Vocal Tapestry Retreat
Facilitated By: Onome
August 16-18
Your voice is a valuable thread to the fabric of humanity. At the VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT, you’ll get to share the music that lives in you, and weave in vocal improvisation practices to add to your treasure trove of self-discovery and creative fulfillment.
The VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT provides a space for heart-centered humans like you – who are ready to unplug from your routine, plug into presence and inspiration, and re-ignite your creative spirit.
I’ll share techniques that I have synthesized from my studies with Bobby McFerrin, Rhiannon, Meredith Monk, Música do Círculo, theater improv, folk music, hip-hop freestyle, sound healing, archetypes, chakras, somatic experiencing, and mindfulness practices.
VOCAL TAPESTRY is for you if:
- You sang in choirs and made mix-tapes, CDs, SoundCloud compilations.You have heaps of old journals, song recordings, charcoal sketches, vision board collages, and you made up dances long before Tik-Tok. You currently sing in the shower. You sing karaoke. You sing to pop songs playing on the supermarket speakers.
- Creativity has always been an essential value in your life – whether professionally, as a hobby, or even as a secret yearning.
- You notice that your creative expression has fallen by the wayside, due to the noise of daily distractions and limiting beliefs. You’re looking to re-connect to that inner magic, and you’re drawn to the medicine of vocal improvisation.
- You’ve been dealing with burnout and need a major dose of soul nourishment.
- You are constantly pouring creatively into others – as a parent, teacher, arts-based therapist, engineer… and you are ready to refill your own cup with inspiration.
- Think of the last person you encountered who had that extra ummph, that creative flair, that special something that elevated your experience and made a profound impact on you. What if that person was you? What if you get to inspire others simply by shining the light of your authentic being?
- Some folks get their wildest thrills from bungee jumping, rattlesnake wrangling, and climbing mountains with no safety gear.
- Your greatest thrill is to be in creative flow and fellowship with others as you express yourself from your heart, in ways that surprise, delight, and transform you.
At the VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT, immerse yourself in the frequency of your most expansive self, through your voice.
Who is this Retreat for?
- Creatives of any medium – dance, paint, sculpture, culinary – who desire to infuse their practices with renewed ways of seeing, listening, perceiving, sensing, experiencing through vocal exploration.
- Vocal practitioners who love community singing, vocal improvisation, and embrace the voice as a spiritual practice.
- Heart-led humans who desire to free their voice from creative stuckness, burn-out, and shut down.
- All vocal backgrounds and skill levels are welcome.
Sample Schedule:
Friday, August 16
- Arrival, Registration & Orientation: 1-5pm
- Opening Circle: 5pm
- Dinner: 6pm
- Vocal Tapestry 1 – Weaving the Circle: 8pm – 9:30pm
Saturday, August 17
- MMMorning Magic (Meditation-Movement-Music): 8am
- DIY Breakfast: 9am
- Vocal Tapestry 2 – Deepening the Circle: 10am
- Lunch: 1:30pm
- Vocal Tapestry 3 – Expanding the circle: 3:30pm
- Dinner: 6.15
- Vocal Tapestry 4 – Music Mandala : 8pm – 9:30pm
- Optional Jam – 9:30pm onwards
Sunday, August 18
- MMMorning Magic (Meditation-Movement-Music): 8am
- DIY Breakfast: 9am
- Vocal Tapestry 5 – Sounding: 10am
- Sunday Brunch: 1:30pm
- Closing the Circle + Reflection: 3:30pm
- Departure: 5pm
“When I experienced your work, I was brought to an ancestral and inclusive land where every voice makes up part of the whole. I love that I got to experience the joy of creation! I would recommend your workshop to someone who would like to reconnect with possibility and magic.”
– Diane N. Ghogomu
Somatic Sexuality Educator, Embodiment Coach, Pleasure Scholar and Activist
“Thank you again for the nudge I needed to get up. It was an amazing experience for me. The first time I really felt like I let myself be connected to something deeply spiritual in a public/singing context.”
– Kay Bourgine
Founder, CircleSongs Paris
“I am so grateful to have been part of something so genuine, so honest, open, safe, and oh my goodness! SO MUCH FUN!
….The experience I had is one I will never forget….Her positive energy was inspirational and uplifting. She had a way of making everyone feel free and welcome. The entire choir quickly let go of any reservations and inhibitions.”
– Kelly Wright
Member of Twin Cities Women’s Choir
About Onome
Onome (pronounced awe – nuh – MAY) opens hearts by generating a field of courage for all voices to emerge.
For over twenty years, she has facilitated transformative experiences at the intersection of voice, creativity, and mindfulness. She designs and leads experiential workshops, retreats, and 1:1 sessions that clear energetic blocks to self-expression, empower people to reclaim and confidently wield the power of their imagination, and foster creative fellowship through mindfulness practices, relational games, and vocal play.
Her immersive group vocal rituals include singing circles, concerts, poetry readings, panel discussions, experimental theater, and sound installations. She has led improvisational vocal gatherings at hundreds of venues, created vocal film scores, and recorded soundscapes for podcasts and guided meditations.
Onome grew up with her ear in multiple worlds, starting with the Nigerian lilt of her immigrant parents, and the African-American vernacular of her classmates. She got her start as a choir geek and embraced the eclecticism of folk, soul, spirituals, European classical chorale, rock, and hip-hop music that she grew up with in Chicago.
She has shared her curriculum design skills with several organizations, such as her alma mater Sarah Lawrence College, United Nations, Madison Youth Choirs, Grace Episcopal Church, Teachers College-Columbia University, Juilliard, Música do Círculo in Brazil, Teatro Portapotese in Italy, and the CircleSongs retreat at Omega Institute.
She is a partner artist at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, where she contributes her performances and trainings across their vast educational programming spectrum.
About Maya (Retreat Assistant)
Maya is a multidisciplinary artist and native New Yorker with Colombian roots who has been singing since she could speak and dancing since she could walk. More recently she’s been developing her voice as an instrument and as a tool for self healing, emotional regulation and community building.
Maya is dedicated to the exploration of how we can heal, transmute and transform on a personal and collective level through creative expression. She has spent the last two years in Latin America living and working in various settings and strengthening her relationship with her voice, body, purpose, spirit and with the natural world. There and now back in New York, she has been focusing on practices of vocal improvisation, song-writing, yoga and dance improvisation. These experiences have fueled her desire to create and support environments centered around collaboration, creativity, connection, and play.
Frequently asked questions
I don’t consider myself a “singer,” but I’m drawn to using my voice. Can I attend the VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT?
Absolutely!
There will be lots of singing inspired by the improvisational lineage of Bobby McFerrin, Rhiannon, and Música do Círculo. However, the point of the retreat isn’t singing, per se.
The point is to learn to listen to yourself more deeply, trust the impulses of your imagination, and revitalize your creative mojo.
What should I bring to the VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT?
Bring your willingness to
embrace – and let go
of your uncertainty,
your anxiety,
your perfectionism.
Bring your water bottle.
Bring comfortable clothes.
Bring hiking boots.
Bring water shoes.
Bring swimwear.
Bring bug spray.
Bring a sweater and jacket.
Bring a journal and pen.
Bring your desire to connect in a welcoming circle of voices.
How many participants will be there?
15 – 25 people maximum.
I live near WildHeart Center, where the VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT is happening. Can I enroll as a commuter participant?
Yes. The commuter rate is $333 and includes all retreat content and facilitation, meals and snacks, and access to the land, lake, and studio spaces.
- Are there any opportunities to attend the VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT through a scholarship?
Yes. There are three half-price tickets available for BIPOC participants.
Please email contact@wildheartcenter.art to get the registration code for one of these spots.
- Are there any opportunities to attend the VOCAL TAPESTRY RETREAT through a work trade?
There is a work-trade position to provide set-up, break-down, marketing, photography, and videography support, in exchange for reduced tuition and lodging.
To inquire about the work trade position, fill out this form: https://forms.gle/L5EKFnawgYTBXE7r9
Retreat Location
WildHeart is located on 46+ beautiful acres in the Hudson Valley. Retreatants will have the option to stay in a single room, double room, dorm, or camping in either our main retreat center or in private two-bedroom cabins. All options have access to shared kitchens and bathrooms. Daily events will take place in the studio, shared common spaces, and outdoors. Retreatants are welcome to enjoy the lawns, walk in the forest, and swim and boat in the lake during their stay! More info about directions and transportation options HERE.
If you have any questions, concerns about pricing, or need assistance attending, please do not hesitate to reach out personally.
Registration
$499 Double-occupancy bedroom (per person)
$400 Dorm (for a bed in our spacious 5 person dorm)
$350 Camping (bring your own tent and equipment)
$333 Commuter (meals included)
BIPOC tickets: We are offering three half-price BIPOC tickets. Please email contact@wildheartcenter.art to get the registration code for one of these spots.
Support Price: This price directly supports us to welcome folx who might not otherwise be able to attend, to come at a lower price. $777
Refund policy: In advance of 1 week – full refund (less processing fee) Within 1 week – no refund
Covid policy: To protect the group, please don’t come if you have any symptoms of illness or had contact in the last 3 days with anyone who has COVID
