Star in the East: An Early American Carols Workshop

Enjoy holiday cheer, singing with your neighbors, and cider and cookies! Join Early Music Michigan and Kalamazoo Sacred Harp singers to learn about the traditional American art of shape note singing and practice the form together with early American carols. Then join EMM at our holiday concert on December 6, 2025 for more early American holiday songs! 

About the Workshop

The American tradition of shape note singing was developed in the early nineteenth century and grew out of a movement to encourage congregational and social singing. The notes, which are printed on a musical staff in squares, diamonds, triangles, and ovals, are meant to help even beginner singers with no musical background to quickly and easily learn how to read music and sing. While shape note singing is over two centuries old, there are several specific shape note traditions that are still active and, indeed, growing—including Sacred Harp singing, which enjoys a thriving presence in Kalamazoo. Sacred Harp singings take place in a hollow square, with the singers all facing in, and are often raucous, spirited, and joyful events!

In the first hour of this workshop, Samuel Sommers will offer a general introduction to shape note singing and participants will learn about the shapes, the syllables that correspond with them, and the usual method of singing a song using both the notes and the lyrics. In the second half of the workshop, led by Will Fitzgerald, participants will practice their new skills and sing a variety of festive holiday tunes from the shape note tradition together, including STAR IN THE EAST, which will be sung at the EMM holiday concert "An Early American Holiday."

About the Venue

We will be singing in the Kalamazoo Friends Meeting House. Its wooden walls and open seating make it perfect for singing shape note music. The Meeting House has handicap-accessible parking on Jefferson Ave and street parking is available around the Meeting House. 

Workshop Leaders

Samuel Sommers has been singing Sacred Harp since 1992. He has participated in many shape note singings and conventions in the Midwest and the Southeast.  Sam has been an eager student in many singing schools taught by traditional singing masters. He is a board member of the Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association (SHMHA), a non-profit organization whose purpose is to promote Sacred Harp singing and its traditions. Sam has been a teacher at Camp Fasola since 2009. He has taught classes and workshops in Alabama, Ireland, England, and Poland.

Will Fitzgerald has been singing Sacred Harp regularly since 2005, participating in singings and conventions throughout the US and in Ireland. Will is a also a teacher at Camp Fasola, and worked on text preparation for the 2025 edition of The Sacred Harp. He leads twice-monthly shape note workshops and singings in Kalamazoo, and has both sung with Early Music Michigan and is currently a member of their board.

Registration Deadline

Advance registration is open until November 8, 2025.

Registration is open until the workshop begins, and you can register on-site! Please note that attendees who register online on or after November 9, 2025 will be asked to print the workshop materials and bring them to the workshop. (If you are a late registrant and this will not be possible for you, please contact us as soon as possible.)