Saturday evening, a different kind of musical performance will take place at the downtown Albuquerque venue Chatter.
Vermont-based, Grammy-nominated singer and composer Moira Smiley will perform in concert, accompanied by a New Mexico-based string quartet. But before the show, Smiley, who’s also a musical educator, will lead participants in a community singing workshop, called The Big Sing.
“What that means is that everybody is welcome to come and sing, pretty easy to learn pieces in full harmony with me,” Smiley said.
“I teach it on the spot,” she said. “There's also going to be a string quartet accompanying us for those songs, so it'll feel really good in the room. And I think there's nearly 200 people signed up for that.”
After some vocal warmups, Smiley will guide participants through some folk melodies, and the result should be some gorgeous harmonies. Some of those harmonies will be reprised during Smiley’s concert immediately following the Big Sing.
Smiley’s work includes music from Appalachian and Anglo-Celtic traditions, as well as her original compositions and arrangements, which tend more toward the eclectic and experimental.
“I have a wonderful quartet of musicians joining me from Santa Fe and Albuquerque, and I'm just excited for the evening as a really beautiful musical event,” Smiley said.
Joining Smiley will be violinists Laura Tait Chang and David Felberg, violist Kimberly Fredenburgh, and cellist Amy Huzjak.
The entire event is being presented by the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. Attendance at the Big Sing, which starts at 3 p.m., is open to the public, but reservations are required. Currently, all seats are taken, although the Santa Fe Desert Chorale is keeping a waiting list. The concert, scheduled for 7 p.m., is a ticketed event. Details are available at desertchorale.org.
