On April 13–14 I will join Matt and Erica Hinton, co-directors of the movie Awake My Soul: The Story of the Sacred Harp, at Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne Florida for a weekend of Sacred Harp singing including a singing school, screening of the Hintons’ film, and all-day singing.
The weekend will begin with the film screening, followed by a question and answer session with the filmmakers, on Friday morning. In the evening, I will lead a singing school, teaching the rudiments of Sacred Harp singing to students at the Academy and interested members of the public. The next day we will hold an all-day Sacred Harp singing from 9:30–3:00.
The weekend has been made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation for Brevard.
Our families have long been singers of The Sacred Harp. It has come down to only my husband, one daughter, and myself continuing the tradition. We meet on 5th Sundays with the Bethlehem (Primitive Baptist) singers in western central Florida (near Tampa). Is there another singing in central Florida? Will there be additional classes in the Melbourne, Florida area?
Lorie Wacaster, who organized the singing school I taught in Melbourne, wrote to me in September with the following news:
The new Melbourne Sacred Harp group is now meeting monthly and I’m sure they’d be glad to have you.
Incidentally, you may wish to read an article recently published in The Sacred Harp Publishing Company Newsletter recently on the fifth Sunday singing in Bethlehem that your family has supported over the years. It is a report on the May singing held at Bethlehem and delves into the history of the singing.