February 4, 2020
“Angeline Butler: Reflections on a Non-Violent Movement”
1. Sunday Platform
I recently had the honor of leading the music segment of the Sunday Platform at the New York Society for Ethical Culture for Martin Luther King Day. They recently uploaded the video. Click the YouTube link above and enjoy!
2. Thank You, Gifted Sounds Showcase!
I wasn’t sure what to expect at a live podcast showcase, but my love for improv has taught me to embrace uncertainty. And what an awe-inspiring event it was! Wandering Blerds host Meki Tate is a walking history book. She and the wonderful hosts of the Watchmen podcast Sister Night spoke passionately about the theme of intergenerational patterns – blessings, curses, emotional imprints, inheritances of abundance as well as loss. My circlesinging segment fit right in as an homage to our ancestors, whose voices I liken to harmonics, the voices that are often “invisible” i.e inaudible to the naked ear, but are always present and reverberating all around us.
3. Booking Inquiries
Some of you have been inquiring about booking me for your events. Thank you! I’d like to make the process easier for you by sharing some details to consider when sending a booking inquiry:
– Event type. Is it a vocal improv participatory performance, traditional concert performance, workshop, course, conference, retreat, one on one session, panel discussion, site-specific installation, wedding, bar / bat mitzvah, or something else?
– What is your projected budget?
– What is the projected number of participants? Will it be open to the general public, or will it be for a specific population?
– Are there specific themes that you are looking to explore within the event?
– What is the time frame of the event? Is it a thirty minute circlesong gathering, a three hour workshop, a six hour intensive, a four week course?
– What logistics need to be considered? What kind of travel will be involved? Will lodging be necessary? Will food and refreshment be provided? How are these details incorporated into your projected budget?
Email me at lushtongue@gmail.com and let’s design a beautiful, powerful, unforgettable experience!
4. Vocal Coaching
Your literal voice serves as a powerful portal for your symbolic voice in the world. Would you like to feel more grounded and confident in the dynamic capacities of your voice? Invest in a session with me. Clients leave my sessions feeling revitalized, inspired, more in touch with themselves, and a deeper understanding of what their voices can do. Here is more of what you all have to say about my courses and coaching. Thanks for your feedback!
5. Lush Tongue Merch
Thanks to those who have purchased an item! You can support my platform by purchasing t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, tote bags, and more. Click the link below to get your Lush Tongue merch.
6. The Open Sing
Carnegie Hall, Resnick Education Wing
154 West 57th Street
February 9, 2020
7 – 9pm
Free
You MUST RSVP by February 7 at noon to attend.
In this edition of our monthly workshop on second Sundays, Moving Star ensemble members Onome and Jascha will be leading a collective sonic journey based on a variety of collective vocal practices, including the spontaneously composed choral form known as circle-singing, to help us find and celebrate the music between us.
Expect games and songs that engage the whole group of singers in Moving Star’s trademark exploratory style. You will also learn some practical tools for vocal improvisation, such as how to build and join parts, solo, and even lead the group, all while trusting the flow.
7. Save the Date: In.Verse
I am a member of the experimental vocal lab and performance ensemble Moving Star, and on Saturday, March 14, we will be hosting an amazing night of performances inspired by poetry, composition and vocal improvisation, called In.Verse. Details coming soon!
Who is Onome? Onome is a vocalist and interdisciplinary sound artist of Urhobo heritage in the Niger Delta. She incorporates improvisation into her practice as a tool to expand consciousness, creativity, and personal development. Through her audience-interactive performances, workshops and sound installations, Onome embodies joy, enchantment, and infinite possibility. She is an artist-in-residence at Carnegie Hall as a core member of the vocal improvisation lab and ensemble, Moving Star.
She has performed sound poetry at hundreds of venues nationally, recorded soundscapes for podcasts, and created vocal film scores. She received her MFA in Performance Studies at Pratt Institute. She is the artistic director for Lush Tongue, a project that encompasses improvisation based on a repertoire of songs by women composers, sound healing, singing immersions, workshops, vocal coaching, retreats, and concerts. She facilitates community vocal immersions at concert halls, conferences, galleries, museums, schools, cultural centers, shelters, prisons, parks, churches, wherever voices gather.
Thank you for reading the Lush Tongue newsletter. Wanna stay? Hooray! Forward this newsletter to your loved ones. Gotta go? Do so below.
Love and gratitude,
Onome