Members of Devon Vocal Improv Choir doing a supported solo, summer 2026
Hello singers of Vashon Island, Seattle and surrounding area. Do you love to do, or would you love to explore, improvised singing with others? Co-creating satisfying, suprising, rich, even magical vocal music with others.
CVI - Collaborative Vocal Improvisation - is an approach to singing that has the creativity of being a singer-songwriter alongside the communality of choir. It’s juicy, challenging, delightful, terrifying, wonderful.
The Guardian (UK) calls me “one of the world’s leading proponents of Collaborative Vocal Improvisation - CVI” - though I bow to my seniors, Rhiannon, Bobby McFerrin and some of their peers. But, wow, Vocal Improvisation has mushroomed; the mycellial network now spans the globe, and we have The Well Global Vocal Improvisation Network. I am one of a host of co-founders.
I shall be visiting Vashon Island because dear friends live there, and because I have been invited to teach all of the choral students at Seattle University. I will again offer a weekend workshop on Vashon Island while I visit (and also a Port Townsend weekend 14-15 November). (I am a dual citizen UK-US.)
This is for:
singers new to the artform who enjoy singing, can sing in tune and keep a beat, and want an adventure; and
Folks who have tried vocal improvisation before and want to return to the well for another drink.
We will: ground in the body and breath; move and wake up the embodied voice from pelvis to head. We’ll circle sing, ground in rhythm, co create sound baskets from interlocking patterns, layer on harmony, perhaps solo over them. We’ll improvise with words, express ourselves, open the poetic and do all kinds of things with it. We’ll rest when we need to.
You will leave, I hope, with some forms and approaches to singing that you might take forward into your singing life, your collaborations, your choir leadership if you are a song leader, your teaching if you are a teacher, your artistry if you are an artist, what happens in your bathroom, around a campfire, or with your friends or kiddos!
Some students call this work “life changing”. That’s usually more from longer courses to be honest, but folks typcially find weekend sessions extremely nourishing, deep, uplifting and expansive; and I hope you do too.
We are in a polycrisis and I do not shy away from themes of paradigm shift. We can use our voices to express our pain and our dreams of a better world, and meet the times together. This will not dominate the weekend but we will most likely visit these themes at some point, with a view to leveraging our collective power for positive change.
Stayover option
There’s a dorm above the barn you can stay in for $15 / night. There’s access to a shower and kitchen that are part of the studio. There are floor mattresses and you bring your own sleeping bag and pillow. If you’d like to do this please mention it when you email.
Timing
Saturday 10am - 5pm - please arrive 9.35-9.45 so we’re all well settled for a 10am start. Sunday 10am - 4pm/4.30pm. We’ll aim to end by 4 but it could go up until 4.30pm latest. Please bring food for a potluck lunch on each day.
Cost
Tier 1: $300
Tier 2: $200
Tier 3: $100
To apply:
Please email info@brionygreenhill.com
You can pay via Venmo @Briony-Greenhill (last 4 are 4495)
or paypal brionygmusic@gmail.com.
Michael Hamm and band doing a beautiful supported solo the last time I taught in Port Townsend <3