The MIGHTY WORKSONG
COMMUNITY CHORUS

7p every Monday
Sliding Scale cost according to your ability to pay

A secular choir without try-outs or a dress code. Belting out old songs right where they were born: farms, forests, barns, boats, streets. And, now, online!

Come join a new community chorus... with old roots and a new approach.

When it’s not a global pandemic…
Some songs we learn and sing while being still- like any chorus- in what we're calling "All Sing" sessions. But this chorus is unique in that we also regularly visit farms, gardens and woodpiles - and sing there while we get simple projects done. In the fall, we will visit various community members and stack their wood or clean up their gardens.  In the summer we'll row and sing aboard a 10-oar rowboat. And in the fall we'll practice the art of jogging while singing.

Members of the chorus choose which activities they would like to do, from stationary to strenuous- there are sessions for everyone.

When it is a global pandemic…
We don’t meet in person. For awhile it felt like zoom singing was too far distant from our usual way of being.

But then the Shanty-Monium hit. People realized the call-and-response format is perfect for Zoom. And that we really, really need to sing right now, even if in our own spaces. Yes, we can’t really sing in harmony on zoom. But we can do the rest! We can call-and-respond to each other, learn new songs, and keep our spirits up as we wait for the post-pandemic fun we’ll have.

So ZOOM SONGING it is!

Why join?

For you

• Learn to find harmonies, volume, tone, and confidence in your voice!

• Learn a certified bundle of cool songs.

• It’s a low-stress, low-pressure way to sing more.

• Variety: songs rotate between shanties, field hollers, jogging songs- we even sing about political or spiritual work.

• If you’re within striking distance of Belfast we’ll come to your place and get a project done- with song- once the pandemic is done.

For the World

• Feel good about preserving and expanding worksong culture

• Bring music back into public life

• Help old-timers and neighbors get their wood stacked

• Knit community back together in a frayed world

We will film our best songs for an online archive that anyone can use to brush up on songs, and so that people all over the world can learn and be inspired by them too.

Leadership

The chorus is directed by farmer-musician Bennett Konesni, who brings 20+ years of research, development and teaching worksongs from over a dozen countries.

Growing up on in midcoast Maine, today Bennett is recognized as a national leader in the exploration and development of traditional song. He has taught at Maine Fiddle Camp, Pinewoods Camp, Youth Trad Song, and at farms, conferences, workshops and festivals in America, Europe and Asia. Bennett is a Cultural Ambassador for the US Department of State, a TJ Watson Fellow, and TED presenter.

From time to time great song leaders from around the neighborhood and around the world will be guest instructors.

Chorus Attendance

Attendance is encouraged weekly but not required.
Sessions are once-weekly during the pandemic. When things return to normal we’ll go back to twice weekly with specialized meetings for rowing, jogging, farming and handwork.

The Way to Pay

Like any community choir, yoga class, or gym session, seasonal contributions go to paying instructors, printing, and other overhead costs. Semesters run in three-month increments.

Dec-Feb: Winter
Mar-May: Spring
Jun-Aug: Summer
Sep-Nov: Autumn

The cost of one season of the chorus is $15/week, or $180/semester. That said, I am excited to introduce a suggested sliding cost structure, billed at the start of the season, based on your income. Folks paying a higher amount are generously helping folks with less available cash to participate in the chorus. Teamwork makes the dream work! Thank you to our generous community.

Sliding Scale Costs
If you make up to $29,000/year: the suggested contribution is $5/week, or $60 per semester
$30,000 - $49,000: $8/week, or $96 per semester
$50,000 - $99,000: $15/week, or $180 per semester
$100,000 - $184,000: $30/week or $360 per semester
$185,000 or more: $50/week or $600 per semester

*And If you are really scraping the bottom of the barrel but NEED TO SING please be in touch. We have generous supporters who have offered to cover the costs of folks in the chorus.

Of course, this is just a guide- please adjust either way according to your circumstances. I will add a link (HERE) very soon where you can sign up and enter your chosen amount (other amounts also accepted, large or small). You will then be sent a link to our zoom meetings and be granted access to The Mighty Worksong Community Chorus group in our community, where we share song lyrics, recordings, etc.

Thank you for joining The Mighty Worksong Community Chorus and helping shape a world where people sing unselfconsciously while doing stuff.
Can’t wait to get hollering with you!

-Bennett