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 (two-and-a-half 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.

Click Here to Register

(you will receive an email acknowledgment, a letter with info and a questionnaire)

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.

Tuition
Weekend: $215  (after 5/25 for session I and 6/30 for Session II tuition increases by $15)
5-day: $460 (after 5/25 for session I and 6/30 for Session II tuition increases by $25)
8-Day: $525  (after 5/25 for session I and 6/30 for Session II tuition increases by $25)

Teen Program: $145 campus resident (after 5/25 tuition increases by $15)
Children's Program: $135 campus resident/ $155 off-campus* (after 5/25 tuition increases by $15)

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

Room and Board Costs (These are the 2009 rates. 2010 rates are currently being negotiated and will be posted ASAP.)
 

Weekend
$165 double/ $195 single (2 nights; Saturday breakfast through Sunday dinner
5-day
$395 double/ $475 single (includes 5 nights; meals from Monday dinner through Saturday lunch)
8-day
$545 double/ $595 single (8 nights; all meals from Saturday through lunch the following Saturday (prices subject to change.)

Kids
$130 double/ $140 single (2 nights; Saturday breakfast through Sunday lunch          Teens
$155 double/ $175 single (2 nights; Saturday breakfast through Sunday lunch

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.

Smith II: July 30-August 7
Weekend session begins Friday evening, July 30 and concludes Sunday, August 1
5-day session begins on Monday evening, August 2 and concludes on Saturday, August 7 in the late afternoon.
8-day session begins on Friday evening, July 30 concludes on Saturday, August 7 in the late afternoon.

5- 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.> top

Western Wind Faculty
Laura Christian, soprano

Michele Kennedy, soprano
Todd Frizzell, tenor
Elliot Z. Levine, baritone
Richard Slade, tenor
William Zukof, countertenor

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. 

K.C. Conlan is director of the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus and teaches vocal music at The Common School in Amherst. She has taught in the Brookline, Amherst and Northampton public schools and at the University of Massachusetts.  She has sung with the Hampshire Choral Society, the Five College Early Music Collegium, the Valley Light Opera, and the Pioneer Valley Cappella. K.C. holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Boston Conservatory and a Master of Music from the University of Massachusetts, and has advanced training in the Orff and Kodaly approaches.  She is the Repertoire & Standards Chair for Children’s Choirs for the Eastern Division of the American Choral Directors Association. 

Grant Herreid, lute, performs frequently on early reeds, brass, strings and voice with Hesperus, Piffaro, and My Lord Chamberlain's Consort, and plays theorbo and lute with ARTEK and New York City Opera.  He has also performed with the Kings Noyse, the Newberry Consort and the Folger Consort.  He teaches at Mannes College of Music in New York, and directs the New York Continuo Collective.  He recently worked as stage director for the Accademia d’Amore baroque opera workshop with Stephen Stubbs, and he played theorbo for the Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Monteverdi’s Ritorno d’Ulisse, and Aspen Music Festival’s production of Cavalli’s Eliogabalo, both conducted by Jane Glover.  He has created and directed several theatrical early music shows, and he devotes much of his time to exploring the esoteric unwritten traditions of medieval and Renaissance music as a founding member of the group Ex Umbris. (Session II only)

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.

Mollie Stone, Associate Conductor of the Chicago Children’s Choir, holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Amherst College, a Master of Music degree in conducting from Westminster Choir College, and has studied at the University of Cape Town.  In 2001, Ms. Stone received a grant from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation to travel to South Africa to create a DVD, “Vela Vela”, on how to teach black South African choral music in the oral tradition.  Last year, Ms. Stone returned to South Africa on another generous grant to study how South Africans are using choral music in the struggle against HIV.  Ms. Stone currently gives workshops on black South African choral music across the U.S.

Gwendolyn Toth has performed internationally on the harpsichord, organ, fortepiano, and clavichord.  Her latest CDs are organ works by Heinrich Scheidemann, and J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations performed on a lautenwerk (a gut-strung harpsichord).  She is director of the virtuoso period instrument ensemble, ARTEK, whose recording of Monteverdi’s opera, Orfeo, received outstanding critical acclaim.  ARTEK has toured throughout America and Europe with the Mark Morris Dance Group performing madrigals of Monteverdi, and presented its musical theater show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2005. In 2001, Ms. Toth received the "Newell Jenkins Prize" for excellence in historical performance.  In contemporary music, she has worked and recorded with John Cage, Rhys Chatham, Petr Kotik, Dave Soldier, Louis Andriessen, and Elliot Sharp. She is on the faculty of Montclair State University as well as Director of Music at Immanuel Lutheran Church (East 88th Street) in New York City. (Session I only)

9:00-9:30: Vocal warmups and rehearsal of large group piece
9:45-11:45: Small group rehearsals
12:00-1:30: Lunch and relaxation
[Optional: Musicianship skills classes or duo/trio coaching with guest faculty during this time]
1:45-4:00: Small group rehearsals
4:15-5:00: Optional Country Folk 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 nights and on Monday nights of each Smith Workshop week.

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

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

Click here for the Session II schedule.
 

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, info@westernwind.org or via phone, 212-873-2848

Scholarship requests are due by May 1, 2010 unless an extension is granted by The Western Wind.

Smith College is within driving distance (two-and-a-half to three 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 [1-800-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 two-and-a-half hour drive from Northampton.

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 May 25, 2010 for Session I and June 30, 2010 for Session II.

Full refunds are made for cancellations received prior to May 25 for Session I and June 30 for Session II . From May 26-June 16 for Session I  and July 1-July 15 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 15 for Session I and July 16 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.

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.

Bring Your Group!
Pre-existing groups are welcome at Western Wind Workshops. If enough members of a group enroll, they can apply for a tuition discount and work together as a group. Please contact The Western Wind for details as early as possible.