Shape Note Singing with Esther Morgan Ellis

Esther Morgan-Ellis shares the joys and the structures of this old style of singing together. The exuberance of the practice is echoed in Esther's own enthusiasm for the power of this tradition.  Esther Morgan-Ellis is a historical musicologist who focuses on participatory musical traditions, especially community singing and old-time music-making. She has written extensively about the early twentieth-century American community singing movement. Her research also explores contemporary traditions such as Sacred Harp singing, hymn singing, and revivalist old-time music, examining how communities sustain and reshape these practices over time. As editor and lead author of the open-access textbook Resonances: Engaging Music in Its Cultural Context, she highlights musical traditions from around the world to show how music functions within diverse societies. In both her scholarship and her work as a performer and educator, she emphasizes the social bonds and shared histories that grow out of collective music-making.     And the global singings website: https://shapenotesingings.com/