This website contains information about shapenote (Sacred Harp) singing in Hyde Park and throughout the Chicagoland area. Check out the calendar of
singings, or
join our email list
if you prefer to recieve timely reminders of when an event is coming up.
If you have trouble signing up for the email list, drop a line to the list admins.
Note that rides to the various singings are often available from Hyde
Park and elsewhere.
Thank you to the University of Chicago for hosting this website.
We will be in the 2nd floor West Parlor. We begin at 1:00 pm with introductory fasola instruction and practice, followed by regular singing. There is no charge to attend festival workshops--and there are lots of other free musical events happening in the building all weekend.
It's a great introductory event, if you've been thinking of giving shapenote singing a try!
What's it all about?
Web resources and information on Sacred Harp singing.
Ok, so what does it sound like?
Sound samples all over the web, in various formats.
Stories and histories
A brief history of Sacred Harp, as well as some anecdotes from various
singings. (To submit a story,
e-mail it to me.)
Singers regularly in attendance include:
A traffic court judge
An ethnomusicologist
The director emerita of Bella Voce
A yodel instructor
A U of C dropout from decades past
Alumni, college students, graduate students, faculty, staff, community members,
Southerners, young children, Protestants, agnostics, gays, Yankees, Jews,
scholars, senior citizens, Quakers, Catholics, professional musicians,
Buddhists,
folk dancers, librarians, writers, conservatives, good cooks (who bring food),
couples, families
But most importantly: some people who wandered up off the street
when they heard us singing.