
A celebration of wintery, instantly learnable folk songs with Moira Smiley
Pay what you can! Your $0-$25 reservation goes towards 12.17 $450 space rental
A celebration of wintery, instantly learnable folk songs with Moira Smiley!
Pay what you can! Your $0-$25 reservation goes towards $450 space rental
These are the songs we're singing both Dec. 16 & 17!
Download / print and bring to sing!
Moira first encountered this beauty through Ruth Crawford Seeger's American Folk Songs for Christmas Songbook (1953). When she sang it for Seamus, he was immediately inspired to create a soundscape to hold the song's wonderment. They both thought of Kaïa's wise and tender voice as they built the vocal harmonies and looked for that feeling of
Moira first encountered this beauty through Ruth Crawford Seeger's American Folk Songs for Christmas Songbook (1953). When she sang it for Seamus, he was immediately inspired to create a soundscape to hold the song's wonderment. They both thought of Kaïa's wise and tender voice as they built the vocal harmonies and looked for that feeling of stillness and mystery that comes from standing outside under a big night sky.
This spiritual was first recorded and transcribed in 1925 by Sierra Leonean musician/scholar, Nicholas G.J. Ballanta (1893-1962) in the 'Saint Helena Island Spirituals' Songbook. Published in New York by G.Schirmer, most of the songs were collected while Ballanta visited Penn Normal, Industrial and Agricultural School, Saint Helena Island, Beaufort County, South Carolina. The version Ballanta transcribed is attributed to Virginia Brown.
From Good Winter, released December 16, 2022 Moira Smiley / lead, harmony vocals Kaïa Kater / harmony vocals Seamus Egan / keys, sound design
Meeting Is Over is an old American song about “meeting on the other shore”. Driven by Smiley on the banjo with Faccini on guitar and the West African guembri, the single also features Irish multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan on guitar.
The haunting and yet comforting harmonies reflect on goodbyes with those we love the most—the ebb and flow of
Meeting Is Over is an old American song about “meeting on the other shore”. Driven by Smiley on the banjo with Faccini on guitar and the West African guembri, the single also features Irish multi-instrumentalist Seamus Egan on guitar.
The haunting and yet comforting harmonies reflect on goodbyes with those we love the most—the ebb and flow of togetherness that life presents.
Arranged by Moira Smiley and Alexander Lloyd Blake. Performed by Moira Smiley and members of Tonality.
Co-written by collaborators and partners Egan & Moira Smiley, Mourning Dove chronicles intimate struggle of love, loss, and growth across two winters of isolation in rural Vermont. This single's music video shows Egan & Smiley's layered connection to each other, and to the evocative calls of the mourning doves outside their window.
"Last
Co-written by collaborators and partners Egan & Moira Smiley, Mourning Dove chronicles intimate struggle of love, loss, and growth across two winters of isolation in rural Vermont. This single's music video shows Egan & Smiley's layered connection to each other, and to the evocative calls of the mourning doves outside their window.
"Last winter, early 2022 brought a stubborn melancholy to our house. Two musicians with identities linked to the feedback loops of performance and collaboration tried to stay connected to each other across a second winter of isolation. In the drear of March, we learned how we’d pulled together against a world of fears, but had forgotten our own wants and needs in the process. These lyrics tumbled out in April after I’d spent a few weeks adventuring on my own, and Seamus sent me the voice memo of a tender chord progression. Meanwhile, a pair of mourning doves took up residence by our house. Their presence was a wild, potent reminder of the cycles and mysteries of partnership. Their long, mournful calls reminded us of the faith and hope we hold in one another." — Moira Smiley
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Five exquisitely diverse voices and thunderous body percussion bring raw urgency to songs of social justice and human connection.
Touring heavily with Tune-Yards, Solas and Jayme Stone’s Lomax / Folklife projects bore Unzip The Horizon - Moira’s 2018 solo album of lonesome, nomadic songs. An instinctual collaborator, she was ready to return to
Five exquisitely diverse voices and thunderous body percussion bring raw urgency to songs of social justice and human connection.
Touring heavily with Tune-Yards, Solas and Jayme Stone’s Lomax / Folklife projects bore Unzip The Horizon - Moira’s 2018 solo album of lonesome, nomadic songs. An instinctual collaborator, she was ready to return to harmony singing and the joy of powerful voices in 2020 with VOCO. In Our Voices is the result of that return. Featuring: Moira Smiley, Dawn Pemberton, Karla Mundy, Gregory Fletcher, Jake Asaro with special guests Sam Amidon, Caleb Bronze, and Seamus Egan.
‘Sing About It’ sings against the violence of white supremacy and the echo chambers we live in. A side-step from the a cappella anthem on Moira Smiley’s February 19th release In Our Voices, this Naytronix remix ventures into the land of vocal-driven experimental beats and fierce, meditative repetition. In this week where we feel the senseless
‘Sing About It’ sings against the violence of white supremacy and the echo chambers we live in. A side-step from the a cappella anthem on Moira Smiley’s February 19th release In Our Voices, this Naytronix remix ventures into the land of vocal-driven experimental beats and fierce, meditative repetition. In this week where we feel the senseless death of George Floyd (and many other Black lives continuing to be cut down by our systems of oppression), the nucleus of this electro-pop remix is the ever-pulsing question: “am I responsible / are you responsible / what are we responsible for?”.
“Naytronix is the solo musical project of Nate Brenner, an American multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and producer who is also a member of the band Tune-Yards.”
Apply to purchases of digital music, CDs, printed songbooks, and/or masterclasses & workshops! Basically anything offered here on moirasmileysubscription.com e-mail info@moirasmiley.com to apply a gift card towards a private lesson!
Apply to purchases of digital music, CDs, printed songbooks, and/or masterclasses & workshops! Basically anything offered here on moirasmileysubscription.com e-mail info@moirasmiley.com to apply a gift card towards a private lesson!
Perfect for gifting masterclasses/workshops or private lessons! Can also be used for purchasing digital music, CDs, and/or printed songbooks. e-mail info@moirasmiley.com to apply a gift card towards private lessons!
Painted and protected laser-engraved wooden medallions, in terra cotta color. I started calling these “medallions” because they can be whatever you want them to be… they are the perfect size to become ornaments… magnets… a set of coasters… hanging decorations. Maybe hang them as ornaments today and use them as coasters tomorrow. Make them your own! Every set comes with a DIY kit of 3 wooden medallions + a package of thread + three attachable magnet discs AND a handwritten love note from Moira.
The Unzip The Horizon Songbook is companion to Moira Smiley’s 2018 solo album of the same title. The lonesome freedom and experience of years on tour were midwife to this original music; all about seeing down to the origins of anxiety and up into the freedoms we ignore. This collection of songs, lovingly arranged for a wide variety of voices and instruments, brings together the spirit of communal singing and a songwriter’s introspection. Body percussion is woven throughout the Songbook, engaging musicians on a kinetic level. This Songbook is for choirs, ensembles, bands, a cappella groups, or solo vocalists of all experiences—this collection of music invites anyone and everyone to lift their voices… and Unzip The Horizon.
122 page printed Songbook packed with exclusive features, including: Sheet music for 12 songs Lead sheets for percussion, piano & strings Exclusive study MP3s for each vocal part of every song Link to body percussion video tutorials on private YouTube page Original Artwork by Cao Minh Huy
100% fine cotton Highly absorbent & Lint-free 29.5″ x 18.5″ Made with love in Vancouver, Canada by Creative Tea Towels1 Original Artwork from the Unzip The Horizon Songbook by Cao Minh Huy
The Unzip The Horizon Songbook is companion to Moira Smiley’s 2018 solo album of the same title. The lonesome freedom and experience of years on tour were midwife to this original music; all about seeing down to the origins of anxiety and up into the freedoms we ignore. This collection of songs, lovingly arranged for a wide variety of voices and instruments, brings together the spirit of communal singing and a songwriter’s introspection. Body percussion is woven throughout the Songbook, engaging musicians on a kinetic level. This Songbook is for choirs, ensembles, bands, a cappella groups, or solo vocalists of all experiences—this collection of music invites anyone and everyone to lift their voices… and Unzip The Horizon.
This 122 page digital Songbook (PDF) is packed with exclusive features, including: Sheet music for 12 songs from Moira's Unzip the Horizon Lead sheets for percussion, piano & strings (where applicable) Embedded private link to folder with Study MP3's for each vocal part of every song Embedded private link to body percussion tutorials Original Artwork by Cao Minh Huy