ANNA'S RESUME
I have sung as long as I can remember. My mother taught me a harmony to a song called “Sugarbush” when I was 7 or 8 and I was hooked.
I always sang and was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get called out for not singing in tune.
After school I sang in Art college with a bunch of talented people at lunch time. That was a lot of fun.
In Zambia we had informal Thursday evening singing sessions in our house. People would bring guitars and I bought rolls of paper to put the words on the wall so everyone could sing along. That was also a lot of fun.
I joined a madrigal group in Zambia and another one when we came home to Ireland. I really enjoyed those as well.
A group of friends got together in about 1992 and we sang in each other’s houses for about 12 years and that was great. Our group called itself “Na Preachain” – ‘the crows.’
We brought Sian Croose over from Norwich and she introduced us to the idea of Natural Voice.
Her teaching style was so relaxed I got the crazy idea that I could do that too.
I did a ‘workshop workshop’ with her where we learned how to facilitate people singing together. That was very helpful and I came to the conclusion that I could do it.
I realized I have a facility to remember words and parts of songs quite easily and they stay in my head.
I have since taught day and weekend workshops both with Eileen and on my own.
I also taught third level drama students in Bray Institute of Further Education for a couple of years.
At this stage I have a large collection
of world music from very simple to quite complex songs and chants. I
love sharing it. There is something very special about a group of
people singing together in harmony. It is time out and it energizes
the body and relaxes the mind.
I teach in the aural tradition so there’s no need to read music. The focus is to create a safe space for people to sing. I come from the position that anyone can sing and everyone has the right to.
Anna Felton
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