Spring, Summer and September– seasons of healing sound and music at Hawkwood
Thebeautiful natural environment of Hawkwood near Stroud is the perfect contextfor exploring sound, healing and music as the days become longer and naturewakes up. We are ready to welcome you with delicious food, cosy accommodationand restful gardens full of flowers and fruit.
MusicalMay
Tobias Kaye introduces the remarkablequalities of his hand-crafted sounding bowls in a oneday workshop on Sunday 1 May. Theseunique instruments require no experience to play - a few simple skills and willingness to listenand engage in a musical conversation areall that are needed. A previous participant commented: “When you first playedthat note it felt like all my hairs stood up, a shock went through me.” Thoseof us familiar with sound work recognise that kind of response.
Immediately after Tobias’s day, Hawkwood’s MayDay Festival on Bank Holiday Monday 2 May welcomes hundreds of people fromthe local area and beyond for a celebratory event full of live music, deliciousorganic food,BBQ, family fun, maypole dancing and free taster workshops. Entry is free, but carparking is £3 per car.
JoyfulJuly
Createa singing bowl summer school (15-19 July) with master craftsman TonAkkermans and his partner Caroline Schomper, a dancer and energy worker is ajourney into resonance. This meditative,artistic and practical process will enable you to make your very own beautifulsinging bowl, perfectly tuned to your own energy. These instruments can be usedfor healing, improvisation and meditation. Makers often express a sense of achievementand joy during the summer school. Ton and Carolina will give a concertof their unique hand-made instruments on Tuesday 19 July and the following dayis a day of initiatingsinging bowls by playing them in the landscape of Hawkwood. On Thursday 21 July you can make a smaller singingbell as a taster experience of Ton’s work.
And if you love Classical music, come to Madrigalsand Motets with acclaimed conductor Andrew Griffiths from Sunday 10-Wednesday 13 July. What better way to spend a few summer days than gettinginside some of the most exquisite examples of vocal chamber music ever conceived. Beautifully crafted, wonderful to sing and full of passion, our programmeincludes madrigals, motets and a few surprises. For experienced singersor those comfortable with sight singing
Local singer-songwriter Lara Conley givestips and encouragement to aspiring song writers during the Hawkwood CreativeArts Summer School with song-writingon Thursday 28 July. She also offers improvisation, singing and fun with herEarth Voice choir on the first Tuesday of every month.
Scintillating Summer andSeptember Songs
Asummer retreat with famed Celtic spirituality expert Caitlin Matthews andhealer Cait Branigan works with TheArt of the Healing Voice in Celtic Shamanism Thursday 7 – Sunday 10 July.
The human voice’s ability to heal, to express ourinnermost being and spirituality, is often neglected, yet to sing isto touch the deepest parts of ourselves, bypassing all barriers. “Wewill explore the use of the voice in shamanic practice, using toningand keening to access our inner worlds, and exploring the use of chant,”says Caitlin Matthews. Their musical approach is based upon the musicalmodes of ancient Ireland. A treat in store.
Helen Chadwick conducts HarmonySinging a weekend singing heroriginal material and improvising together. Helen's beautiful songs includeheart warming harmonies, and "wisdom songs": those with texts byinspirational poets from around the world. As well as groupsinging, here will be an opportunity for some one voice to a part singingfor those who wish. The atmosphere will be supportive and fun. “Sing! Sing!Sing!” says Helen.
She is a singer, composerand performance creator whose work has been commissioned by the RoyalOpera House, English Touring Opera and the BBC. She has written over 300songs and has recorded 10 albums. Helen has led community choirs most of herlife, and she currently runs one for the staff at the National Theatre, London.Her song theatre performances include Songsfor the Way Home and WarCorrespondents.
Openyour voice in October
We are thrilled to welcome Chloe Goodchildback to Hawkwood on Saturday 1 – Tuesday 4 October. With TheNaked Voice, she uses a range of vocal practices that reveal thecontemplative, creative and compassionate use of the human voice, catalysing adepth of oneness and presence that are rare to find.
Chloe invites you to discover the power ofyour voice to:
Transform the Ways We Listen
Transform the Ways We Communicate
Transform the Ways We Live
“You are in for a treat if this is your first Naked Voice retreat,” says Chloe.“We must have been in training all these years for your arrival! If you havebeen before, bring a friend this time or your own practice group. Thislife-changing gathering will provide you with an all-inclusive learningenvironment to embody and express your truth. It will bring harmony, wisdom andpeace into your life, and into the heart of humanity itself.
Once touched, this sense ofoneness ignites a wondrous power within us that transforms darkness into light,depression into longing, collapse into courage, aquiescence into creativeintention, sound into the unique song of your soul.
