We are so excited to invite you to a weeklong singing retreat from July 20-26 at Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center in Sandstone, MN!! We’ll gather together to learn new songs that are exciting and challenging in many styles and languages; sing our hearts out; deepen community and relationships; and spend time soaking up the delights of summer.

You may be wondering… Do I have to be able to read music to come to this? How challenging will the music be?

If you’re familiar with community singing, this is a little different. The music will range from really simple and accessible to somewhat challenging, involving possibly unfamiliar rhythms and harmony structures. You don’t need to be able to sight read, and all music will be taught by ear with word sheets as a support. If you’ve participated in Wild Voice Chorus, it will be a lot like that!

THE PROGRAM

Organized by Sarah Abbott and Sarina Partridge, and modeled loosely on Village Harmony camps, we’ll sing and play for an entire week, beginning with Sunday dinner and ending on Saturday after lunch. The songleaders will be Natalie Nowystki (MN), Heidi Wilson (VT), and Sarina Partridge (MN). We will go deep learning songs from harmony traditions from around the world, including music from Sweden, Ukraine, Corsica, South Africa, Yiddish music, and more, as well as original music. Songs will be learned over multiple sessions, adding layers of harmony parts, and many songs will be in non-english languages. In the evenings we’ll sing, dance, share our talents, and more. We’ll end with a celebratory Friday evening meal, and a casual concert on Saturday morning open. Osprey Wilds is a beautiful environmental learning center on 780 acres, including an oligotrophic lake that is the second deepest lake in MN, second only to Lake Superior!!! So cool! There will be ample time to play and hike and swim.

This retreat is open to all ages, with a concurrent kids farm camp for ages Kindergarten-7th grade, taking place at Osprey Wilds - more info on that below.

This will be a welcoming weekend of satisfying singing – all voices are welcome! No prior musical experience is necessary, just a desire to sing with others and an interest in diving into learning vocal harmony music from around the world.

Arrivals for the retreat will begin on Sunday afternoon, July 20. We will end late morning on Saturday July 26. We plan to have between 25-40 people in attendance.

ABOUT THE SONGLEADERS

Natalie Nowystki (Minneapolis, MN) has been a songleader, voice coach, and choral director for most of her life, helping singers of all ages and skill levels find and hone their unique instruments to tell their stories. A Minnesota-based international performer, award-winning composer, and music educator, Natalie’s repertoire spans more than 50 languages — including her native Ukrainian — and dozens of stylistic nuances. She calls Eastern European traditional vocal styling her superpower, sharing these techniques through her workshops and on stage for music, theater, and dance. She has studied and performed with folk luminaries across the US, Bulgaria, France, Czech Republic, and Serbia. Natalie began her directing career at age 14 and has since directed and consulted for notable ensembles throughout the US, also teaching a wide range of students from elementary age to PhD candidates in university and beyond. Natalie is known for her enthusiasm for helping students unlock their capabilities with her disarming nature and command of the human voice. Her songleading sessions often include music from Bulgaria and Ukraine, peppered with pieces from elsewhere in the Balkan peninsula and the Carpathian mountains. natalienowytski.bandcamp.com

Heidi Wilson (Plainfield, VT) has a passion for sharing songs in service to community and the wild world; songs that celebrate the seasons, bring groups together, offer thanks, muster courage, make room for healing and grieving, and those songs that send us on our journeys and welcome us back home. She is drawn to the potent and surprising journey of deep-listening and collaborative emergent music making. Heidi has been leading community a cappella singing groups in Vermont for the last 14 years, as well teaching traditional Swedish music, her own musical ancestral lineage. HeidiAnnWilson.com

Sarina Partridge (Minneapolis, MN) is a musician, songleader, and educator based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. She feels most alive when learning, creating and sharing songs -- especially songs that grow out of time spent in wild places. Sarina sings with a wide variety of music projects: community song-leading; harmony-rich original music with folk trio Heartwood; performing and teaching of Eastern European and Yiddish song - her own musical lineage; and harmony music from around the world, which she has learned from tradition bearers and master singers. Sarina has a deep love for connecting people with their own creativity and with community, and uses harmony singing as a modality to help folks develop a sense of wonder and belonging in this wild world. SarinaPartridge.com

ATTENDEES

We welcome teens and adults, and accompanied kiddos of all races, religions, genders, sexualities, abilities, and identities.

Anyone under 18 needs to be accompanied by an adult. Check in with us if you have questions.

We don’t have a plan for formal programming for kids 0-5, but little ones are so welcome to be with us! If your kiddo needs space to be loud and proud during indoor singing times we ask that you find another place to play. There is a big beautiful campus to roam around and play in, a lake to swim in, and we’re happy to help folks coordinate around shared childcare - we’ll reach out with more information as registrations start coming in.

KIDS’ FARM-TO-FORK DAYCAMP AT OSPREY WILDS

During the week (Monday-Friday), Osprey Wilds is offering a “Farm to Fork” day camp for kids in kindergarten through 7th grade. This camp is offered for a sliding scale fee, from $0-375. Our daytime singing programming will be designed for adults and teens. We are not offering kid-focused singing programming or childcare during the day, but school-age kids in this range are warmly invited to come with an adult and register for the daycamp during the day, then join us for breakfast, dinner, and family-friendly evening activities! We are very excited about this arrangement. HEADS UP: Registration for this camp will open any day now and may fill up quickly, so if you are hoping to enroll kiddos, please do so as soon as possible. We can’t guarantee availability in the day camp. More info here: https://ospreywilds.org/event/farm-camp-24/

LOCATION

We will be at Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center in Sandstone MN, about an hour and a half drive from the Twin Cities. Osprey Wilds is on Grindstone Lake, the second deepest lake in MN, second only to Lake Superior, and we will have access to a beautiful swimming spot and our own dock! The property includes old growth pine forest, deciduous forest, managed woodlands, wetlands, and restored prairie. We will have our own area of the camp, and there will be other guests on other parts of the campus who we will overlap with in the dining hall and around our indoor singing space. The entire campus is wheelchair accessible. Folks can choose to either stay indoors at the Schwyzer Lodge (limited number of beds available) or camp on the property’s group campsite, which we have reserved — these options are priced differently, more information below.

COST

Registration includes lodging and meals for Sunday evening through Saturday morning (Sunday dinner - Saturday breakfast, checkout Saturday late morning). A $100 deposit is due when you register, with the balance in full due by May 15, 2025. You are welcome to pay in installments if needed, which you can reach out to us to discuss.

Schwyzer Lodge, with meals provided. Lodging includes bunk beds in shared rooms of 2-6 people each (most likely scenario is 3-4 people per room):

Solidarity - $1000-1200

At-cost - $925

Subsidized - $825

Scholarship - $500

Reach out to us if you want to stay in the lodge with kids and we’ll discuss what is possible in terms of room options, sharing space and cost.

If you want to request an individual room or a room for two in Schwyzer lodge, this will cost more. Please reach out to us about availability and pricing options. We’re happy to see what we can do, and, can’t guarantee this will be available.

Camping, with meals provided:

Solidarity - $800-1200

At-cost - $750

Subsidized - $650

Scholarship - $500

Kids - $150, plus cost of day camp (pay what you can, $0-375)

If you want to request a rate for camping and programming but not meals, be in touch with us.

We recognize that this is a lot of money for some people, and not a lot for others. If you’re able to make an additional donation to help others attend, please pay the solidarity rate, and be in touch with us if you can contribute more!

Given our networks and the specific lineages of community singing that we come from, we anticipate that this retreat will be majority white people, though people of any racial identity are warmly invited. As one small way to redistribute wealth, we are committed to redistributing 5% of the retreat costs to Minnesota-based BIPOC-led arts, culture, or music organizations.

Payment can be made by check, venmo or paypal to Sarina Partridge:

Venmo or PayPal: @sarinapartridge
Checks can be written to Sarina Partridge and mailed to: 2725 18th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407

ANTI-OPPRESSION COMMITMENT

We acknowledge that many forms of oppression exist in our society and culture, including racism, classism, ableism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, christian supremacy, and others. As people who live in this society, we all internalize oppressive attitudes and behaviors. These behaviors limit the participation of people whose identities are on the margins of the community singing community. Specifically, we want to name that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) experience racism within the often white-dominant singing subculture that we refer to as “community singing.” As organizers of this retreat, we are committed to being in the continual process of unlearning oppressive behaviors, being curious and open to feedback, and working to make the retreat as accessible as possible, and we hold an expectation that all attendees will join us in those commitments.

COVID POLICY

All participants must show a negative rapid test taken the day of arrival
If you’ve had a COVID exposure in the 5 days prior to the retreat, please reach out to the retreat organizers. We may request that you test each day of the retreat, mask, or take additional precautions.
Masks will be optional at the retreat
Sleeping will be either in tents at the campground, or in rooms that sleep 2-6 people each. There are not single rooms available. If you’d like to book your own room at a nearby hotel or airbnb, you can do so and pay a day rate for the retreat. Let us know if you would like more information about this option, or if you have further questions.
Eating arrangements:

All meals will be in the dining hall.
The dining hall will be shared with other groups who are also using the campus. If you prefer to eat away from other groups, there are outdoor picnic tables, and the dining hall is a 5 minute walk from Schwyzer Lodge and probably a 3 minute drive from the group campground, and you can pick up food and bring it back to the Lodge to eat, which has comfortable common spaces.

Please reach out with questions or concerns about COVID or about other access needs.

CANCELLATION POLICY

A $100 deposit is due when you register, with the balance in full due by May 15, 2025. You are welcome to pay in installments if needed, which you can indicate in the registration form.

Cancellations before May 15 will result in loss of a $100 deposit, and a refund of any payments made over $100.
Cancellations between May 15 and June 29: 50% refund of payment
Cancellations after June 29: 100% of funds will be withheld
In case of last minute illness or emergency, reach out to us and based on the finances of the retreat, we can discuss what kind of refund is possible.

CONTACT

With questions, contact Sarah Abbott and Sarina Partridge: sarahtabbott@gmail.com, sarina@sarinapartridge.com

We can’t wait to sing with you in July!

Lake Song Weeklong Singing Camp

July 20-26, 2025

At Osprey Wilds Environmental Learning Center in Sandstone, MN

REGISTER HERE!