Ooolife: the ways
Ooolife, A Day in the Life of Ooolation:
First light: Individual time, stretches, outdoor scampers or sleep!
Breakfast: always something hot, fresh fruit, tea and juices.
Warm Ups: imaginative body, voice and ear wake ups followed by a singing procession to the aspen grove where we put together a show with high-spirited moves and spine tingling harmonies.
The Day’s Music: will begin with a morning rehearsal session led by the composers, both staff and student, interspersed with breaks and a fresh baked morning snack. These breaks, also called ”silences”, last for 5-10 minutes. Singers disperse into the grove and creek bed, finding solitary perches to listen, watch, rest the voice and refresh the ears. They are then brought back to the circle by vocalizations usually connected to the next song to be learned. Each song session pulls the notes from the page into moves that connect the song to its roots and the singers to each other. An entire 90 minute concert is developed and memorized this way.
Afternoon Excursions: After a scrumptious buffet lunch (with take away snacks) we’ll have an afternoon of free time to explore the beautiful surroundings, or just kick back, nap and relax. We’ll have opportunities for group excursions to famous water cascades of Yosemite, swimming holes, alpine meadows, magnificent granite domes, and vast desert vistas. There will be special hike & sing days devoting whole days to slow, long hikes interspersed with rehearsals in spectacular stop over locales.
Long Shadow Review: As the sun comes closer to the horizon and the colors intensify, we find a wonderfully energized time to revisit the day’s music just before dinner back at the grove.
Dinner Circle: When we see that dinner truck pull up, mouths begin to water. We circle up for a group-improvised grace and quick reflection and then we’re all ears as master gourmet food magicians Linda and David Dore describe the evening menu. Their food is the poetry we set to music.
Song Party Evenings: will become a big song, story, and game swap. Music jams abound. For anyone who ever wanted to know how to play the spoons, bones, basic body percussion, central African hindewho, metal slit drum, or hammer dulcimer, Malcolm’s your man. Staff and students have many other songs, stories, poems and theater games to share among this talented group.