Lowcountry Sacred Harp

Here in Charleston, SC, we sing shaped note music from The Sacred Harp, edition 1991, and from The Shenandoah Harmony from 2 until 4 pm each month on the Saturday before the fourth Sunday.  Beginners and visitors are always welcome!  We have extra songbooks for loan.

For our Regular Monthly Singings, see the calendar for specific dates and times for the 2023 - 2024 season.

The Circular Congregational Church graciously continues hosting us each month, providing the lovely "Wingard Room" and courtyard as weather permits.

The Wingard Room is on the second floor of the new wing of Lance Hall at the historic Circular Congregational Church, located at 150 Meeting Street in Charleston.  Lance Hall is the two-story building in the southeastern corner of the churchyard. The Wingard Room is accessed from within the courtyard.  Walk up the exterior stairs or ride the elevator, then walk down the cloister.  Seeing us through the glass walls, you can't miss us.

For a fee, parking is available at the city garage or in the bank parking lot just west of the churchyard.  Enter either lot from Cumberland Street. Note for the city garage:  take the ticket with you.  When you return to the garage, pay for the parking using a credit card in one of the kiosks on the first floor of the garage.

Minutes: 

Minutes from singings are posted.

12th Annual All-Day Singing on Saturday 25 May 2024: 

Annual Singings here to stay in Charleston!  Although we are not part of the Piccolo Spoleto Arts Festival, our regularly scheduled singing still falls during the Spoleto season. The location will be the same as last year in the parish hall of St. Philip's Church at 142 Church Street, which is at the intersection of Church and Cumberland.

We observe the traditional schedule of a lesson for beginners at 9:30am, the first session from 10am until noon, pot-luck "Dinner On the Grounds" from noon until 1 pm, and the second session from 1 pm until 3 pm.  (Nearly) All singing will be from The Sacred Harp (1991).  A singing from the Shenandoah Harmony is not now planned for Sunday.

Local and distant participants may wish to contribute food for the Pot Luck Dinner On the Grounds.  We may be seeking volunteers to contribute loaner books.

We thank the clergy and staff of Saint Philip's for opening their doors to us to allow our voices to ring in the beautiful space.  I especially thank organist and choir master Chris Walchesky for staying with us the entire day, last year taking time away from his family to support the event.

For some more photographs from our 2023 annual singing at Saint Philip's Church, follow this link.

For some photographs from our 2018 singing at the John Wesley United Methodist Church, follow this link.

For more information:

You may contact me, Stephen, by email to ss_jones "at" bellsouth "dot" net or to ssj29403 "at" gmail "dot" com.

Also see us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/events/978754752331799/

For more shape note singing within driving distance, consider the Savannah Sacred Harp Singers who now typically sing from 2 pm until 4 pm on Saturdays at the Ferguson Avenue Baptist Church, 10050 Ferguson Avenue, Savannah.

In North Carolina, our friends in the "triangle" sing in Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill monthly.

Resources:

Much more information about The Sacred Harp and shape note singing in general is available at the Sacred Harp Musical Heritage Association.

Older but still valid information about the Lowcountry Sacred Harp is at Tom's site:  http://iveyt.people.cofc.edu/Shapenote/default.html