps, voices... Share your songs, chants, rhythms, dances etc... and let's do some jamming together! Bring your instruments from Nancy Schimmel's workshop. There will be some percussion and kitchen utensils to use. Scott Kepnes is a pre-school teacher and performer. He enjoys playing drums and percussion and has some great jam sessions at home with his own two young children.

International Songs and Dances - This lively, hands-on workshop includes songs with simple Russian lyrics, plus traditional songs and dances from Denmark, Africa, Ireland, Greece, Austria, and more. Bring your favorite song from another country to share! Greta Pedersen is a performing artist, songwriter, and music educator. She works as an artist-in-residence for several Northwest arts councils and Young Audiences; presents teacher workshops throughout the West Coast; and performs both as a soloist, and with fellow CMN member Pam Donkin as "Magical Music Express."

Tips and Techniques For Writing Great Songs With Kids - Judith-Kate and Lisa will present two different approaches for songwriting with kids. We'll address elements of creating successful songs and larger songwriting projects, pitfalls (& ways to avoid them) and then, open the floor for Q&A. Judith-Kate Friedman has been co-writing with elders and youth for 12 years. She also is a member of a 6 woman acapella Jewish/World music ensemble, Vocolot. In 1997 she started Songwriting Works, a Bay Area based non-profit, which employs songwriters to facilitate inter-generational songwriting locally and throughout the U.S. Lisa Atkinson has been songwriting with kids for almost twenty years. She is A Gentle Wind recording artist and enjoys making up songs in the shower.

Call them "cante-fable", "song stories", "stories with little bits o' songs in 'em". Everybody knows one or two. Who amongst us can't tell "Abbiyoyo" in their sleep? Come join in a lively swap and tell your favorite tale that's "half-spoken, half-sung". Ed Silberman has been singing songs and telling stories of one kind or another as long as he can remember. One of his early favorites being, "Why the Son Did Not Come Home Straight From School ". He teaches at Beth El Nursery School in Berkeley. This will be his second Childrens' Music Gathering.

Come to learn and share songs for young ages: infants through preschoolers. What are your "tried-and-true-works-every-time kind of songs? What are your new ones that add fresh sparkle and musical fun to your work with children? Whether you've worked with young children for a long time, or are just beginning, we always have a great pool of material among us whenever CMN gets together. Barb Tilsen teaches Sound Beginnings, a creative children's music program, in child care centers in Minneapolis. In addition, she offers musical programs and artistic residencies for school-age children, leads a community children's chorus, and offers in-service training workshops to both teachers and child care professionals on creative music with children.

To Grandmother Oak We Go! - If you haven't seen this awesome Grandmother of a tree, you owe it to yourself to make the trek. Meet outside the Dining Hall for this journey and be sure to wear good hiking shoes, a hat and sunscreen, pack a bottle of water and an environmental song or two to share if you'd like and prepare to be inspired. Jackson Gillman has been in love with this tree since he first clapped eyes and hands on it, and is coming west from Maine to visit her for the third time now. He has amassed a vast repertoire of environmental songs to share with her and any others who'll listen.

SATURDAY P.M. - Session Three (4:30 pm - 5:45 pm)

This will be a nuts and bolts workshop about making a living as a children's entertainer. There will be tips on booking appearances in schools, libraries, bookstores, and at birthday parties, as well as information on making and selling albums. Obtaining and using bar codes and ISBN numbers will be discussed, and a list of suppliers and manufacturers will be provided. We will discuss local as well as national presence, with an emphasis on "surviving" in your own locale. Tim Cain is a performer and recording artist for children with 4 albums of sing-along songs for kids. He performs numerous concerts in Northern California.

Different ways to hold the spoons, how to play many different rhythms and ideas for using spoons with songs will be taught. Spoons will be provided or bring your own if you have them. Judy Stock from Sheboygan, Wisconsin has been a performing musician for over 25 years and plays a variety of musical instruments. She performs for adults and children and also does artist residencies and workshops for educators on teaching songwriting and how "anyone can make music".

Using music from the native language and home culture of your Spanish speaking children can encourage children to feel as if they are part of the school, lets them know who they are, where they came from, and best of all, to feel proud of their cultural heritage. The music presented in this workshop has its roots with the Spanish Conquistadores and the Native Americans in the Southwest. Bring songs to share also. Stanley A. Lucero, a Manito from New Mexico, has been teaching since 1974 in the San Joaquin Valley in California. He is currently working as a Special Day Class - Intermediate teacher in Fresno, California. Stanley loves to sing with children in the classrooms. He also performs school assemblies and concerts for parents with their children.

Early childhood workshop - Songs to inspire empathy and appreciation in children for themselves, and others, and that help accept yet reduce fearful and angry feelings. Discover Dr. Marshall Rosenberg's work in compassionate communication, through songs and work with puppets that reflect love and respect for all living beings. Learn Halloween songs that don't teach fear of witches, skeletons, bats, wolves or spiders, and have fun, doing so! Patty Zeitlin teaches Nonviolent Communication in Seattle, and is a songwriter, poet, recording artist, playwright, and author who has taught and trained Early Childhood teachers for 23 years.

Discover the art of improvisation, dialogue and interaction used in teaching young audiences basic puppetry skills, which foster self-expression, communication, original songs and skits. Lydia Adams Davis performs thoughout the US, solo or with her band The Eco Trio in schools, libraries, festivals . . . wherever kids are found. She has several cassettes and CDs of original music, many written with children. By improvising songs on the spot and improvisational puppet routines, Lydia engages, entertains and educates her audiences while inspiring creativity and fun.

Participatory workshop for musicians, teachers &/or parents who would like to "do" music with very young children. Workshop includes a short sample of an actual, "Miss Anna's Music Class" - (music, movement, fingerplays, singing, dancing, use of rhythm instruments, and stories); a discussion of how to start and maintain a successful program, an outline of the flow of the class; a list of sample songs (in order), and a short bibliography of age-appropriate, illustrated story songs. A limited number of sample CDs will be available to participants. Anna Stange is a popular folksinger and music educator who lives and works on the south side of Chicago.

Calling all kids, this is your very own songswap. Bring a favorite song to share--any subject, disgusting songs allowed. Adults may listen quietly or sing along, as long as they behave. Noah Tenney, age ten, has been helping his dad Gerry at concerts for kids and families since he was a wee little lad. He and his dad will lead this songswap together.

SUNDAY A.M. - Session Four (9:00 am - 10:15 am)

This is an open songswap for peace songs or any other songs to help us and our children deal with the current world situation. Bring a song to share, or come just to listen, sing, cry....... This is your self-facilitated songswap, just go around the circle as usual.

With Boomwhackers, too - Come experience a facilitated rhythm and drum circle (a la Arthur Hull) and experience making music in new and fun ways. And, come play with boomwhackers too! Bring all your percussion instruments (drums, bells, shakers and sticks) to the workshop Boomwhackers will be provided. Mara Sapon-Shevin is a professor of education and long-time peace and social justice activist. She is active in working with schools to promote the full inclusion of all students and the creation of cooperative school communities, and gives workshops on cooperative learning and cooperative games for the classrooms. She's also the author of many articles on cooperative learning, full inclusion, diversity education and the politics of gifted education.

We will learn and sing songs in Hebrew, Yiddish and English, which reflect the Jewish experience: songs of celebration, commemoration and fervent hopes for peace. Bring your own favorites. Nancy Hershatter is a self-employed music specialist in preschools, summer camps and Jewish settings. She teaches music to children 0-12 and acts as a consultant to classroom teachers.

Sacred (Not Religious) Songs in Public Schools - As a singer who is in love with and deeply respectful of life, I want to convey that through music and singing to my students, without interfering with their or their families' beliefs and by bypassing the public school system's systematic divorce from the wonder of the Earth and connection to spirit. Kids need to sing about the seasons, the pulse of life, the spirit that guides them, their feelings, connections between people and creating and celebrating community. It's good for them. And our consumer culture doesn't want them to do it. Come share the songs that work for you and your kids. Kate Munger lives, works, swims and sings on the shores of Tomales Bay. She draws inspiration from singing, believes in the healing power of song, sees the human family being nurtured and sustained by music and singing, has led round singing circles for 25 years and 2 years ago founded the Threshold Choirs, for women who are called to sing at the bedsides of people who are dying.

Come and discover African culture through dance, drumming and singing. You will have an opportunity to express yourself using this beautiful and ancient artform. You will have fun learning to dance to drum rhythm while experiencing another culture through dance and speaking French. Louise Raymond from Quebec, Canada, has traveled extensively including trips to Senegal, West Africa, Paris, and the USA to study African dance. She is director and choreographer of Malicounda Dance Company, a children's dance company which combines drumming, dancing, theater and songs presented in three languages. Her main focus is education through dance and music.

Participatory Playsongs to Sing and Rhyme into Reading Readiness - Tongue-twisters, catchy chants and rhythms follow a research-based sequence that help develop the skills children need to become readers. Singer/songwriter Fran Avni's latest recording, I'm All Ears: Sing Into Reading , in collaboration with Nancy Schimmel is part of several early literacy curricula. Fran is also Music Author/ Producer for Scholastic's Building Language for Literacy Project (PreK-K).

We will cover folk styles, theory, and blues -- all in 75 minutes! Bring a harmonica (key of C major is best) or purchase one at the workshop for $5.00. Wiley Rankin has played harmonica with Les Paul and members of The Yardbirds, and has even been sighted with his harmonica on "The Doctor Demento Show."