Where are we really going?

[Steven Dropkin <dropkin...>]

Chevre--

I,ve read with enthusiasm all the comments and reflections on this years HN
experience. After songleading for over 25 years, it's invigorating to see
our art form so vibrant. I attended the first two HN workshops and I loved
them. They still hold some incredibly fond memories. I do, however, want to
get a better handle on what our long term mission really is. 

I can't help but hear the "little kid" in all of us when grown-ups come back
from camp. If you are all like me, they are some of the BEST times I ever
had in my life! Do we all agree on this? So why am I writing? I haven"t been
to HN in 5 years?

There are still a few givens in the songleading world. There is a dearth of
talent still, and that has to change. We must find ways to develope new
songleaders. The repetoire has to keep expanding so we can stay enthusiastic
about our work. We need to share more of what's working and what's not, so
we can refine our talents, and at the same time, create more moving singing
experiences. 

I think maybe it's time for me to return to HN, but the size of the group is
somewhat unfriendly to "process". Perhaps tracking of levels could solve
some of that. Small group experiences are a MUST within the framework of the
conference. Otherwise we become dependent on a few gleanings rather than many. 

I think that "mini" or regional experiences would serve our personal
"community" needs more than the good of the art itself. I believe that
Adrian is really "right on" on this one.

Songleading, though, is still a lost art. There are still camps, for
instance, that don't have good songleaders, with "quality" repetoires to
serve them, and in turn the camps they serve.

More of us need to work on OUR "expertise". This will free us from seeing
the same thing from the same perspectives. I'm not trying to say that
songleading is rocket science, but it IS a REAL art. If you've been with a
great songleader, you know it and remember it!

I would love to see all of this positive energy commited to these type of
goals. Ones that we, and others, can reach by communications and sharing. 

We all teach Torah through our music, that is the most important experience
of all! I hope we can all remember that when we sing together next time.

Shabbat Shalom--

Steve Dropkin