An extended program for singers who want to bloom creatively, with wholesome, soulful empowerment, authenticiy, coursing your path in this world - and the more beautiful one our hearts know is possible - as a singer.
It’s a year-long deep dive into CVI - Collaborative Vocal Improvisation. Where people take this varies - and that’s the point.
Many graduates of my year-longs go on to teach CVI themselves: Jaka Skapin, Emma Coleman, Kate Mellors, Brigitte Rowan, Pearl Leggay Clarke, Xander Stell, Siobhan Nolan, Tara Mexis, Joanna Harvey… o the list goes on! So many wonderful people, so much wonderful singing!
Others are - or become - professional artists who use improvisation as their engine for songwriting - Charlotte Church’s Priestess, Anna Ling’s Light, Charlotte Mabon’s River of Soul, all came following vocal improvisation year-longs with me that helped to hone each unique artists’s voice and lyrical expression. My own albums - Crossing the Ocean, and the upcoming Symbiocence Mama - were all written through improvisation.
Whether your voice wants to live as a performing/recording artist, as a vocal improvisation collaborative practitioner or facilitator in your area, as a ritual singer…. If you have a gift worth living and sharing - if you can feel that gift in you but it’s not yet totally manifest - Creative Bloom is for you.
Spend 2027 weaving in emboldened creative community and finding your way to embed singing, improvisation, self expression, and musical wonderfulness into your wild and precious life. This course is for people who love to sing, can sing in tune, keep a beat and want an adventure. Keen hobbyists are welcome, but if you want to take your singing practice with an artist’s seriousness, a monk’s lightness and a child’s playfulness, I’m keen to help you.
Here are the parts.
April 12th - 16th 2027 | Week 1: Foundations
Start here if you haven’t worked with me yet, or you’d like to review the foundations. Entering the artfrom of Collaborative Vocal Improvisation - CVI. Meeting one another. This is an extended introduction to CVI, where we slowly, kindly find our way into the artform and the group.
We’ll soften the body, warm up the voice, and begin to enter the forms. Making patterns. Hearing each other. Adding harmonic layers. Soloing. Improvising with words, working with the poetic. Structure. Wildness. Fun, freedom, tenderness, depth. Beginning.
Not all who take the foundation will continue. Not all who start in June will take the foundation - if you’ve already worked with me a bunch, you may not choose to as you’ve already covered the foundations. If you’re not sure, check in with me.
Week 1 price: Tier 1 £500 Tier 2 £400 Tier 3 £300. Assistants (x 2) £200 + 2 name your price places for those facing financial challenges.
The assistant places are now taken.
Please select your tier in integrity: you will not be assessed.
Weeks 2, 3 and 4: Coming Into Bloom
June 14-18 2027 | Creativity Deep Dive
You can start in June if you’ve done the foundation week in April, or if you’ve worked with me a bunch before and we agree it works for you to start here.
We’ll play play play with creative CVI forms. The first day or so we’ll land slowly in the forms, the group, the body and the voice. When we’re ready we’ll dive in deep together into emergent bold Collaborative Vocal Improvisation. With deep listening, surrendering to aliveness, poetic expression, interlocking rhythms, harmonic beauty, and melodic explorations. We’ll do some healing forms here and there, dance frequently, we’ll have 1 Resonant Body floor-based somatic vocal practice. There’ll be a student cabaret (from us to us - no external audience) on the Thursday night. From circle singing all together, solo and small group forms, we’ll chart the spectrum of approaches to vocal improvisation.
September 13-17 2027 | Performance, Facilitation and the Inner Life
This week will be led by Holly Stoppit; Somatic IFS therapist, drama therapist, clown, fool and absolutely fabulous facilitator who holds the inner life with the utmost care and skill. (I will be there, participating and adding a touch of leadership here and there as needed on the CVI front.)
In this week we will open up the inner life of being seen and heard singing, improvising, as a performer and / or facilitator. What happens when there’s an audience, a camera, a microphone, a group and you’re the leader? Using IFS parts work, embodied play, wild ridiculousness and great tenderness, we will explore, heal and grow together.
On the Tuesday night there will be a student cabaret.
On the Thursday night there will be an open studio with an invited audience.
We need to look inside in order to be able to let our beautiful gifts flow freely when witnessed. Otherwise they distort, it feels funny or bad, and they stay half out or, just, in…. for a long time. Maybe a lifetime.
But there is power, beauty, and hugely important messages that I hear coming out of students’ voices all of the time. I believe the world needs to hear these, and you need to be comfortable, regulated, connected, safe and yourself as you do something so brave.
So we’ll devote 5 days to looking inside, as we open our mouths and let it all out.
November 8-12 2027 | Creative Bloom
We will spend the week in creative blooming. On the Thursday night / final night there will be a public performance. On the Wednesday we will have a film and recording crew documenting our day. It will produce a shared google folder with the audio and video files for you to download, edit and use as you see fit; with the consent of everyone in them (your responsibility to get it for the clips you want to share). On the Tuesday night there will be a student cabaret - just for us. On the Friday we will close the course and sing one another on. The intention is that you are left ready to meet the world as a singer, an improviser, a creator/creatrix, in your own wonderful way. In the days we will soften the body, move and dance and sing sing sing sing sing sing.
You might then arrange your own meet-ups without me! You will be independent and have left home by then <3
The year will be about cultivating your personal practice (I suggest 30 mins daily 5 days a week, more if you’re really on a learning journey. E.g. I did about 4h / day for a few years.) You’ll be cultivating your musical peer relationships, and navigating how you want to take this into your life. Is it through teaching? Performing? Ritual? And / or having fabulous local singing budies that you cultivate and tend rich collaborations with; and a practice that stirs the pot with your Muse Beloved?
What’s included and intended:
Monthly zoom support calls May - November 2027.
Optional buddy support pairs - for additional checking in along the way.
Membership of the Singing Circle is included through the course, you can hop onto the weekly group coaching / singing calls (alternating), and access the Your Song online course library.
You are likely to meet your music theory edges. The Your Song course library is available for your home practice to work on your vocal musicianship. We won’t use very much course time for this, but if needed (and almost everyone needs it) you’ll be supported to work on it at home.
Cultivating a home practice; bringing a CVI practice into your particular life.
Cultivating peers. Who do you do CVI with ongoingly? You’ll figure it out through the course.
Finding your voice, your fluency with the forms, overcoming the internal obstacles to being seen and heard; becoming at ease with singing and improvising with the doors and windows open. A flower blooming in a diverse garden with their unique magnificence - colour, shape, scent, sound - wonderfully out.
It’s best if you don’t drink alcohol or use mind altering substances during the weeks. CVI is a deeply presencing practice - think yoga or meditation. Sobriety is best for it. Do not share alcohol among the group.
The fee includes all teaching from Briony and Holly, Singing Circle membership for the duration, and the tech work of the film and video crew, editing sound to video. It doesn’t include further video editing to get this or that clip - that’s up to you for the clips you want to do something with.
What’s not included:
You organise and pay for your own accommodation and food - details below.
To Apply
Please email info@brionygreenhill.com with a little bit about yourself and your interest. If we haven’t worked together before or recently, please attach 2 recordings: 1 min singing a song, 1 min improvising - both unacompanied. Voice memos on your phone are usually just fine.
Cost
Week 1, Foundations: Tier 1 £500, Tier 2 £400, Tier 3 £300
Weeks 2, 3 and 4 are a complete package:
Tier 1: £1700
Tier 2: £1350
Tier 3: £995
2 Assistant places: £550 - these are now taken.
Payment plans are ok: write me with a proposal: info@brionygreenhill.com.
Please select your tier in integrity: you will not be assessed.
Location
Caddaford Barn, TQ11 0JT
https://www.caddaford.co.uk/devon-dance-studio/
Caddford Barn is between Totnes and Buckfastleigh. We’re a short distance from several river Dart swim spots, and a drive to the Dartmeet sauna.
Timings
Mondays 10-5
Tuesdays 2.30 - 9pm (you have the morning to yourself)
Wednesdays 10-5
Thursdays 10-1 and 5-9pm. Free afternoon, perhaps sauna / river swim.
Fridays 10-4pm. (10am - 5pm on the September week with Holly.)
Accommodation Options
Caddaford Barn has 2 bnb studios available for you to rent directly if you wish to.
https://www.caddaford.co.uk/dance-studio-accommodation/
The double beds can become twins.
£680 4 nights (Mon-Tue-Wed-Thursday)
Double bedroom to yourself - £340.
Twin sharing - £170.
We can get a 10% discount.
If you want to do this, please mention it when you apply and when there’s a few of you I will put you in touch with one another to arrange it amongst yourselves.
2. In Buckfastleigh - the Christian Community or Hometsays.
Usually about £35-40 / night.
3. Camping
Buckfastleigh has a lovely campsite called Beara farm, it’s actually currently closed so watch this space….. Ashburton has Summerhill campsite and Dartington has a campsite. If you have a van, you might be able to stay at Caddaford Barn, I’d need to check - ask me if you want to do that.
Food
Please bring food to share for potluck lunches / dinners when we have evening slots. We have access to a small kitchen. Folks are often gluten free and it’s good if diary / meat is on the side. Otherwise you’re self catering / collaborating with people sharing your accommodation. There are many good shops, cafes and restaurants nearby.
The Vibe
A few years ago, vocal improvisation teachers from around the world spent many months in conversation forming The Well Global Vocal Improvisation Network. We had rich conversations that led to this clear shared statement about our values and goals. These form the backbone of our work together on Creative Bloom.
Scroll down on this page. https://thewellvocal.com/about/
On the little play button Rhiannon reads them out, it’s lovely to hear that.