Community Singing Resources
Album/Song Spotlights
Dance With Shadow by Julianna Zarzycki. From her new album, Kith. Just wow.
Humbly by Laurence Cole. This song will forever have new meaning for me. (see story above of singing it during our choir's visit to 'Etcha Tamal)
Hallelujah by MaMuse. One of our choir's singers spontaneously sang the verses with me last season with the choir on the chorus. A beautiful moment as I witness more and more members of our choir expanding into their fullness.
Song Is Old Magic by Laura Sandage. One of many, many wonderful songs by the songwriter, choir leader, and spiritual teacher I call Galadriel -- queen of many mystical powers of healing, humor, and happiness.
More Songs
Marv’s Song Library — All of the songs sung in Marv’s choirs and song circles to date
Marv’s The Human Heart on Daily Antidote of Song and on SoundCloud (includes teaching tracks)
Marv’s Begin Again on Daily Antidote of Song and on Soundcloud
Marv’s I’m Coming Home (original version) and Patricia Norton’s version featured on her A Breath of Song podcast
Lisa G. Littlebird’s Song Library, Reach for Life! Community Singing Playlist and Winter 2021 Community Singing Playlist
Liz Rog’s Songs For Rallies library. Many, many songwriters represented!
Songs from the Threshold Choir, founded by Kate Munger
Bishop’s Ranch Sessions: 27 Songs by Kate Munger. PayPal a generous, affordable, and personally significant donation to Kate at kateamunger@gmail.com to receive these songs. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Threshold Choir.
Upcoming Events
Marv’s weekly drop-in All In Song Circle - Summer ‘26 Season, Wednesday nights in San Anselmo, June 24 + July 29 - September 2, including a special night with Guest Songleader Lyndsey Scott joining Marv on August 12th.
Marv’s Joyful Voices Chorus 7-week non-auditioned community choir, Fall ‘26 Season, Wednesday nights in San Anselmo, September/October dates TBA including our open-to-everyone Opening Night and our season-ending open-to-everyone Big Sing with special Guest Songleaders joining Marv.
Meetups With Marv — Selected events (led by some of his favorites) that Marv is attending; anyone and everyone can meet up with him near/at the venue an hour before start time to hang out, meet people you haven’t met before, talk about community singing opportunities or whatever, and enjoy a great show. The next Meetups are:
Thursday, January 22: May Erlewine (w/Packy Lundholm) at Café du Nord in San Francisco. This time I unfortunately I can’t meet up before the show — doors at 7, show at 8. Tickets here. May is one of my favorites!
Monday, February 2: Bobby McFerrin and Motion at The Freight in Berkeley. We don’t know how long this amazing 10-time Grammy-winner is going to be with us, so let’s listen to him and his friends do their incredible improvisational singing while we can, and maybe even sing along, too! Meetup at 11am at Jazzcafè (across the street), show at 12.
Saturday, August 22nd: MaMuse at Hopmonk Novato. We love them so much! Show 6pm, meetup at 5.
Te Martin’s Mountain Song. August 27-30 in Taos, NM. With Ríomas, Aaron Johnson, and more.
Daily Antidote of Song — Daily, on Zoom and YouTube, 9am Pacific. To honor the Solstice, I taught Debbie Nargi-Brown’s The Light That is You, my song Begin Again, and Batya Levine’s We Rise there on 12/21/24 (you can watch the recording here), and I taught my song The Human Heart there on 11/20/23, you can watch the recording here (although I forgot to teach the 2nd harmony!).
Songs of the Sea and Chantey Sing-along, Bear Valley Visitor Center, Pt. Reyes National Seashore, 3rd Saturdays, 3:00-4:30.
SingWithMarv Newsletters
Allied Community Choirs/Song Circles
Marv Zauderer’s Joyful Voices Chorus non-auditioned community choir — Winter ‘26 Season — 7-Week Series including Community-Wide Big Sing March 7th, starts January 28th. Try it FREE February 4th if you haven’t sung in the choir before!
Marv Zauderer’s drop-in All In Song Circle: Spring ‘26 Season — Wednesdays, March 18 - April 15 in San Anselmo, 7:00-8:30pm.
Marv Zauderer’s SingOnline.org Song Circle — On hiatus, TBD.
Noe Venable’s Choirs and Song Circles — San Francisco, Pacifica, Oakland
Kele Nitoto’s Raise Our Voices — Black and PoC Song Circle Series, Oakland, 3rd Wednesdays, 7:00-9:00pm
Amy Webb Armstrong’s Woodsong — Oakland Woods, 1st Wednesday of the month, 7:15-9pm
Kaitie Ty Warren’s and Sara Stutz’s Living Room Choir — El Cerrito, Saturdays, 4:00-5:30pm
Elise Divine + Kid Beyond’s Song Circle Magic — San Francisco, 2nd Mondays, 7:00-9:00pm
Tova Feldmanstern’s and Eileen Hazel’s Songbreak — El Cerrito, last Friday of the month, 2:00-3:00pm
Thrive Street Choir — Berkeley, monthly
Thrive Street Choir Community Song Circle — Urban Adamah, Berkeley, monthly
Nigun Collective Song Circle — East Bay, monthly
Laura Sandage’s Free Range Singers, Davis, Thursdays
Debbie Nargi-Brown’s Zoom Sings — Online
Amanda West’s Community Choir — Felton (Santa Cruz area)
Sarah MacEwan’s Singing Heals — Santa Cruz area, monthly and more
Heather Houston’s circles and choir — Santa Cruz & Online
Eric Spiegel’s CircleSing — Sebastopol, 2nd Saturdays.
Anti-Racism in Our Gatherings
Holistic Resistance. A Black-led organization and movement that believes ending oppression and healing from the trauma of oppression is a holistic practice. They are invested in resisting at every level from one-on-one connections to collective transformation. Common tools they use in resisting holistically include deep questions music, minimalism, heart-centered listening, grief in community, and earth connection.
Dodie Whitaker’s Vox4Change. Dodie works to dismantle systemic racism and bias by offering consultations, classes and specialized workshops in Anti-Bias and Anti-Racist initiatives.
“Who is Community Singing For?” by Jennifer Morales, Dodie Whitaker, and Laura McElroy. A document created as a vital response to inclusion issues in the global Community Singing movement.
Rosemary Campbell-Stephens MBE’s Global Majority; Decolonising the Language and Reframing the Conversation about Race
(divorcing) White Supremacy Culture: Coming Home To Who We Really Are
Lisa G. Littlebird’s Decolonizing Community Singing
Articles/Books
Song Carrier Toolkit, Liz Rog
What is “community singing?”, Liz Rog
The legacy of the oral tradition for the NVN Approach, Frankie Armstrong
The Top 10 Ways Choral Singing Supports Health and Wellness, Chorus America, March 26, 2026
Benefits of singing for Parkinson’s, SingWell
Step into the water: Learning, unlearning, and the songs of liberation, Micah Hendler
“Highlight of my week”: How community choirs have changed people’s lives, The Guardian
3 ways group singing connects people to the nonclinical factors that are key to health and wellbeing
“The neurochemistry and social flow of singing: bonding and oxytocin,” Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, Sept. 23, 2015
9 reasons why singing with others makes us healthier and happier, Choral Canada
“The daily antidote to the merchants of bad,” Kate Woodsome, Invisible Threads
Renée Fleming shares research on the beneficial effects of music on the brain, 92nd Street Y
Project Findings, The SingWell Project
“The essential role of choir in building community,” Chorus Connection
“‘A powerful message through song’: The UK’s Climate Choir Movement is growing,” The Guardian
“Singing is good for you. Singing with others may be even better.” Washington Post
“What a musician turned cognitive scientist wants you to know about life,” Washington Post
“Why Singing is the Key to Happiness,” MetroUK
“You Are Watching the Power of Music Changing Brain Chemistry”, Reasons to be Cheerful
"Benefits of Singing," Choral Canada
“New Study: Music Helps Reconnect Dementia Patients With Their Memories,” The Optimist Daily
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“Strangely and beautifully, each soul is a living flute being carved by life on Earth to sound deeper and deeper song.”