Of songwriting and community

Ever wish you could write a song that could change someone’s life, or bring them to tears, or perhaps even change the world? Songs can do all that. Come learn and get inspired by three masters of their craft — Ysaÿe M. Barnwell, formerly of Sweet Honey in the Rock; actress/ director Dietlinde Maazel and Paul Reisler, founder of Trapezoid and Kid Pan Alley. They’ll be joined by Paul’s band Three Good Reasons.

This weekend of song, songwriting, and community is Sept. 28-20 at the Theatre House at Castleton Farms in Castleton. Barnwell will lead a community sing at 6:30 Friday night, followed by a concert at 8. Workshops all day Saturday and Sunday. Visit bit.ly/songwriting18 for more information.

Barnwell’s “Community Sings” bring people of all ages and skill levels together to create beautiful music. This fun, energetic program will have you singing gorgeous five-part harmonies in no time. No experience is necessary, just a love of music and song. Barnwell appears as a vocalist and/or instrumentalist on more than thirty recordings with Sweet Honey in The Rock as well as other artists including Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions.

Maazel is the artistic director of the Castleton Festival, a festival she co-founded with her late husband, Maestro Lorin Maazel, one of the world’s foremost conductors. Thanks to scores of films and plays filmed for television, Dietlinde won Germany’s coveted Bambi Award as Best Actress of the Year in 1983. Notable roles include the title role in Goethe’s Stella and starring opposite Anthony Hopkins in Mussolini and I. In addition to her work as an acting coach and stage director, she is currently on the faculty of Rutgers University where she teaches Acting for Singers.

Reisler is the founder and artistic director of Kid Pan Alley, co-founder of Trapezoid, as well as his current bands, Paul Reisler & A Thousand Questions featuring Howard Levy, and Three Good Reasons (featuring vocalist Lea Morris and saxophonist Marshall Keys). He has written more songs than the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, and Stephen Foster combined — somewhere north of 3,500 compositions, thanks in no small part to his 60,000 young Kid Pan Alley collaborators as well as a handful of Grammy winning co-writers.

The workshop is presented by Kid Pan Alley with the support or RAAC’s Claudia Mitchell Fund and is open to anyone 16 and

older who is interested in songwriting. From people writing their first song to professionals — there is a lot for everyone. Lodging and meals are available on site. Concert tickets are included in the registration and a limited number are available for purchase separately. The

workshop fee for the entire weekend is $195 (before Sept. 23). For more information, visit bit.ly/songwriting18 or call 540-322-2022.