Village Harmony

Who We Are

Village Harmony, Inc. is a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization based in central Vermont with activities around the world welcoming singers of all colors, creeds, ethnicities, nationalities, gender orientations & socio-economic backgrounds. Our focus is on deep exploration of harmony singing styles from traditional cultures throughout the world.  We view this as an important aspect of building bridges between different cultures and communities.

Village Harmony acts as an umbrella organization for a range of activities:

  • a traveling choral summer camp program for teenagers and adults,with sessions in the US and many overseas countries.
  • the select touring ensemble Northern Harmony;
  • music workshops and presentations, including performances and residencies by foreign teachers and touring groups;
  • online virtual choirs and shorter workshops;
  • hosting a very extensive library of online world music teaching materials.

VH BUS 900Village Harmony was founded by Larry Gordon in 1989. It began as a small ensemble of high school singers drawn from several central Vermont schools, rehearsing extra-curricularly and preparing a concert program for a ten day spring tour. In 1990 the first Village Harmony summer camp was held, establishing a pattern which has continued since: a week-long residential rehearsal week followed by a performing tour with home stays hosted by community sponsors. The organization and its programs have grown steadily and organically.

In 1994 the first teen summer camp went overseas, to Russia, and the following year the first of many England camp sessions was held.That same year Patty Cuyler joined Village Harmony and Northern Harmony as co-director. She was to soon become a major force in extending Village Harmony’s repertoire and travels, to other countries in eastern Europe, into the Mediterranean, and onto the African continent.

Since those initial trips we have taken study-performance groups to Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Corsica, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Macedonia, Caucasus Georgia, Ukraine, Ghana and South Africa, changing our destinations each year, and making repeat visits to favorite countries.

Village Harmony programs have grown almost entirely through word of mouth, and through the wide exposure afforded by extensive touring and distribution of recordings.

Over the years Village Harmony has developed a strong international presence, through its many study/performance programs, through its many professional recordings, and through regular tours throughout North America, the UK and western Europe by its touring ensemble, Northern Harmony.

Many participants have found that the intense community and immersion in other cultures provided by Village Harmony to be a life changing experience.  In addition to that ,we are now able to provide an important source of supplemental income for many remarkable tradition bearers in different parts of the world.