Smyrnëka and Rebetika with Carol Freeman - A Workshop
Sun, 2 Nov 2025
2:00 - 4:00 PM (EST)
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Refund Policy: No refunds
Smyrnëka and Rebetika Workshop
with Carol Freeman
Sunday November 2nd, 2-4 pm
Songs of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s Urban Greek ala Turka Cafe Amans and Hashish Dens
Sing Makam, Intricate Ornamentation, and Uneven Rhythms
Sing with Increased Comfort, Clarity, and Control
This workshop will teach participants to sing the magnificent vocal repertoire of early 20th Century Asia Minor Greek artists, as well as the heartfelt songs of later renowned Greek Rebetika performers, with authenticity and ease. We will learn to sing deliciously intricate ornamentation, complex rhythms, and microtonal scales - makam, or dhromi (roads) in Greek - in a process that is fluid and fun. By learning how to carefully listen to source recordings and then learning simple tricks to make singing the songs effortless, we'll be able to sing an involved repertoire with comfort, clarity, and control, as well as with original vocal styling. We will also learn how to seamlessly switch between vocal placements without detection, will learn how to produce optimal tone, and will learn how to phrase songs so as to provide for maximum depth of expression, artistry, and musicality.
Sunday November 2nd, 2-4 pm
Songs of the 1920s, '30s, and '40s Urban Greek ala Turka Cafe Amans and Hashish Dens
Sing Makam, Intricate Ornamentation, and Uneven Rhythms
Sing with Increased Comfort, Clarity, and Control
This workshop will teach participants to sing the magnificent vocal repertoire of early 20th Century Asia Minor Greek artists, as well as the heartfelt songs of later renowned Greek Rebetika performers, with authenticity and ease. We will learn to sing deliciously intricate ornamentation, complex rhythms, and microtonal scales - makam, or dhromi (roads) in Greek - in a process that is fluid and fun. By learning how to carefully listen to source recordings and then learning simple tricks to make singing the songs effortless, we'll be able to sing an involved repertoire with comfort, clarity, and control, as well as with original vocal styling. We will also learn how to seamlessly switch between vocal placements without detection, will learn how to produce optimal tone, and will learn how to phrase songs so as to provide for maximum depth of expression, artistry, and musicality.
The songs have simply gorgeous melodies, and are lush with embellishment. The texts leave no stone unturned, and deal with scorching love, unbearable pain, cocaine, hashish, and heroine, lesbianism, monkey serum fountain of youth injections, harem girls, Hawaiian guitar music, and anything else one may fancy.
Though the repertoire is challenging and instruction is detailed and specific, the workshop is taught in a supportive, comfortable and relaxed setting, and is always fun.
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 Smyrneīki 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 since 1970. She is a 2023, 2024, and 2025 NYS Council on the Arts Master of Folk Arts. She has been actively researching, performing, and teaching Smyrnëika and Rebetika for close to five decades.