At this half day workshop you will learn three-part folk songs from the country of Georgia, and how to sing them with your whole body.

The Workshop

You will learn several folk songs from the polyphonic tradition of Georgia, and how to make the most out of your natural voice while singing them. You will experience the joy of connecting with others through shared sound.

Georgian Polyphonic Songs

Georgia is a small country bordering the Black Sea, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Turkey. Its polyphonic music, as well as its unique alphabet, have been recognised by UNESCO as an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’.

Though small, there is great variety within the different regions of the country, including soothing healing songs, rousing table songs, and reverent chants. These songs touch something deep inside our bodies, reaching down to the earth and back through generations of ancestors.

This workshop offers a way in to learning about these songs, as well as the stories and people behind them. Holly will bring cultural context to this centuries-old tradition.

The Workshop Leader

Holly Taylor-Zuntz is a voice leader, song collector and multi-disciplinary artist from Oxford who has been living in Georgia and studying Georgian songs for the last five years.

Having 'grown up' in community folk choirs, she went on to train in Musical Theatre and then European Theatre at drama school. Her physical theatre training opened up a world of embodied voice practice, leading her to Poland and ultimately Georgia. Along the way she has learned from composer Helen Chadwick, vibrational expert Frank Kane, and director Anna-Helena Mclean, as well as many prominent ethnomusicologists in Georgia (Nino Naneishvili, Malkhaz Erkvanidze, Nana Mzhavanadze).

Holly's singing workshops are full of joy! Most recently she lead a 6 week pop-up Georgian choir in East Oxford.

She is one of the founders of Voices of the Ancestors, a podcast and theatre show about Georgian polyphonic songs, the women who sing them, and how they came to be loved in the UK. For more info go to: www.voicesoftheancestors.co.uk

Singing Level Required

This workshop is open to those who can hold a tune while singing with others. No previous experience of Georgian music is required, and you do not need to be able to read music. If you already know many Georgian songs, this workshop offers a new perspective on them.