I run two community singing groups: the Open Air Sing Along in dude chillin' park, and a choir called Mixed Results. Send me an email at martinreisle@gmail.com to get on the mailing list for either group.
The Open Air Sing Along is a free, outdoor, drop-in, singing group that meets bi-weekly in Vancouver at Dude Chillin’ Park. Our aim is to be as accessible as possible and encourage literally everyone to sing purely for the joy of singing with other people. The only prerequisite is desire, if you want to sing, you can! By meeting outdoors we aim to lower the risk of airborne viral spread associated with group singing, in keeping with this aim we ask that if you are sick or have had a recent known exposure that you refrain from joining us until you are well. Everything is taught in a call-&-response manner line-by-line and then sung through. We try to include one piece of harmony singing per session, and otherwise sing songs from a growing repertoire of Lyric Chart* transcriptions and back-pocket songs that are easily learned and remembered without aid. Each session begins with a physical & vocal warm up, followed by singing then we close each session with a poem, and a collective tone or sound signature. Participants are welcome to bring snacks to share after the session as folks often hang around afterward. Repertoire favours local writers as much as possible and often tends toward folk/roots traditions but anything is fair game if it can work well with a group of amature/casual singers. There is a growing online repository of Lyric Charts and Scores as well as a playlist of songs that we have sung together.
Donate or Patreonize me, why don't ya?
The Harmony Yum Yum Choir, Mixed Feelings Chorus (or whatever name we chose collectively) is an outdoor community choir that meets bi-weekly in Vancouver BC. We offer 2 seasons of 8 sessions each beginning in April, and “August” (actually July 31st this year). Accessibility is a priority and similar to the Open Air Sing Along, our only real prerequisite is desire to sing harmony with other people often in 4 parts. Everything is taught in a call-&-response manner line-by-line and then sung through together. I also provide online recordings of individual parts as well as scores for people to review or remind themselves of parts outside of meetings. Each session begins with a physical & vocal warm up, followed by singing a mid session break, more singing and then we close each session with a poem, and a collective tone or sound signature and an optional post-session social time. By meeting outdoors we aim to lower the risk of airborne viral spread associated with group singing, in keeping with this aim we ask that if you are sick or have had a recent known exposure that you refrain from joining us until you are well. Repertoire favours local writers, and we also try whenever possible to collaborate with local artists making arrangements of their work and inviting them to present and/or share performances with us. Registration is a community supported sliding scale model with N.O.T.I.A.N.F.L.O.F. (no-one-turned-into-a-newt-for-lack-of-funds)
Spring Season Registration 2025
Autumn Season Registration 2025
Community Care Agreement:
I agree to monitor my own health and refrain from attending if I feel ill, or have had a known recent
exposure (in the latter case, attendance while wearing an N-95 or better is a reasonable option as
well).
We are committed to creating as accessible & welcoming a space together as possible so that everyone who
wants to join us singing can do so as safely as possible. Our community includes participants with
post-viral disabilities and people in direct contact with immuno-compromised loved ones — and we
acknowledge that COVID-19 and other airborne illnesses present a real threat to the health and safety of
our members, friends and loved ones et al. There is no truly safe way to gather and sing together
without some risk but meeting outdoors and agreeing to follow the basic guidelines of “monitoring your
own health and refraining from attendance when ill or having had a recent known exposure”, can
dramatically lower that risk and allow concerned folks to assess their own comfort level and attend
knowing that we care enough to take the measures possible to make a safer space to sing together. Thank
you for caring!
