Bulgarian Singing Workshop with Carol Freeman Sunday October 5th, 2-4 pm Sing with Increased Comfort, Clarity and Control Beautiful Centuries Old Songs taught in deatil from Original Recordings Intricate Ornamentation Uneven Meters Exceptional Authentic Harmonies
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. Students 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 drone harmonies, through a process that is fluid and fun. The workshop 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, 2024, and 2025 NYS Council on the Arts Master of Folk Arts.