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Photos by Scott Sneddon
Winter Songwriting Retreat Weekend
February 3 to 5, 2012
With Katherine Wheatley and James Gordon
Immerse yourself in a weekend of songwriting with James Gordon and Katherine Wheatley, two successful and respected Canadian singer-songwriters. For beginners and advanced writers of all ages, this three-day experience will be presented at the beautiful Loyola House at Guelph's 650-acre Ignatius Retreat Centre.
Katherine and James have developed a program that provides a nurturing, creative environment for writing songs and learning about the craft of songwriting. The weekend starts Friday night with a reception, introduction, song circle and jam session. One-on-one mentoring, group sessions, workshops, and more jamming lead to a final concert on Sunday afternoon where everyone performs a song they've written over the weekend. There will be opportunities to collaborate with the other writers to create great arrangements and harmonies for the final performance of your new song.
The weekend includes:
- One-on-one mentoring sessions with the instructors
- An individual songwriting assignment
- Friday night reception and song circle
- Access to keyboards if needed, and lots of space to work on your song
- Optional workshops
- Saturday walk or ski around the beautiful Ignatius property
- Saturday night dinner and evening song critique session
- Late-night Saturday jam session by the fireplace in the lounge
- Delicious organic meals and refreshments throughout the day
- Final Sunday afternoon concert featuring YOUR new song!
- A recording of your completed song
"Sunday afternoon's concert was magical...hearing everyone's songs. I have memories of the weekend that will last a lifetime." - M. Smole
"Left utterly satiated. Thank you so much for a weekend that I won't forget." - Don Ablett
Photos by Scott Sneddon
Mentoring and Workshops
This year, each participant will meet one-on-one with James and Katherine (that's 2 one-on-one sessions each). Please feel free to ask James and Katherine additional personal attention if you need help with your songs or help with songwriting in general.
WORKSHOPS: Four optional workshops will be offered during the retreat. Katherine's workshops will focus on chords, chord progressions and melody writing. James's will focus on lyric writing. On Sunday, Katherine will give a harmony workshop, focusing on finding harmonies and arrangements for your new songs.
Location
Located 2 km north of Guelph, Ontario, the Ignatius Jesuit Centre serves as a place of beauty and sustenance, a place where nature may give strength to mind, body and soul. Consisting of a green belt stretching from the Guelph Lake Conservation Area to the Guelph Elora Trail, the estate is home to the internationally-acclaimed Loyola House Retreat, and the Ignatius Farm, surrounded by 650 acres of ski and hiking trails, ponds and streams, fields and forests. The Loyola house has a spacious lounge, comfortable private rooms, fabulous local organic food and lots of space for writing your song and getting some reflective time on your own. www.ignatiusguelph.ca
Fees
Songwriting workshop with accommodation:
$475 earlybird (before January 9th); $495 after January 9th
Single rooms with shared bathrooms: Meals - Fri. light meal, Saturday: breakfast, lunch and dinner; Sunday: breakfasts and lunch. Snacks and refreshments all weekend.
Songwriting workshop without accommodation:
$310 earlybird (before January 9th); $330 after January 9th
Meals - Friday night: light meal; Saturday: lunch and dinner; Sunday: lunch. Snacks and refreshments all weekend.
Registration
To pay by snail mail (cheque or credit card), click here.
To pay online via credit card or paypal, select one of the options below.
If you are eligible for a discount (students, seniors, SAC members, 3rd time attendee), please contact James Gordon directly before ordering.
| Workshop with accommodation ($495) |
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| Workshop w/out accommodation ($330) |
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| Workshop with accommodation (students, seniors, SAC members, 3rd time attendee) |
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| Workshop w/out accommodation (students, seniors, SAC members, 3rd time attendee) |
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For more information: email or call 519-837-3757
"It was worth my time and resources to repeat the workshop! And, I got a new song out of it!" - Bruce Walton
"A fantastic weekend....I liked that we had lots of time to work on our song, and also the one-on-one mentoring sessions. Spending quality time with you two experts was one of the biggest perks of the whole weekend." - Glenn McFarlane
Instructors
James Gordon has had an international profile as a songwriter for 30 years, first as the founder of the Canadian folk trio Tamarack, and later as songwriter-in-residence for CBC radio. He's written over 1000 songs and recorded close to 40 albums. His best known songs "Frobisher Bay" and "Mining For Gold" have been recorded by hundreds of artists, including the Cowboy Junkies and cast of "Canadian Idol." His "Rhyme Capsules" songwriting-in-the-schools program has helped develop young writers all across North America. www.jamesgordon.ca
"A huge thank you to James and Katherine for a fabulous time and sharing their talents & insights with us." - Bernie Gilmore
Katherine Wheatley plays over 100 shows a year. In addition to touring as a solo singer-songwriter, she is a member of "Betty and The Bobs" and plays guitar in Wendell Ferguson's band. She writes and records songs with kids through her Youthsongs program and has produced 13 CDs with schools across North America in the past 3 years. Her music has been used for TV series, documentaries and films. This geologist-turned-musician recently released her 3rd CD, "Landed"—a recording that reflects the grace, power and emotional impact of her live performance. "She turns pebbles of everyday life into dreamy mountains of song." (The Toronto Star). www.katherinewheatley.com
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