Sing Thing in Berkeley/Albany?
I'd love to try the Sing Thing group that meets in Oakland (which I discovered here on BPN), but getting there would be tricky. Is there by any chance a similar community singing group in Berkeley or Albany?
(The description of Sing Thing says "we learn rounds, part-singing, songs in a variety of languages from a variety of cultures, sea shanteys, work songs, and songs that are just plain fun to sing.")
May 13, 2025
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There's a new group forming (LEVAS: Lift Everyone's Voices and Sing) -- they are still working out details, such as regular meeting place and day/time. They've had two meeting so far, both in Pt. Richmond area, but in the future, they might be able to meet at the Planting Justice community center at the old Adachi Nursery site in El Sobrante. No prior music experience required, but love of singing is.
Some notes from their first meeting: We began our time together with the West African call and response, “Funga Alafia”. The call, ‘funga alafia’ is an Yoruba phrase and translates to “peace be upon you,” commonly used as “we come to you in peace.” The response is “Ashe! Ashe!”, meaning “may it be so.”
Amy led us with the fun round, “Hey, Ho, Nobody Home.”
Melinda, Amy and Michael each led a group of singers on the round or canon “Dona Nobis Pacem” (grant us peace).
Melinda taught us the protest song “Keep On Moving Forward” , written by Pat Humphries..
Then we did some listening; “One Voice” by the Wailin Jennys; “Love’s in Need of Love Today” by Stevie Wonder , “Shifchi Ka-Ma’yim” by Linda Hirschorn, and “Hang On , Little Tomato” by Pink Martini.
We ended our time with the gospel song made popular in the Civil Rights Movement, “Woke Up This Morning With My Mind, Stayed on Freedom,” using different phrases suggested by us all to bring us together.
Contact Amy Ukena if you want more information: amyukena [at] gmail.com