Mazal Bueno: a Portrait in Song of the
Spanish Jews
Narrated by Tovah Feldshuh
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The Western Wind Workshop
This summer represents the 44th anniversary of Western Wind workshops, which began at Dartmouth College in 1981. What makes a Western Wind workshop unique is the focus on small ensembles and a cappella singing. In small groups, everyone plays a role and makes an essential contribution. Here is a chance to sing a variety of music with other singers of your level. Each group is personally guided by a Western Wind member. During the longer 5-day session, guest faculty members prepare participants to perform repertoire beyond that learned in one's core group. You may sing a solo or small ensemble piece of Early Music with continuo accompaniment under the guidance of specialists Bob Eisenstein and Hideki Yamaya and/or you may sing a vocal jazz or pop arrangement with the help of arranger and composer Yumiko Matsuoka. Another highlight of the 5-day workshop is a Silly Seminar featuring skits, an off-beat T-shirt contest, and an Elmer Fudd style rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus.
About Miss Porter's School
We are fortunate this summer of 2025 to be holding our June workshop at Miss Porter's, a well-known girls' preparatory school in Farmington, Connecticut, just a few miles southwest of Hartford. The dormitories at Miss Porter's are mostly historic homes that have been adapted to modern group living. All rooms are air-conditioned. Our rehearsals and concerts will be held in nearby, accessible, air-conditioned classroom buildings and performance spaces.
Register
Click the button above, or the one further down the page, to register for the workshop and make your deposit (refundable through June 10). You will receive an e-mail confirmation with further information and online registration materials. The deposit is $200 for Weekend Only participants, $450 for on-campus 5-day or 8-day participants, $400 for 5-day or 8-day commuters, and $0 for scholarship applicants. The remaining balance is due no later than June 19. You will receive an invoice for this balance about a month before the workshop. There are no formal auditions to enroll, but if you are new to Western Wind Workshops, you can expect to meet with our Workshop Director, Linda Lee Jones, via Zoom to determine an appropriate small group placement for you.
Scholarships
Please inquire at info@westernwind.org about opportunities. Generous members of the Western Wind workshop community have funded need-based partial and full scholarships.
Workshop Fees Through June 9
On-campus fees for workshop participants include tuition, room & board. Both single and double rooms are available. Fees for commuters do not include meals, which are available for $45 per day or a la carte.
Weekend 6/20-6/22
Single: $720
Double: $680
Guest: $170
Commuter: $500
5-day 6/23-6/28
Single: $1,800
Double: $1,700
Guest: $425
Commuter: $1,250
8-day 6/20-6/28
Single: $2,180
Double: $2,020
Guest: $680
Commuter: $1,680
Extra Night (does not include dinner or breakfast)
Single: $65
Double: $45
Guest: $45
After June 9, tuition increases by $50 (weekend) and $100 (5-day & 8-day)
Tuition discount of $35 applied for Friends of the Western Wind. See our website for details about Friends of the Western Wind.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 info@westernwind.org for details as early as possible.
Deposit methods include credit and bank cards, PayPal, and "manual" methods, including Zelle, Venmo, and mailed checks. Manual methods save us transaction fees.
Our Faculty
Linda Lee Jones, soprano
Christina Kay, soprano
Eric Brenner, countertenor
David Vanderwal, tenor
Bradley King, tenor
Paul Greene-Dennis, bass
William Zukof, Founding Director
The Western Wind
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. Long-time director of the Five College Early Music Program in Western Massachusetts and 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.
Yumiko Matsuoka, contemporary a cappella and 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.
Hideki Yamaya, lute and guitar, was born in Tokyo, Japan. He spent most of his career in the West Coast before settling in New England, where he is a freelance performer and teacher. He is one half of the Schneiderman-Yamaya Duo and is the artistic director for Musica Maestrale, an early music collective based in Portland, OR. He is also recognized as an effective communicator and teacher, and has given masterclasses and workshops at Yale University, University of California, Santa Cruz, Montana State University, Oregon State University, and Aquilon Music Festival.
Session Details
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
1:45–4:00 Small group rehearsals
4:15–5:00 Optional country dancing with live band
5:00–6:00 Optional jazz classes
6:00–7:00 Dinner
7:15–9:15 Performance seminar by all small ensembles
9:30-10:30 Socializing in the dorm living room
Arrival, Registration, and Departure
Our check-in location is the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris Student Center at 62 Main Street, Farmington, CT.. This building is very close to our designated dormitories. Registration for participants in the weekend and 8-day session is from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 20. If you know ahead of time that you will be arriving late, please notify our Workshop Administrator, Anna Feldman at (413) 575-7826 a few days before the workshop so we can plan appropriately. If you are delayed in transit on Friday, 6/20, please do the same. If you don’t get Anna, leave a message. She will be checking frequently.
If you are only attending the 5-day session from Monday, June 23 - Saturday, June 28, the same procedures will be in place. Registration is from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. on Monday, June 23. Anna Feldman is your contact if you are delayed or have other questions: (413) 575-7826.
Both workshops (weekend & 5-day) begin with placement sessions upon arrival for any new participants we didn’t get to hear remotely. After dinner, we open the workshop at 7:00 p.m. with a mini-concert sung by The Western Wind. Afterwards, there will be introductions and a short rehearsal of a large group piece, followed by a reception.
The weekend workshop concludes on Sunday, June 22 with a final participant concert ending no later than 5:00 p.m. The 5-day (and 8-day) workshop concludes with a similar participant concert on Saturday, June 28, also ending at about 5:000 p.m. Please note that you can arrange to stay an extra night, that is Saturday night, June 28, if you don't want to travel home that evening.
Transportation to Miss Porter’s School
Below is a link to two campus maps for Miss Porter’s School that will orient you to the instructions that follow. Our check-in location, the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris Student Center, is at 62 Main Street. Our dorms are right across Main Street. Parking is at Oaklea Field parking lot at 35 Mountain Rd., across the street from the entrance to the Hill-Stead Museum. Walk down the hill to campus proper, cross Main St and enter the Glenda Newell Harris Student Center for registration. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Nh9HjigQsgeb0gS3yrggxGvb544YN-jxcKZ2JQj9-_I/edit?tab=t.0
By car:
From I-84 take Exit 39 Farmington. At the end of the exit ramp, continue straight onto Route 4 West. Turn left onto Route 10 South (Main Street). Park as explained above, then proceed to the Dr. Glenda Newell-Harris Student Center at 62 Main St. for check-in and directions to your dorm.
By bus:
Various bus lines, including Greyhound, Flixbus, and Peter Pan, travel to Hartford’s Union Station from Boston, New York City, and other locations. You may choose to take an Uber from Hartford’s Union Station to Miss Porter’s (it's about a 15-20 minute ride depending on traffic). An alternative is to indicate on your registration form that you would like to share a ride to campus and we’ll do our best to match you with other workshop participants arriving at the same time. Finally, there is also a regional transit bus, Route 66, that will pick you up at Union Station and take you to the edge of Miss Porter’s School in Farmington, CT. The drop off point is the Farmington Inn, a 5-minute walk to our check-in point on campus, the Dr. Glenda Newell Harris Student Center at 62 Main St. The fare is only $1.75. Here is the link to the Rte. 66 bus schedule:
https://www.cttransit.com/sites/default/files/schedules/weekday_66.pdf
By train:
Travel from your location to the Hartford, CT Union Station via Amtrak. Alternatively, take Metro North to New Haven, then switch to Amtrak. See suggestions above for getting to Miss Porter’s School and our check-in site, the Dr. Glenda Newell Harris Student Center at 62 Main St. Farmington, CT, from Hartford’s Union Station. You will be directed to your nearby dorm from there. Please indicate your desire to share a ride from the train station on your registration questionnaire.
By air:
Bradley International Airport (BDL) north of Hartford, CT is 25 miles northeast (approx. 30 minutes by car) from Miss Porter’s School. Please indicate your expected arrival time on your registration form and we shall do our best to match you with others needing transportation from BDL to the campus. It is possible to take a bus from Bradley to Hartford’s Union Station (Rte. 30), and then another bus (Rte. 66) to the edge of The Miss Porter’s School campus. This is inexpensive but takes at least 2 hours. Once you have arrived at our check-in site, the Dr. Glenda Newell Harris Student Center at 62 Main St., you will be directed to your nearby dorm.
Car Service and Shuttle Providers from BDL to Miss Porter’s School:
There are several shuttle, ride share, and taxi services at BDL providing transportation to the campus. The airport’s website lists several. Again, let us know when you are arriving at BDL so we can match you with others in need of transportation to Miss Porter’s School.
Housing
Housing at Miss Porter’s School is at 3 adjacent houses: Swift, Ward, and Humphrey. All rooms are air conditioned with access to at least one bathroom. Most rooms have one bed; some have two. Swift is the most accessible of the houses, so please indicate on your registration form that you would prefer to stay in Swift if climbing stairs is an issue. You are welcome to share a double room with another workshop participant. Non-participant partners, spouses, or significant others are also welcome to share rooms. Please see the online registration form for pricing. On-campus housing rates include all meals. See more in the list of fees above.
You will need to bring your own bedding, including sheets, pillows, and a towel. (Today’s students tend to bring their own preferred bedding to campus.) The beds are extra long singles, so we recommend two flat sheets and a pillowcase along with your favorite pillow. Please let us know if you are traveling from afar and can’t reasonably bring bedding. We will help. Everyone will need to bring their own toiletries, including hand soap.
Dining
Meals in the Miss Porter’s Dining Hall begin with dinner on June 20 and continue through lunch on June 28. The cost of meals is included with on-campus housing. Commuters can also buy meals as well at a rate of $45 per day or buy them a la carte. Again, please see the registration form for details. Meals are freshly prepared on campus and Miss Porter’s endeavors to bring locally grown food to the table. Vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free options are available at each meal. Because of the nut-free restrictions, outside food may not be brought into the dining hall.
Clothing
We advise you to bring a bathing suit, hiking boots (if you desire), and comfortable clothing. A sweater or light jacket is a good idea since evenings in June could be cool. Concert dress is informal (and is up to you) for the final concerts.
Music Policies
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The cost of the large group piece is included in your weekend’s tuition. However, you are required to purchase music used in your small ensembles.
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Octavos must be purchased at their retail value. Photocopies are 15¢ per side, if a published piece is not available or the piece is in the public domain.
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If your group uses one piece out of a larger collection, you may request (before using or marking the larger book, please!) that the selection be photocopied for you at the charge of 15¢ per page (each side). Please destroy all photocopies of copyrighted music at the weekend’s conclusion pursuant to copyright law.
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Music that you make marks in must be purchased.
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A library of outstanding ensemble music is also available for your perusal and purchase. Please feel free to browse.
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A 10% discount applies to music and concession purchases that total $100 or more! 15% if it’s $200 or more!
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More and more workshop participants prefer to read digitized music from their tablets. Nearly all our music can be made available in this format.
Group Fun
The Western Wind summer workshops also offer opportunities to perform in larger ensembles and sing informally in open reading sessions. As mentioned earlier, during the 5-day session, 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. Coaches will help you to select suitable Early Music repertoire, if you haven't arrived with music in hand. Almost everyone chooses to participate in the Pop & Jazz concert, even if they rarely perform this repertoire. Yumiko Matsuoka will facilitate your placement in a group. Thursday night's Silly Seminar balances the hard work. Participating in a skit, sharing a talent, or participating in the wacky T-shirt contest can be a welcome relief from the packed workshop schedule. Readings of participants' original compositions are also a regular element of Western Wind workshops. Please bring hard-copy or digital scores if you would like to have your original compositions or arrangements read during the 5-day session.
Pop & Jazz Concert
Continuo Concert
Silly Seminar
Deposit methods include credit and bank cards, PayPal, and "manual" methods, including Zelle, Venmo, and mailed checks. Manual methods save us transaction fees.
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