Central Marin Singers Choir!

*** Great News! Joining Marv as Guest Songleader on Wednesday, June 7, is the truly amazing, multi-talented, multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter and songleader Shireen Amini!

Shireen (non-binary using she/her in English, elle in Spanish) is a queer, Puerto Rican-Iranian American, Earth-loving singer-songwriter, percussionist, and song leader based on unceded indigenous territory known as Portland, Oregon. Shireen believes strongly in music’s power to propel cultural revolution and carries a deep commitment to her own liberation path as well as her vision of a more just world. As a song leader, she holds transformational space, leading infectious and soulful community songs, often engaging her participants in rhythm. She has toured all along the West Coast leading song circles and a number of her original community songs have rippled out wide into the networks like “I Am Free in my Body,” “The Sun Song,” and “Gather Your Resilience.” Shireen also teaches drumming, leads workshops, and facilitates grief ritual as part of her community-based music empowerment project Shireen Amini Music Medicine. ***

This season we'll be learning some more complex songs, so we can delve deeper into harmonies and layers, as well as a big selection from the many wonderful songs I carry that can be learned very quickly -- with multi-part harmonies, layers (verses that interlock beautifully when sung at the same time by different sections of the choir), rounds, and unison songs, too.

I teach all these easy-to-learn, non-religious, community-singing songs line-by-line (sometimes called “call-and-echo”) -- no singing experience needed, no music to read, all voices and levels welcome. Songs are selected for their ability to rejuvenate, soothe, uplift and inspire!

And, this season we'll be taking our singing out into the community, forming pop-up choirs at occasional public events, where our purpose isn't performance, it's community participation and community-building: we'll be inviting passers-by to step into the circle, learn songs, and sing with us! Our first three (optional) pop-ups are Saturday May 20 ,10:30-11:30am in the Marin Country Mart (Larkspur Landing) courtyard during their farmers' market, Saturday, June 10, 10:30-11:30am at the Pt. Reyes Farmers' Market, and Sunday, June 11, 10:30-11:30am at the Civic Center Farmers' Market in San Rafael. Both of our choirs (and everyone everywhere!) are always welcome at all of our pop-ups.

We're in the same big, warm, Duncan Hall multi-purpose space at the church each Wednesday starting 4/26; capacity is limited to 24 people; we'll have some open windows and/or doors and fan(s) for airflow but enough closed to stay warm; we'll take a short break halfway through each evening; tickets are available onsite (cash, credit card, Venmo, PayPal) unless/until we're sold out. If the date you want is sold out, getting on the waitlist is free of charge. (Note: No session May 31.)

Our COVID policy is required reading before you attend. For more info, including a list (with links) of songs we've sung and quotes from people who sang with us during our previous seasons: centralmarinsingers.com

New singers are always welcome at any evening! It's really easy to learn each song with us and join in. Come to one evening, some, or all!

Your voice is needed! Feel free to email or call with questions. I hope to sing with you soon!

Warmly,

Marv