Song in Motion : Creative tools for song sharers

Song in Motion: Circlesinging & Collaborative Improvisation
A day long immersion for choir leaders and song sharers

Would you love to feel more confident bringing spontaneous, alive music-making into your choir space?

Music created in the moment can spark connection, playfulness and wonder in a group. And yet for many singers the word improvisation can feel intimidating. When people join a choir, they don’t always expect to be invited to make music on the spot.

This masterclass is here to change that — gently and joyfully.

Song in Motion is an uplifting, practical, day-long training in circle singing and collaborative vocal improvisation, designed especially for choir leaders and song sharers who want to expand their facilitation toolkit and bring fresh creative energy to the groups they already lead.

No complicated theory.
No pressure to improvise wildly.
Just simple forms, clear invitations, and a beautiful musical flow.

Together we’ll explore accessible circlesong patterns, loops, and easy pathways into collaborative improvised music-making. You’ll learn not only how to improvise yourself, but how to guide your singers step-by-step into spontaneous music-making in ways that feel safe, playful and inclusive.

Whether your singers have never improvised before, feel nervous about the idea, or you simply want to step more fully into your own creative flow as a leader, this training will offer musical, embodied and confidence-building tools you can take straight back to your choir.

During the day we’ll explore

• Playful warm-ups that quickly connect people and awaken the room
• Simple circle song forms that create rich spontaneous music
• Shifting from “on the page” to expressive, in-the-moment singing
• Gentle ways to invite hesitant singers into improvisation with their voices
• Practical conducting skills — gestures, shaping sound and leading with the body
• Whole-group forms for beautiful textures and nourishing collective sound journeys

This is an uplifting, practical, day-long workshop  with opportunities to practise both in small groups and as a whole circle. There will also be space for reflection, questions and note-taking so the learning can truly land.

You’ll leave with practical tools you can use immediately, renewed inspiration, and greater confidence facilitating circle singing and vocal improvisation in your own community.

Part of a Two-Part Series

This workshop is part one of a two-part series. It has been rescheduled after we sadly had to cancel the first one in June.  A follow-up training, Song in Flow, will take place in February 2026, offering the chance to deepen your practice and expand your facilitation toolkit. The workshops can be taken separately.

About the Facilitators

Tara, Brigite and Pearl have been studying and practising collaborative vocal improvisation (CVI) together for over three years, developing a strong shared musical language and facilitation approach.

They have trained with leading UK improvisers including Briony Greenhill, Guillermo Rosenthuler, Kate Smith and Emma Coleman. Together they run a weekly improvisational singing group and regularly facilitate workshops in and around Stroud. They are also co-founders of Bristol Circle Singing, alongside Rebecca Temple.

 

Pearl Legay-Clarke

Choir leader | CVI practitioner | Folk singer

Pearl is a UK folk singer and workshop facilitator with a deep interest in singing for community and wellbeing. She has spent many years exploring the voice through vocal improvisation, intuitive singing, and technical vocal study. Her musical roots lie in traditional folk music from the British Isles and beyond.

Pearl leads Stroud Folk Choir, Sing Ahoy! Dursley Sea Shanty and Folk Choir, harmony singing workshops, vocal improvisation sessions, and campfire singing circles.

Brigite Rowan

Singer-songwriter | Choir leader | CVI practitioner

Brigite Rowan is a folk singer-songwriter, community choir leader, trauma-informed voice facilitator, and yoga teacher. Her work centres on singing as a pathway to healing, connection, and collective expression.

Rooted in collaborative vocal improvisation, she creates embodied, inclusive spaces where individuals and groups rediscover their authentic voices through shared music-making and deep listening. She also facilitates somatic voice and movement sessions for people living with complex trauma and special needs, supporting nervous system regulation, safety in the body, and authentic expression through breath, sound, rhythm, and gentle movement.

Location

Christian Community Centre
Stroud, GL5 4HB