Artist-in-Residence

St. Stephen's Artist-in-Residence 2011-2012: Ana Hernández

Ana Hernández is well-known to St. Stephen’s, both as a mentor to and collaborator with the Virginia Girls Choir, and as the composer of pieces sung by the choir and by the congregation at various St. Stephen’s services and on the CD she recorded with the Girls Choir in 2010, “An Unexpected Christmas.” She will be at St. Stephen’s three times over the course of the 2011-2012 program year, in September, at Christmas, and in May. The May visit will also include Ruth Cunningham, Ana's musical collaborator and one of the founding members of the renowned vocal group Anonymous 4.

May workshop and concert info here.

September 23-24, 2011

Friday, September 23, 7:30-9 p.m.
Drum circle

Suggested donation: $10; please bring your own drum.

Saturday, September 24, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.

Sound as Prayer: A Not-So-Quiet Day of Spiritual Exercises Using Sound and Shared Silence

Saturday, December 24 and Sunday, December 25

Christmas Eve: A Celtic Christmas with Ana Hernández and the Virginia Girls Choir
Music begins at 6:30 p.m.; service at 7 p.m.
Christmas Day: Morning service at 10 a.m.; Ana will offer fresh takes on a few traditional carols, joined by Dan Moriarty at the organ

Saturday, May 5-Sunday, May 6, 2012

Saturday, May 5, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Open Your Mind, Open Your Heart | A workshop with Ana Hernández and Ruth Cunningham
Workshop descriptions are here.

Saturday, May 5, 8 p.m.

Concert (description here)

Sunday, 5:30 p.m.
Celtic Service

Workshop Descriptions

September 24 | Ana Hernández, Artist-in-Residence
Saturday Workshop, 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m.: Sound as Prayer: A Not-So-Quiet Day of Spiritual Exercises Using Sound and Shared Silence
Suggested donation: ($25, $10 students) | Register here
The voice is nature’s most perfect instrument; other instruments have been trying to replicate its magnetism since the dawn of time. Our voices reveal things about us before we realize them ourselves. The voice is a barometer: it measures the atmospheric pressure of our emotions. The voice you’ve been given is a part of your gift to the world and is unique in the universe. Knowing yourself can put you on the fast track to a healthy inner life.

In this workshop we will re-discover God with and in our voices; listen deeply and experience the ways sound touches spirit; explore sacred chant to heal ourselves and the world, learning how sound can enhance well-being; reflect on sounds that open (and close) our hearts. All are welcome at this day of humming, toning, singing, deep listening, and seriously fun prayer. If you can hum, you can come. Learn how your voice lives in your body, how to use it to generate health and healing, and how to let it help you bring your best self to all you do. Listen to yourself for a change. Register here.

Saturday, May 5 | Ana Hernández with Ruth Cunningham
Saturday Workshop, 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m.: Open Your Mind, Open Your Heart
Suggested donation: $25 ($15 students) | Register here
Explore practices of humming, toning and sacred chanting. As musical beings, we benefit from regular practices that support us and keep us clear in the work we do. An intentional practice will not only open up your singing voice, it will also help to ground and connect you to your spiritual center. Whether you are a singer, instrumentalist, nurse, doctor, priest, teacher, therapist, body worker, or hospice worker, the more you know yourself (and your own vibration) and connect to who you are in your heart, the more effective you are at staying grounded and bringing your wholeness into any situation. These practices are also good for your health: stress is reduced, endorphins are released, circulation improves, and clarity and focus are sharpened.

Concert

Ana Hernández and Ruth Cunningham in Concert | Saturday, May 5, 2012, 8 p.m.
Suggested donation: $15 per person ($5 students)
These musical collaborators are known together as HARC. Individually, Ana Hernández has visited St. Stephen’s numerous times to work with the Virginia Girls Choir, and her compositions are well-known to parishioners here (“Open My Heart,” “Guide Us Waking”). Ana was a composer and performer on the Girls Choir’s 2010 CD, “An Unexpected Christmas.” Ruth Cunningham is one of the founding members of the renowned vocal group Anonymous 4.