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Wednesday, 4 June 2025

🌹🎢 Bloomin' Lovely June

 

Dear Friend

🌹🎢  Bloomin' Our Voices This June πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ

 "It was June, and the world smelled of roses.
The sunshine was like powdered gold over the grassy hillside."
– Maud Hart Lovelace, US Writer (1892-1980) Betsy-Tacy and Tib


Wowzers - such joyful sense of freedom blooms with long summer days.
I'm as happy as a pig in petals, wandering about on balmy evenings,
poking my nose in roses and gazing at cloud dappled sunsets. 

As I explored in my recent Flower Power Substack article,
the words flower and bloom come from the word bhel - meaning to thrive. 
Fertile flowers enable life not only to continue, but to bloom in abundant perfumed beauty. Our voices also have multiple surviving and thriving functions - as infants, our baby cries alert our caregivers to our basic bodily needs and our vocal playfulness helps us acquire language. Many of our companions on earth - dolphins, birds, gibbons and frogs - use a wide range of vocalisations for navigation, identification, territory defence, courtship and play.
From serenading our sweethearts to stating our boundaries,
our voices play both beautifying and basic functions in our lives.

 πŸŒΉπŸŽΆ Three Simple Ways to Bloom Your Voice this June πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ

1. Good Vocal Habits
It's important to warm up before singing.
(this is particularly for latecomers who miss the choir warm up ;)
Breathe deeply and then move into voiced and unvoiced sounds such as yawns, sighs, slides and hums, before running some scales and vocal exercises.

2. Take Care of Your Voice
Steaming is a lovely treat for your voice -
head under a towel over a bowl of boiling water and breathe deeply.
 If you want something more portable, Dame Judi Dench recommends
Dr Nelson's inhaler in her autobiography, And Furthermore 

3. Play
Young children play freely through the range of their voice - whooping, yelling, burbling, babbling, making up words and sounds. Improvising and experimenting with our voices is a natural, fun way to expand our vocal range.

BONUS - Share Your Voice Generously.
In day-to-day communication, we can share kind and soothing words of comfort in tough times and laugh and lark about enthusiastically in good times.
We can also make a vocal contribution through sharing our songs, stories, speeches and lending or voices to projects, groups or causes.
We live in an interconnected world - so as we allow our voices to bloom,
it can help make life a bit more bloomin' lovely.
 πŸŒΉ 🎢  Come and Bloom in the Rose Garden πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ

"Do not the bright June roses blow
To meet thy kiss at morning hours?"
– The West Wind, William Cullen Bryant, American Poet (1794—1878)


🌟  Vocal Revolution Podcast - Healing Trauma with Darren Abrahams

🌟  Katie Sings @ Coco's - come and be serenaded whilst enjoying a delicious drink/ dinner - 14th June.

 πŸŒŸ can u feel it - latest interviews: Electric Mode & The Yorkshire Times 

🌟  Sparkle Chorus - Songful Midsummer Celebration - 22nd June

🌟  HeartSong - Happy Hearty Singing in Herts  - 28th June 

 πŸŒŸ  Vocal Revolution Coaching 121 sessions to blossom your voice

🌟  Spring Survey Results - Thanks to all who shared their views and congratulations to Shirley Sinclair for winning a 121 session in the Prize Draw.  
Based on your feedback, I'm designing an online membership including exercises, tips and inspirations for developing your vocal creativity.
If you didn't take the survey, you can still drop me a line with any requests.

🌟  Rambling Rose - come and ramble in my substack community
  πŸŒΉπŸŽΆ Wishing you a bloomin' lovely June πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ

Be well, breathe deep and keep singing loudly!

Drop me a line or sing me a song:
katie@therosewindow.org
www.therosewindow.org
@katierosewindow on the Socials

 
Website
YouTube
Spotify
Facebook
Instagram
🌹 🎢 Vocal Revolution Ep 23
- Healing Trauma with Darren Abrahams

1st June 2025

"Trauma is stored in places where there is no language, but people still have a story to tell around that which is around their emotional experience, and if you don't have words to do that, then you have a voice, you have sound, you have an instrument, you have a drum, you have a different way of expressing it, but I do think it's still about sharing an element of who you are through a medium that goes straight to the heart rather than having to go through the brain first."

Darren shares how music can help us come home to ourselves and tell our stories in a way that goes straight to the heart.

About Darren
Darren Abrahams inhabits the spaces between art and transformation, weaving together the worlds of singing, healing, and social change. As a performer who has appeared on stages from Covent Garden to Glyndebourne, he discovered that music could be more than entertainment – it could be medicine. Now, as the co-founder of The Human Hive and One World Orchestra, he facilitates experiences that blur the lines between performance and healing. His work as a trauma therapist and creative leader reveals a discernible truth: that art, when wielded with purpose, can transform both individuals and communities. Fun Fact - Darren and Katie first met over 20 years ago on a crazy sound healing adventure in the Kent countryside. https://darrenabrahams.com
🌹 🎢 can u feel it! πŸŽΆπŸŒΉ
Composed by Katie Rose, remix by Michael Doiley, video by Leon Stuparich

"A message for our times" - Electric Mode
🌹🎢 Sparkle Chorus - Sing & Shine! πŸŽΆπŸŒΉ

🌟 Three Singing Workshops to Shine Up Your Voice! πŸŒŸ
Come and learn a sparkly set of songs
with the option to perform in Winter Sparkle 2025.
We'll be travelling through starry pop, folk and original songscapes - acappella and accompanied, all taught by ear in three or four-part harmony.
Everything will be taught by ear, with learning materials supplied so you can sing confidently.

🌟 WORKSHOP DATES πŸŒŸ
All workshops run 2-5pm, Doors open at 1.45pm

Sunday 22nd June - Midsummer Sparkles
Saturday 16th August - Summer Holiday Sparkles
Saturday 15th November - Firecracker Sparkles

Optional performance: Winter Sparkle 6th December 2025
It's fine just to come along for a fun sing if you don't want to perform.

VENUE: Church Hall @ St John the Evangelist Upper Norwood,
Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX

🌟 TICKETS - BOOK HERE πŸŒŸ
Full price after 1st June/ on the door (pay by card)  £25/ £20
 πŸŒΉπŸŽΆ Heartsong πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ
Happy Hearty Singing in Herts With Katie Rose
Enjoy a happy afternoon of beautiful harmony singing in the serene ambience of Letchworth Quakers Meeting House.
We'll be learning uplifting songs from global genres - folk, pop and original - acapella and accompanied, all taught by ear in three or four-part harmony.
As a gentle form of cardio-vascular exercise which boosts confidence, relieves stress and lifts spirits, singing has well-researched health benefits.
Most importantly it's great fun in good company.
No need to read music or previous singing experience required.

❤️ SINGING WORKSHOP DATES 
Saturdays 2.00 - 5.00 pm 
Summer: June 28th/ Autumn: Oct 25th


 ❤️  VENUE: Letchworth Quaker Meeting House
Howgills, 42 South View, Letchwork, Herts, SG6 3JJ

❤️  Cost £20/ £17 before 1st June -  book online
£25/ £20 after 1st June or on the day (pay by card)

🌹 🎢 Welcome Choir πŸŽΆπŸŒΉ
Warm, welcoming lively choir who laugh as much as they sing!
We sing songs from global genres in harmony,
taught by ear, working towards fun performances. Info Sheet
Thursdays 7.00-8.30pm, St John the Evangelist, Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX
First taster session free, then pay by term.  Facebook Page

SUBWAY SOUNDS - 8th June @ 2pm - tickets sold out -  join the wait list
Welcome Choir are joining voices with Palace Acapella for a special sing
in the beautifully restored Victorian Subway Station at Crystal Palace

🌹 🎢 Breathe Harmony NHS Staff Choir  πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ
Run by Breathe Arts Health Research  - MDs Mike King & Katie Rose 

🌹 🎢 Vocal Revolution Coaching
Claim the joy, power and magic of your voice & creative expression.

Vocal Coaching & Singing Lessons

Reclaim the Past Sessions - a space to listen deeply to your inner voice, gaining powerful insight about life lessons and the intricate interweaving of past and present.

Book a free 20-minute consultation
 
🌹 🎢 Rambles of song & sound, word & wonder
Come and join my online 
Substack community

Latest Rambles:
Flower Power  -  a rosy ramble under the light of the Full Moon

Choosing Connection - A New Moon ramble on forging healthy narratives and communication
 

Sunday, 4 May 2025

🌹🎢 Burning Bright

 

Dear Friend

🌹🎢  Magical May Singing πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ

 Amidst turbulent times, the magic of music can help us burn bright.
 Whether it's chanting at a protest/ football match/ kirtan/ choir, or the enchantment of listening, our ears and voices can transport us into many different realms of experience.

Having not seen a horror film since feeling severely nauseous during The Blair Witch (1999), this week I unexpectedly found myself transported into the supernatural musical world of the film Sinners. So just a heads up that this month's ramblings contain references to racist violence and vampires.
 
 πŸŒΉ 🎢  Coming Up in the Rose Garden πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ
Full details below...

🌟  can u feel it - latest single  
Thanks to Pit London The Phoenix Remix Subba Cultcha for fab features!

🌟  LAST CALL: Spring Survey - share your views &  enter a prize draw!

🌟  Community Conversations - growing local connections - 28th May 

 πŸŒŸ  HOPE Concert - with Muna Escoffery + guests - 31st May

🌟  NEW! Sparkle Chorus - Shine up your voice in South London - 22nd June

🌟  HeartSong - Happy Hearty Singing in Herts 28th June 

 πŸŒŸ  Vocal Revolution Coaching 121 sessions to blossom your voice

🌟  Rambling Rose - come and ramble in my substack community
🌹🎢 Burning Bright πŸŽΆπŸŒΉ

"May, queen of blossoms,
and fulfilling flowers,
with what pretty music
shall we charm the hours?"
- Lord Edward Thurlow

 
In London this May Day, the sun blazed unexpectedly bright,
gilding faces and flowers with the golden glow of summer.

At this time of year, it's possible to catch sight of a full cast of folkloric characters processing through the gateway of Beltane (Celtic: bright fire

Having chased away the Winter Cailleach, the Queen of the May dances victoriously over the treetops, sprinkling blossoms as she goes.
The Green Man leaps out from overladen tree branches,
 emerald eyes glinting, puffy green leaves lining his lips.
Bright shining, Belenus, Lord of Beltane,
draws a protective line of fire to drive away disease and despair.
Pearls of May Dew quench the thirsty souls of
those searching for answers in the dawnlight.
A symphony of birdsong swells the air, serenading wooing lovers
whilst fireflies flit amidst the fairy magic twinkling in the twilight.  
Rings of dancers circle the maypole by day and the bonfire by night as
the folk Celtic glitterati sound their ancient songs of life, death and rebirth.


Belenus - Celtic God of Fire

Kindling the Fires of Musical Ancestry
"There are legends of people with the gift of making music so true it can conjure spirits from the past and the future. This gift can bring fame and fortune, but it also can pierce the veil between life and death." - Annie, Sinners

 On the eve of Beltane, when it's traditional to light and jump over bonfires,
I went to see Sinners - a multilayered, fierce and fiery exploration of the power of music. Set in the racism of 1930s Missippi, the film draws on the ancient musical lineages of African griots, Native American Fire Keepers and Celtic filΓ­dh. The cultural oppression of indigenous and black communities by European colonialists included forced religious and musical conversion, and the appropriation and exploitation of music such as the blues and spirituals.
So when a white couple, members of the KKK, invite Remmick, a white vampire, into their home and embark on a folk-singing killing spree,
it's a supernatural revisioning of history.

The blues pulses through the movie, as young guitar-playing Sammie is
drawn into a deadly yet liberating dance with the music of his ancestors.
His character is based on blues player Robert Johnson (1911-1938) whose song Crossroads gave rise to the legend that he'd sold his soul to the devil for musical fame. The film is dedicated to Black Panther director Ryan Coogler's blues-loving uncle and driven by a compelling soundtrack composed by Ludwig GΓΆransson, whose Swedish father immersed him in the Delta blues. 

Annie, the healer, holds the magical beating heart of the movie, her voice guiding us towards deeper layers beneath the gory action of a blockbuster horror. For me, it was a compelling exposition of music's capacity to exorcise layers of ancestry and dance through and beyond vampirical oppression.
If you've seen it, let me know how you felt about it.


Sinners Poster

Firing Up
When you do something, you should burn yourself up completely,
like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself.
 · Shunryu Suzuki, Zen Monk and Teacher (1904-1971)

Each brief flickering moment of this existence - every breath we take,
every note or word we sound, burns with the echoes of ancestry,
reverberating far into the future.

If you were sitting by a blazing bonfire, 
What songs, stories or jokes would you send crackling up into the sky? 
What secrets would you whisper? 
What would you offer up to the flames? 
Who would you hold a torch for?
Whose presence would flicker around you?
What obstacles would you jump?
What would fuel you to burn brighter and braver?
What would you be willing to pass through the fire for?
  πŸŒΉπŸŽΆ May May Be Magical! πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ

Be well, breathe deep and keep singing loudly!

Drop me a line or sing me a song:
katie@therosewindow.org
www.therosewindow.org
@katierosewindow on the Socials

 
Website
YouTube
Spotify
Facebook
Instagram
🌹 🎢 can u feel it! πŸŽΆπŸŒΉ
Composed by Katie Rose, remix by Michael Doiley, video by Leon Stuparich

"An electrifyingly dreamy piece that fuses emotional depth with electronic magic." - Subba Culture

“A glowing blend of soaring vocals and feel-good beats”
- The Pit London
🌹🎢 Sparkle Chorus - Sing & Shine! πŸŽΆπŸŒΉ

🌟 Three Singing Workshops to Shine Up Your Voice! πŸŒŸ
Come and learn a sparkly set of songs
with the option to perform in Winter Sparkle 2025.
We'll be travelling through starry pop, folk and original songscapes - acappella and accompanied, all taught by ear in three or four-part harmony.
Everything will be taught by ear, with learning materials supplied so you can sing confidently.

🌟 WORKSHOP DATES πŸŒŸ
All workshops run 2-5pm, Doors open at 1.45pm

Sunday 22nd June - Midsummer Sparkles
Saturday 16th August - Summer Holiday Sparkles
Saturday 15th November - Firecracker Sparkles

Optional performance: Winter Sparkle 6th December 2025
It's fine just to come along for a fun sing if you don't want to perform.

VENUE: Church Hall @ St John the Evangelist Upper Norwood,
Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX

🌟 TICKETS - BOOK HERE πŸŒŸ
Earlybird Deal - £50 for all three workshops - by 1st June
Early Bird for Workshop 1 - £20/ £17 pay by 1st June
Full price after 1st June/ on the door (pay by card)  £25/ £20
 πŸŒΉπŸŽΆ Heartsong πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ
Happy Hearty Singing in Herts With Katie Rose
Enjoy a happy afternoon of beautiful harmony singing in the serene ambience of Letchworth Quakers Meeting House.
We'll be learning uplifting songs from global genres - folk, pop and original - acapella and accompanied, all taught by ear in three or four-part harmony.
As a gentle form of cardio-vascular exercise which boosts confidence, relieves stress and lifts spirits, singing has well-researched health benefits.
Most importantly it's great fun in good company.
No need to read music or previous singing experience required.

❤️ SINGING WORKSHOP DATES 
Saturdays 2.00 - 5.00 pm 
Summer: June 28th/ Autumn: Oct 25th


 ❤️  VENUE: Letchworth Quaker Meeting House
Howgills, 42 South View, Letchwork, Herts, SG6 3JJ

❤️  Cost £20/ £17 before 1st June -  book online
£25/ £20 after 1st June or on the day (pay by card)
🌹 🎢 Breathe Harmony NHS Staff Choir  πŸŽΆ πŸŒΉ
Run by Breathe Arts Health Research  - MDs Mike King & Katie Rose 

🌹 🎢 Welcome Choir πŸŽΆπŸŒΉ
Warm, welcoming lively choir who laugh as much as they sing!
We sing songs from global genres in harmony,
taught by ear, working towards fun performances. Info Sheet
Thursdays 7.00-8.30pm, St John the Evangelist, Sylvan Road, SE19 2RX
First taster session free, then pay by term.  Facebook Page

🌹 🎢 Vocal Revolution Coaching
Claim the joy, power and magic of your voice & creative expression.

Vocal Coaching & Singing Lessons

Reclaim the Past Sessions - a space to listen deeply to your inner voice, gaining powerful insight about life lessons and the intricate interweaving of past and present.

Book a free 20-minute consultation
 
Community Conversations
Growing Connections Organically
Weds 28th May, 7.00 - 9.30pm
@ The Paxton Centre

52 Anerley Hill, SE19 2AE
Free - just buy a drink - book here

A relaxed evening to hear from local projects and share what you're up to and interested in.Short informal contributions, with space for questions + mixing and mingling in a friendly, creative atmosphere.

Hosted by Joe Duggan
With Katie Rose
 
H.O.P.E Concert
Hosted by Muna Escoffery with Eclectic Rhythm

Saturday 31st May
Doors open 7.00pm,
Concert - 7.30pm - 9.30pm

Dragonfly Yoga Studio
22-24 Sydenham Road, 
London SE26 5QW

Live music and poetry featuring:
Muna Escoffery accompanied by Jayesh Vadukal

Special Guests: Diane Hall, Katie Rose, Georgie Brooks, 90br0 and live painting from Iain Chara Kane

Tickets: £22
Contact: munasoundhealing@gmail.com 
🌹 🎢 Rambles of song & sound, word & wonder
Come and join my online 
Substack community

Latest Rambles:

The Disappearing Path
- Rambling into the unknown under the light of the New Moon

Blossom Your Voice 
- A ramble about a magnolia blossom and our beautiful voices

Pink Moon - A ramble through the blossoms of the April Full Moon

Blossoms of Music & Memory - A Ramble through Kew Gardens