Hudson River Singing Circle

Build community, make merry with music, and take home a book!

Join Francesca Genco and Katie Down for an evening of music-making, community-building, and general fun - whether you “think” you can sing or not. In addition, learn about Francesca’s inspiring book, Singing the Body Into Being. Katie and Francesca will talk about the book and use it as inspiration for the evening’s vocal activities. The book will also be available for sale during the event.

In our time together, we will:

• Learn simple songs

• Make up songs on the spot

• Listen and respond to one another

• Move with the groove

• Have a blast!

We'll improvise together, co-creating soundscapes and music in the moment - all in a safe, supportive environment. Why not come and try for yourself?

To make this as accessible as possible, we offer this 2-hour experience for a sliding fee scale. Choose your comfort level between $15 and $35.

About the Book

In this little gem of a book, Francesca Genco extends a forthright and generous invitation to each of us to expand our soul-singer selves in deep, playful, and liberating ways. Offering a plethora of simple, powerful exercises, she literally en-courages the vocal explorer to replace ambition with curiosity and judgment with attention and presence. Francesca wisely situates our human body-voices within the polyrhythmic symphony of all of nature—in itself a radically healing act—and shows us the way, through embodied singing, to engender the kind of vibrant, empowering community for which we long.

—Rabbi Diane Elliot Registered Somatic Movement Therapist and teacher of Body-Mind Centering®

About Your Facilitators

Francesca Genco is a singer and sound healer, yoga instructor, bodyworker and interdisciplinary arts teacher. Francesca has released two albums, Numinous River (2008) and Lullabies for a World in Transition (2012). Her singing is featured in many films and TV shows, including Neill Blomkamp’s film Elysium and the BBC’s An Honourable Woman. She was also a featured vocalist in the world premier of Serj Tankian’s (lead singer of System of a Down) orchestral concert, Invocations. 

Additionally, Francesca is the founder of Song of the Body, which offers classes, workshops and retreats in embodied voice, sound healing, yoga and creative expression. Her teaching experiences led her to write a book, Singing the Body into Being: Healing Yourself and Community through Song. Her classes and private sessions are centered on creating an intimate relationship with the body as we learn to listen and respond to its natural intelligence and resonance.

Listen to Francesca's music here: francescagenco.bandcamp.com

Learn more about Francesca here: lilacmusic.com and songofthebody.com

Francesca's solo song in Serj Tankian's orchestral concert, Invocations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twN8otgrc-g

Katie Down is a music therapist, sound artist, and sound healing practitioner. She works with many musicians in the Hudson Valley and NYC as an improviser, sonic healing artist, and educator.  Katie is a classically trained flutist, jazz improviser, and member of the notorious ukulele group, The Ukuladies! Her psychotherapy practice, Sound Well Creative Arts Therapy, PLLC is a holistic, somatic therapy practice.

Learn more about Katie and listen to her music here: www.soundwellcenter.com