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Sacred Harp Singing in Ohio

Welcome to the Ohio Sacred Harp homepage, the headquarters for Sacred Harp information in Ohio. Sacred Harp singing is traditional religious folk music sung a cappella (no instruments) in four parts from The Sacred Harp, a tunebook printed in shape notes. The book was originally compiled in 1844 and has been continuously in print since then. If you are new to Sacred Harp singing, feel free to drop by to listen or join in. Beginning singers are always welcome and musical reading ability is not a requirement. At a Sacred Harp singing, there is no admission charge, no choir director, no rehearsal, no performance, no membership - just singing. To find a group or event near you, follow the links below.

Upcoming Singings

2020 Ohio State Convention

The 2020 Ohio Convention will be held Feb 29 - Mar 1 in Cincinnati at First Lutheran Church, same location as 2017. Convention info ia at the Ohio Convention 2020 Homepage

Ohio Local Singing Groups

  • Cincinnati.  (Second Sunday)
  • Akron.  (First Sunday, contact Corey Sees coreysees@gmail.com
  • Columbus.  (First and Third Sunday)
  • Dayton.  (Fourth Sunday)
  • Martinsville - fifth Sundays (irregular) - Friends Church, 112 E Main St (ST RT 28). Contact Dennis Delaney 859-468-7813 to verify details.

Ohio Annual Singings

Ohio Convention History

The Ohio Convention was founded in 1993 as a rotating convention hosted in turn by the Ohio singing communities.

Ohio Convention History contains notes on the earliest conventions.

1993 Ohio Convention Recordings contains a series of videos made by Bill Windom at the first Ohio Convention. Among the leaders featured are John Bayer, Reba Windom, Pauline Childers, Ted Mercer, Connie Karduck, Judy Hauff, and many others.

Dayton Singing Radio Program

WYSO radio in Yellow Springs has produced a beautiful story on the Dayton singers. Listen to it here: http://wyso.org/post/dayton-sacred-harp-singers-0

Email lists

Ohio Sacred Harp email list — This a yahoogroups email list that is the chief source of announcements for Ohio singings. There are also email lists for local groups that are described on their web sites. Anyone may join the email list—it is a low-traffic list devoted to announcements of events.

Recordings

There have been several fine recordings of the Ohio State Convention made by Shawn Fenton of Dayton. The recordings present strong and spirited singing by a medium-sized group of skilled singers, with all four parts clearly captured by close-in miking. Recordings may be ordered or purchased at singing events (when available). All recordings are $15.00, plus $1.50 shipping. If ordering more than one, the postage for each additional unit will be 50 cents. Checks or money orders should be made out to Shawn Fenton and may be sent to him at 18 Sue Dr., Germantown, OH 45327-1624. For more information, write or e-mail Mr. Fenton at sfenton1-at-woh.rr.com.

We'll Join the Everlasting Song: 2009 Ohio Sacred Harp Singing Convention — This is a live recording of the 2009 Ohio Convention, held in Cincinnati at the Little Red School House in Indian Hill. The chair of the convention was Cleve Callison. Recording is a 2-CD set with 66 tracks. Samples: Evening Shade (led by Eloise Clark). Resources: Minutes.

Loud Let His Praises Ring: 2008 Ohio Sacred Harp Singing Convention — Recording of the 2008 Convention, held in Brookville, Ohio. Samples: Ballstown (led by Jim Coppock); Detroit (led by John Bahler). Resources: Minutes; Playlist.

With Songs and Honors Sounding Loud: Ohio Sacred Harp Singing Convention, 12th Session, 2004 This 2-CD set is a professionally produced digital field recording of the 2004 Ohio Sacred Harp Singing Convention in Brookville, Ohio, chaired by Regina Bayer. The two dics contain 57 tracks of songs from The Sacred Harp, 1991 Edition. Most of the keying of songs was by Chicago singer and composer Judy Hauff. Recording and mastering were by Shawn Fenton. Notes (mostly a history of the Ohio convention and contact information) were by John Bealle, and Dore-inspired art was by Randy Mohr. There is a list of song leaders with the notes. Resources: Minutes.

Other Fasola Links

Shape Note Singing in Neighboring States and Provinces

These are just the web sites that we are aware of—there are many local singings without web sites. A list of contacts for local singings can be found at fasola.org and at Warren Steele's site http://home.olemiss.edu/~mudws/regular.html.

Mail comments, questions and updates to John Bealle at jbealle@ej345.com. This page was created January 4, 2000 and has been maintained by Eric Conrad, Cleve Callison, and John Bealle.