​Folk and Fine Company with Maura Volante
A weekly singing session with a focus on traditional folk songs
Day: Monday, 7:00 to 8:30 pm
Dates: 6 sessions, January 13 to February 24 (skipping Family Day, February 17)
Fee: $120 (If this is an obstacle to your participation, talk to Maura about a reduced fee.)
To registar: please send your first and last name, email address and an e-transfer to alcornmusic@gmail.com
Come join Maura Volante in a 6-week tour of traditional folk songs in English and French, with an emphasis on songs collected in Canada but also including songs from the British Isles and the USA. Traditional folk songs are fun and easy for everyone to sing. They are clear in their meaning and simple in their musical structures, good for new and experienced singers alike.
This course allows participants to explore history through song, while also improving their singing skills and having fun. All voices are welcome, with no judgement about singing ability. Beginners and experienced singers all find something valuable, and the program is flexible enough to accommodate everyone.
If you attend on a regular basis you inevitably gain confidence and musical skills, including listening, pitch control, breathing, blending and projection. You also learn how to follow by ear, memorize songs, and choose good songs for unaccompanied singing. It is a singing course with a difference: you are learning how to sing folk songs. We don’t use musical notation and no reading skill is needed.
In addition to singing skills, participants learn a variety of folk songs and gain a deeper understanding of the historical context for their creation and continuity. The topics range from work songs dealing with logging, sailing, fishing and mining, to ballads, love songs and comical songs.
Maura also brings in other voices through recordings, including field recordings of ordinary people recorded by folklorists, as well as those made by professional singers. Links to resources such as lyrics and recordings are provided for use by individuals between classes, to reinforce in-class learning. Optional opportunities include learning songs to share with the group, learning simple harmonies and further research outside of group time.
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Maura Volante brings a lifelong passion for traditional folk music and a deep commitment to engaging others in singing. She has offered many courses and workshops in singing over the years, most recently The Alcorn Shanty Crew, a weekly session of shanties and sea songs at Alcorn Music Studios in the fall of 2023 and 2024, and Folk & Fine Company, winter 2024. She led a workshop for a federal government department (2024), and also presented a workshop at TradMaD (music camp, 2024) on Canadian folk songs.
Her voice is powerful, yet lyrical and nuanced. She released an album in 2022 called Safe & Sound: Traditional Canadian Folk Songs, which is available on the streaming services, and can be purchased on Bandcamp.
Maura produced and performed a concert in May 2024 along with American singer, Colleen Cleveland. She performs from time to time for various gatherings, including Ottawa’s monthly folk club, Folk at the Oak and the monthly Almonte Trad Sing. In all her performances, Maura invites everyone in the room to sing with her.
Contact Maura Volante with further questions: maura.volante