Singing Ukulele Retreat

Singing Ukulele Retreat
featuring Stu Fuchs and Justina Golden

Fabric of Life is excited to offer a new musical program as part of its ongoing efforts to preserve and promote traditional skills which enrich our daily lives.  People have always made music, but in our modern world most people are passive listeners rather than active music makers.  Both singing and playing ukulele are easy and accessible to anyone who wishes to discover how enjoyable and rewarding it is to be a musician.

Participants should have some experience in playing ukulele, knowing basic chords and being able to easily switch between them.  Most ukulele workshops offer the chance to learn new songs and new techniques to improve your playing, and this will be no exception.  But even though the ukulele is most often used to accompany singing, attention to vocal technique is rarely offered in group settings to ukulele players.  So this retreat will also teach basic vocal technique, how to use your breath to improve your singing.

The workshop will feature two great musicians:

Stu Fuchs is a lifelong musician, award-winning teaching artist blending mindfulness practice and creative play.  He has presented his ukulele workshops and concerts at ukulele festivals around the world and has performed classical and gypsy jazz guitar with symphony orchestras.  Stu blends accessible mindfulness practices with playful holistic music instruction at his “ukulele zen” workshops and retreats.  He was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for his work bringing healing music to cancer patients.  Stu recorded and toured with renowned sacred chant artist Snatam Kaur, playing on her  “Best New Age” Grammy award nominated album “Beloved”.  Stu continues to offer weekly lessons and music inspiration at his YouTube channel “Ukulele Zen”.

Justina Golden is a singer and vocal teacher since 1986.  She fell madly in love with teaching, trying to explain how to wield something invisible that has the power to transform lives.  She has taught individuals, small groups, and choirs, turning good singers into professional singers.  Justina also toured for 12 years in a singer/songwriter duo, taught voice at the Dar Williams “Writing a Song That Matters” workshop, and has taught at the Northampton Community Music Center and Smith College.  She now teaches in Florence, MA at her Profound Sound Voice Studio.