Candy Verney

SKYE singing holiday April 2011

2011-05-04T12:31:00.008+01:00

Well, we all got there, mostly on the world famous scenic train journey from Glasgow to Mallaig, to gather in Armadale, on the Sleat peninsula in the south of Skye. We booked the Ardvasar community Hall for the week, both to sing in, also to gather, eat and hang out each evening. We were staying in some well appointed lodges up on the hill on the Clan Donald estate, overlooking the sound of Sleat, across to Knoydart.

We were a group of 25, from ages 15 all the way up to late sixties. Some had lots of singing experience, some had none. Michael was our wonderful cook for the week, cooking us superb 3 course meals each evening. We sang our hearts out every morning, took off for walks or car journeys in the afternoon to explore the spectacular scenery, returning early evening to eat, sing, and entertain ourselves.

On our last evening, we had a excellent evening sharing our songs, and cabaret acts, enjoying the talents within the group: a hilarious skit by Ani and Amie, our teenage singers, some numbers by our newly formed band, Betsy's USA dances, and Lizzie, performer and wordsmith, wrote the poem below. And we were blessed with 2 impromptu guests from France and Algeria- a student couple were walking and camping on Skye, heard the music, and were invited in to spend the evening with us, eating haggis and neeps, and joining in the singing. They spent the evening grinning from ear to ear.

Candy bedecked in hues of heather,

Conducted our choir whatever the weather

With songs from distant lands and times

Some in gaelic and some with rhymes.

Enthusing our group with her skills and grace

Harmonies flooded each voice and face

Robin with his ‘rovin’’ watchful eye

Took care of us all the island of Skye.

Michael a wizard of bread and dinner

Made us a feast, each night a winner.

For everything that you’ve done for us

Accept our gift of a rousing chorus

March 2011 Newsletter

2011-03-09T15:41:00.004Z

I feel honoured that I have been invited to run another Soul Soundings, this time in Wells Cathedral on Wednesday 27th April, 7.30-9.30pm.

This is a unique opportunity: we will have the entire space to ourselves, to explore the resonance of this ancient and sacred building with the human voice, connecting us to each other, to spirit and to the building itself. We will move around the building, experiment with different tones, use echoes, drones and free singing, as well as learn some simple songs. This event is open to all, from experienced musicians to beginners, and we will learn music by ear.

If you are interested in coming, tickets are £12 adults, £5 children, available from Wells Cathedral Shop, or via paypal on the Workshops/Events page. All profits will go to Barenboim-Said Foundation, which promotes coexistence and interaction amongst cultures through music, and the spirit of peace, dialogue and reconciliation.

Testimonials from Bath Abbey Soul Soundings June 2009:

“Both for me and two other people who are completely new to this type of singing it was a revelation of the power and beauty of music, the human voice and singing. It was a perfect event which we will not forget.”

Recently Sounding It Out supported a very worthwhile charity called Peace Direct by travelling to London to sing in Paddington Station, to raise their profile and spread their hopeful message. They are celebrating International Women's Day with this inspiring video. Please do have a look and pass it on. www.peacedirect.org/justonewoman

And finally, do have a look at the Guardian newspaper, Travel section, on Saturday March 19th. There will be an in-depth article about a singing/walking holiday I recently facilitated for the Rambler Countrywide Holidays in Matlock Bath. We were privileged to have a journalist and photographer sing and walk with us for 2 days.

2010-09-28T15:05:00.005+01:00

Here are some more photos of our time on Bardsey island, off north Wales, sent by Jayne from USA.
Is Claudia sounding the pan for dinner, drying it off, or summoning the spirits of the place?

Bardsey Adventure Holiday Sept 2010

2010-09-21T13:28:00.004+01:00

Highlights: Singing to the seals down on the beach. They preferred some songs to others!
In the stillness of one balmy evening, we stood outside and sang "Shine on Me" to the lighthouse. Some people were moved to tears. At sunset, we had seen the outline of the Wicklow mountains 50 miles across the Irish Sea- just magical.
On our last evening, we invited everyone on the island to come and hear us sing the songs we had learnt all week, in the old school house. We probably attracted 50% of the island's visitors- about 10 people, including another choir leader from Shropshire.

2010-06-21T10:12:00.005+01:00

Members of Sounding It Out went to a Choirs Meet in Sedburgh on 11-13 June. We met up with choirs from Slovenia, Lancaster and Northumberland. We had a wonderful 2 days, singing together, eating, laughing, walking and getting to know each other. The Slovenian choir did not speak any English, and we certainly did not speak Slovenian. We nevertheless got on fine, it almost did not matter. As Shelagh said - we can't exchange a word together, but we still feel a bond because we've sung together.
The Slovenian choir is made up of 7 members of the same family- 3 sisters, 2 husbands, 1 daughter and 1 neice. They sing their traditional Slovenian folksongs. When they came to teach us a song, they found that they could not teach 1 part without the others singing at the same time. I interpreted this that singing for them came from such a natural place, that they had never analysed what they were doing, hence could not separate one part from another. So different from our culture, where those of us teaching choirs have to build up our knowledge of songs from others, books and CDs. Very few families in UK have their own repertoire of passed down songs.

Singing Towards Change with Students

2010-06-01T12:44:00.000+01:00

My friend and colleague Martin Sandbrook has been teaching a module at the University of Bath Spa, about Sustainability in Business, exploring deep ecology, and how our ways of thinking have to change in order for us to address the environmental crisis. He asked me to come in on their final session to do some singing with the students. We wanted them to experience singing as a tool for reconnection- both to each other, but also to our struggling planet and environment. Their feedback from the session amazed us both – see quotes below. It’s as if his ongoing work throughout the year came to a final “a ha!” moment with the singing. They really GOT IT.

Martin, I and others are aiming to further this work together in business settings. Contact me if you are interested.

"Singing is truly linked to the prosperity of the inner soul and its well being, throughout my whole university career that session well and truly took me out of my comfort zone, and I can say with 100% conviction that I am glad that I did. Life is so fragile and we have to remember that sometimes the most basic of actions such as taking a few minutes out to sing, or meditate or something similar can be invaluable to our well being."

"To conclude this review, I will discuss the moment when my worldview changed, this was the moment when I went from dispair to belief. It was through the final session of the sustainabiltiy module with Candy Verney that I felt really had the most impact on my future direction and the way that I now view the world.

The final part of Candy's session was on singing, and its role within a society. It was this part of the session that will never be forgotten because of the constrained thoughts and feelings that it managed to release inside me. When Candy discussed why western society, who have a high standard of living in terms of resource consumption, suffer from more depression related illnesses than some of the poorest countries, which Candy put down to, among other things, the freedom of expression of sound, in terms of singing. This was something I felt very sceptical towards, as singing to me, as a member of western society is something that I met with anxiety, as it has been repressed within me. However once I felt I had overcome my anxiety, I really started to embrace the session and as I looked around my fellow peers, who like me had started the session looking anxious, I noticed that they were all smiling. This really brought home the power of sound, and as I stood within the class I began to think, maybe we can change. My previous thoughts of its too late and we can do nothing to change, seemed at that moment to be quashed, this was the 'extraordinary event' I had read about in Senge, et al (2003), the moment my worldview changed.

My 'extraordinary event' was triggered when I looked around the room, as I was reminded of the key characteristics of mankind's survival on planet earth, the ability to adapt and change to the environment we find ourselves in. We as a group had overcome the social boundaries we had created by embracing the power of song to join us in unison. It was this that gave me hope as I now believed that to a degree the beliefs of society can be changed, therefore a sutainable future can be achieved. I acknowledge it will not be ab easy process, it may take time and like the group that Candy managed to get singing, people will change at different rates. I now haveidentified my role as an example to others, I will be the one who starts singing first, so that others will hopefully follow.

St Rita Choir visit Sounding It Out

2010-05-26T17:10:00.004+01:00

Members of Sounding It Out hosted a return visit of the St Rita Choir from Berlin last weekend. We first of all went on a walk around the resonant places of Bradford on Avon- St Mary Tory, the Saxon Church and the Tithe Barn, singing as we went. Then all 38 of us ended up in the Dandylion pub to have a delicious lunch, thanks to Shirley and Steve.
We attracted around 150 people at our joint concert on Sunday evening in Freshford village Hall. I think the highlight for me was the informal singing after the event, and of course dancing to the sounds of the Rough Street Jug Band!

Sounding It Out sings at Bath International Music Festival

2010-05-19T14:13:00.000+01:00

If you are going to Party in the City- the Opening of the Bath Festival on Friday 28th May , then come and hear us sing at the Building of Bath Museum, Countess of Huntingdon Chapel, on the Paragon at 6.30pm.

Sunday 30th May in the Spiegeltent, 3pm, on the recreation ground, in Bath. Sounding It Out will also be singing in this amazing 1930s german Mirror marquee, as part of the Fringe Festival. See you there!

Sounding It Out hosts St Rita choir from east Berlin

2010-05-19T13:57:00.000+01:00

Sounding It Out went to Berlin last July, hosted by the St Rita Choir. We had a terrific time, and now it's the St Rita return visit. If you want to hear both choirs, come to an informal concert on Sunday 23 May at Freshford Village Hall, near Bath at 5.30pm. We will sing separately and together, then have a pot luck supper (bring food to share), gloriously entertained by the Rough Street Jug Band. Then probably followed by some spontaneous singing and fun.

Over the Sea to Skye- singing Holiday April 2010

2010-05-19T13:42:00.001+01:00

The sun shone for seven glorious days in Skye - can you believe it- for our party of 23 singers, ranging in age from three to seventy. We climbed up mountains, pottered on beaches, went on an epic boat trip to Curuisk, played hilarious games in the pub in the evenings, and of course sang- a repertoire of songs including from the Hebrides, a Scots lullaby, Swing down Chariot via Northern Harmony, and a Yorkshire lowering song, aka lullaby. Michael cooked us outstanding 3 course meals each evening. We had a wonderful time together, and built our little community over the week.