ATWI 2019: Session Descriptions

Your spirit, soul and way of honoring and treating music is world changing. It clears the spirit, which gives the soul an opportunity to speak from an honest place.
Ulla Britt, Denmark ATWI 2017

Hakalau, Hawaii

Session I: February 2 - 10, 2019

Vocal River Exercises – Skill and Spirit

Our focus will be exercises that have been developed by Rhiannon over the 35 years of her teaching. These include: Crossing the Circle, Three Face Front, Orchestra, Band, Shape Shifting, Jump Shift, Rain, Home, Circle Singing and Cards among others.  Singers will work with the exercises in various configurations, receive and give feedback and begin to integrate the influence of these exercises, including practicing how each might teach or use them. We will also study song form, singing over changes and interpreting lyrics as we examine the connections of those forms to Vocal River Exercises. The intention is to develop musical skill and intuitive wisdom working hand in hand. About Vocal River

Perugia, Italy

Session II : June 4 - 12, 2019

Song of Place – Giving Back to Community, to Nature and to the Circle

The focus will be on our connection to the power of sound. This week brings us to the heart of the matter. To speak of the power of the voice is so individual and the meaning of it so personal, we must begin by acknowledging the song and ancestors of this place, as we will have done in Session I in Hawai’i. We will also share the music and sounds of our own healing work with one another at the same time as we extend out to nature and the community. There will be conversations about the word “healing” and how to keep that grounded in the reality of skill-building and the connection of body and voice. We will interact with the natural surroundings, and as well as continuing to grow our collaborations with one another. We will deepen our study of the Vocal River exercises and see how improvisation contributes to the community and to the heart of all.   

Atlanta, Georgia

Session III: October 19-27, 2019

Collaboration and Performance –
Sharing Body and Voice


We will focus on rehearsal and performance with one another and with other artists. Singers, instrumentalists, dancers, actors, art and photographs will all be possible collaborative partners. We will study how to enter this realm of sharing creative space with an audience and/or partners while staying in that authentic, ceremonial, poetic time. We will be living in the center of this cosmopolitan city full of inspiration and diversity. We will have a session with each of our resident performance partners, and on the final day, we will bring all these collaborators together for an extended rehearsal followed by an intimate evening performance. Our performance will be a celebration, will reflect all we have studied in our sessions, and may be a rite of passage into the next phase of your artistic life.