Located amid the charming sophistication of Northampton, Massachusetts, Smith College is the oldest women’s college in the United States. Smith’s historic campus, nestled at the foot of the Berkshires, is surrounded by the unspoiled countryside of New England. The campus provides excellent facilities for jogging, tennis, workout, swimming and squash. Scenic, wooded walks and a superb art collection are added offerings.

Smith College is within driving distance (2½ hours) of New York and Boston. Peter Pan Bus lines operates daily service to Northampton from New York City and Boston. Amtrak serves the town of Springfield, Massachusetts just 30 minutes from Northampton, and bus service is available from Springfield to Northampton. Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, services all major airlines and is a 45-minute drive from the campus.

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You may make your deposit now for the period of your choice.
(You will receive an email acknowledgment, a letter with info and a questionnaire.)

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Session Details:

• Workshop Basics/Qualifications
• Tuition and Accommodations
• Arrival/Departure Info
• Faculty
• Schedule
• Scholarships
• Transportation
• Registration Policy
• Special Offerings

General Details:

• Music Policy and Group Discount Information

Workshops Basics/Qualifications

Our participants come from a variety of musical backgrounds and have a vast range of experience. The minimum requirements are that you’re able to carry a tune and have a basic familiarity with music notation. If you’re unsure, please give us a call, and we’ll help you out.

Bring Your Group! Pre-existing groups are welcome at Western Wind Workshops. Discounts available on tuition for groups of eight or more.

Get a 10% discount if this is your first Western Wind Workshop.

A 5% tuition discount is applied for Friends of the Western Wind. Partial scholarships available based on financial need.

Tuition and Accommodations

Tuition

Room & Board Costs

Participants are housed in a lovely and airy dormitory on campus. Participants also have the option to arrange their own overnight accommodations. A list of nearby hotels and motels and travel information will be sent upon request. Delicious meals are served on campus. The Smith food service creates fresh meals on the premises and will accommodate most diets including vegetarian and vegan.

Off-campus participants who choose to have meals on-campus will be charged for these meals at check-in ($13.50 for breakfast, $18.60 for lunch and $30.00 for dinner). There is a discounted price if you have both lunch and dinner ($36/day), as well as for those who choose to have all meals on-campus ($45/day).

Arrival/Departure Info

Smith I: June 21–29

5-day and 8-day participants residing in the dorm can arrange to stay the final Saturday evening following the conclusion of each workshop for a modest additional charge.

Faculty:

Guest Faculty:

Robert Eisenstein, viola da gamba. Founding member of The Folger Consort, early music ensemble in residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, D.C. Director of the Five College Early Music Program in Western Massachusetts. Lecturer in Music History at the University of Massachusetts. Performances with the Newberry Consort, Tanglewood Festival, Cappella Nova, the New York Consort of Viols, the Washington Bach Consort, Hesperus, and the National Symphony. BA Antioch College., MM, Sarah Lawrence College.

Charles Weaver, lute, theorbo, baroque guitar. Charlie Weaver has performed on early stringed instruments with Early Music New York, Hesperus, Piffaro, Parthenia, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, the Folger Consort, ARTEK, Musica Pacifica, Quicksilver, and Mercury Baroque. The New York Times has praised his “agile lute and Baroque guitar accompaniments.” He is on the faculty of the New York Continuo Collective, an ensemble of players and singers exploring the poetic and musical antecedents of opera in semester-length workshop productions. He has also worked as a vocal coach at  the Queens College Baroque Opera Workshop, and the Yale Baroque Opera Program. He also maintains an active career as a choral singer and director, specializing in plainchant and Renaissance polyphony.

Yumiko Matsuoka, jazz specialist. Originally from Tokyo, Japan; professor at Berklee College of Music in Boston, teaching ear training. Founder of Vox One, a Boston-based a cappella quintet, whose albums Vox One (1993), Out There (1995) and Chameleon (1997) have won multiple awards from the Contemporary A Cappella Society of America (CASA). In 2008 she released an anthology album of her arrangements and compositions entitled To Every Thing There Is A Season. Published by the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Press.

K.C. Conlan, Kids Program, is the director of the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus in Amherst, MA. She received a Bachelor of Music degree from the Boston Conservatory of Music and a Master of Music from the University of Massachusetts. She teaches vocal music at The Common School in Amherst and has also taught in the Brookline, Amherst and Northampton public schools and at UMass. She has advanced training in the Orff and Kodaly approaches, and has directed the children’s program at the Western Wind Ensemble Singing Workshops at Smith College. K.C. has served as Repertoire & Standards Chair for Children’s Choirs for the Eastern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. Co-teaching with KC will be Western Wind soprano Michele Kennedy, who grew up singing with the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

Schedule

A Sample Western Wind Workshop Day

9:00–9:45	Vocal warm-ups and rehearsal of large group piece
10:00–12:00	Small group rehearsals
12:00–1:30	Lunch and relaxation
1:30–2:00	Optional musicianship skills classes or duo/trio coaching with guest faculty
2:00–4:00	Small group rehearsals
4:15–5:00	Optional country dancing with live band
5:15–6:00	Optional jazz classes
6:00–7:00	Dinner
7:15–9:30	Performance seminar by all small ensembles

8-day participants have Monday open for recreational activities, including a swim at a local pond. 5- and 8-day participants have Thursday afternoon free to play tennis, go jogging or swimming, walk into town, or take a nap!

The Western Wind and guest faculty present a concert on the first Friday night and on Monday night of each Smith workshop week.

Weekend participants finish their stay by presenting a concert on Sunday afternoon. 5-day participants present their final concert on Saturday afternoon. 8-day participants participate in both concerts.

Full days of performing and listening, participating and appreciating, will enrich your a cappella voyage through the ages!

Scholarships

A limited number of partial scholarships based on ability and financial need will be available. For information regarding scholarships please contact The Western Wind office: via e-mail or via phone, 212-873-2848. Scholarship requests are due by May 1, 2013.

Transportation

Smith College is within driving distance (2½–3 hours) of New York and Boston.

By Bus – Contact Peter Pan Bus Lines (413-781-3320) for information about schedules to Northampton. There is daily bus service between Northampton and New York City and Boston.

By Train – Amtrak (800-USA-RAIL) serves the town of Springfield, just 25 minutes from Northampton. Connections can be made via local bus service or taxi.

By Air – Northampton is 33 miles north of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, which is served by all major airlines. A door-to-door shuttle service provided by Valley Transporter (800-872-8752) is available from Bradley to Northampton for approximately $32 each way (reservations are required). Peter Pan Bus Lines (413-781-3320) provides transportation from Bradley to Northampton via a transfer in Springfield, MA. Logan International Airport in Boston is served by all major airlines and is a 2½ hour drive from Northampton.

Registration Policy

Advance registration is required to ensure your enrollment. To register please send your deposit to us via Paypal on this website. A letter of acknowledgment containing pertinent information as well as a questionnaire will be emailed to you upon receipt of your registration. Your balance due for registration and/or accommodation fees must be paid upon your arrival and check-in to the workshop.

Participants who enroll in any combination of 5- and/or 8-day workshops for both Session I and Session II receive a 20% tuition discount for each workshop.

There is also a tuition discount available to all participants who register before midnight on May 21, 2013 for Session I and July 2, 2013 for Session II.

Full refunds are made for cancellations received prior to May 22 for Session I and July 3 for Session II. From May 23–June 5 for Session I and July 4–17 for Session II, a cancellation fee of 50% of the deposit will be charged to cover administrative costs. Deposit is forfeited if cancellation is made after June 5 for Session I and July 17 for Session II. If the workshop is canceled or postponed, neither Smith College nor The Western Wind is responsible for any related costs, charges, or expenses, including cancellation/change charges assessed by airlines or travel agencies.

Special Offerings

The Smith Workshops also offer opportunities to perform in larger ensembles and sing informally in open reading sessions. Our guest faculty members coach and accompany singers in ensemble and solo repertoire from the Renaissance and Early Baroque, as well as in the subtleties of jazz and pop performance. Optional performance practice classes are available (during 5-day periods only). Past topics have included vocal jazz improvisation and arranging led by Yumiko Matsuoka, and Early Music topics led by Robert Eisenstein.

Music Policy

The cost of the large group piece(s) (which everyone sings) is included in the tuition. Published editions will be used whenever possible and participants will need to purchase the music required for their small ensembles. In addition, a library of outstanding ensemble music will be available for sale.