Hi Gerry (and the rest of you folks, too!):
 
       I have been taking a few minutes here and there to write up a synopsis of the events at the 7th Annual Potomac River Convention, which met this past weekend in Lorton, VA and Washington, DC. I m afraid that I didn't take the time to take notes during the convention itself, and I didn't attend every event, so you'll have to wait on the reports of others to fill in the gaps.
 
       The convention started on Friday evening with singers gathering at the Pohick Church common room on Route 1 in Lorton. My friend Eric and I arrived about half an hour early to find a small and growing crowd waiting outside the building, as the person with the key had not arrived yet. Within a few minutes the building was open and we were setting up the room while taking frequent breaks to greet newly arrived friends. Shortly after 7:30 Peter Pate called the class to order by leading a lessons, then Peter asked George Seiler to offer an opening prayer. After leading a few more lessons, Peter turned the class over to Warren Steel for the evening singing school.
 
       Warren opened his lecture with a review of the major and minor scales, and practice in moving from note to note and sounding the syllable for the note. He also talked about the difference between the minor keys as notated and as sung by many traditional singers. He also mentioned in passing some other common features of the singing of many traditional singers.
 
       Warren then talked at length about the origins of the time signatures that are used for tunes in The Sacred Harp and their relationships to the speeds at which the composers probably intended the tunes to be sung. He led several tunes as examples.
 
       Warren closed his lecture with a discussion of the origin of the shape-names and of the use of the shapes, starting with the ut-re-mi-fa-sol-la gamut originally created in the middle ages. (I have forgotten the name of the creator, but Warren and several other people on this list, including several who were present at the convention, can provide additional details for the curious.)
 
       Peter Pate then led the class in a closing lesson, followed by a closing prayer, and we all went home for the evening.
 
       The next morning we gathered again at the Pohick Church, and at about 10am Peter Pate called the class to order by leading a lesson, then asked the Pohick Church s rector to speak the opening prayer. Peter then led another lesson, then he called two or three others to lead in turn before he moved that we enter a business session. The first order of business was to elect a chairperson for the rest of the convention; Miriam Kilmer was nominated and elected by acclamation, and Peter turned the meeting over to Miriam. Following elections for vice-chair, secretary and treasurer, the business session was closed, and Miriam turned the class over to the arranging committee, composed of Bob Hall and several assistants. We sang with occasional recesses until noon, when we recessed for dinner. Local singer provided more than enough wonderful food, which had been efficiently set up by Karen Foley with the help of several assistants. The class was recalled for the afternoon shortly after 1pm, and we sang with occasional recesses until about 3:30pm, when I left to return to my mother s home in DC for the evening.
 
       I missed the other events of the day; an alternative singing session which met in the Pohick Church common room from 4pm until 5pm, followed by an evening social at the home of Mimi Stevens. I was told the next day that the class for the alternative singing session sang a number of new tunes under the leadership of their composers as well as a number of tunes from tunebooks other than the _Sacred Harp_. A new tune by Roland Hutchinson was apparently very well received; I obtained a copy of it the following day, but I have not yet had a chance to hear it.
 
       On Sunday morning we met at Hearst Hall on the grounds of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, where Miriam called the class to order at about 9:30 by leading a lesson and asking for the opening prayer. She then turned the class ver to the Arranging Committee, and we sang with occasional recesses until 11:45, when the Arranging Committee turned the class over to Miriam, who introduced the Memorial Committee and turned the class over to them for the Memorial Lesson. Peter Pate gave a few words, then read the names of the sick and shut-in, including Jerilyn Shumacher of Chicago who had traveled to Washington, DC to attend the convention and had then fallen ill and was unable to attend the singing sessions. He then asked Ginnie Ely to lead a lesson for them. Peter then gave a few more words, and read the list of the deceased, and asked Clare Chapin to lead a lesson for them. He then gave a few closing words, then offered a prayer in memory of the absent and the dead, and turned the class over to Miriam, who then turned the class over to the Arranging Committee. After a couple more leaders, we recessed for dinner, which was again provided by local singers and set up by Karen Foley with the help of many assistants. Miriam reconvened the class at about 1pm, and we sang with occasional recesses until about 2:40pm, when the Arranging Committee turned the class over to Miriam, who then called for announcements. (In addition to several annual singings, a sister of the late Joe Beasley of New York City and Winfield, Alabama announced that the Joe Beasley Memorial Singing will meet in Winfield in early December.) Miriam then lead the class in a closing lesson, and asked for a closing prayer before dismissing the class to return home.
 
       The convention was blessed on both days of the convention with the presence of a number of children who led, some by themselves and some with the assistance of loving parents. I particularly enjoyed watching Anayis Mampre Wright standing on a chair in the middle of the square leading "The Young Convert" with the assistance of her mother Susan Mampre while her father Glen Wright held a copy of the tune book for them. Other young people who led included the both of the children of John delRe and Kelly Macklin as well as the son of Bob Hall and Ella Wilcox.
 
       We were also blessed by the presence of singers from many parts of the country, including several members of the Beasley family from Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. The DC area singers who coordinated the event did a wonderful job as usual, and they announced that next year's Potomac River Convention will meet on the first Sunday in April and the Friday evening and Saturday before, according to their usual formula.
 
       I have to get back to work now...
 
           Bill Holt
           Watertown, MA
 
Many thanks to Bill Holt for permission to publish this glowing and detailed report of the Seventh Annual Potomac River Sacred Harp Singing Convention.