Family Folk Machine

Diana Nollen wrote this article that was published in the Gazette on March 15, 2021

Like well-oiled gadgetry, Iowa City’s Family Folk Machine has found a way to switch gears, shifting rehearsals and concerts online. The final results will debut on YouTube at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The intergenerational choir was in the midst of preparing its 2020 spring concert when the global pandemic brought that to a screeching halt.

“It’s so weird to be at this anniversary,” said Jean Littlejohn, 49, of Iowa City, who founded the group in January 2013, conducts the choir and serves as the nonprofit organization’s executive and artistic director. “Every day I can remember exactly what I was doing a year ago.”

She and her family were in Germany, where her husband, University of Iowa sociology professor Michael Sauder, was on sabbatical. Their planned seven-month stay was cut short when they realized they would need to return to Iowa City before international borders closed. So Littlejohn contacted associate directors Gayla Drake and Jon Ranard, who had been directing the choir in her absence. Together, they drafted an email informing the members that rehearsals for the May 9, 2020, concert would be suspended.

“At first, we didn’t even know that we would have to cancel a concert,” Littlejohn said. That step came next, then the board met in May to figure out how to proceed.

“The choir put a lot of work into the songs, and the concert was going to be really cool,” Littlejohn said. “It was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Earth Day — and the songs were great and the arrangements were great.”

Virtual realm

They decided to postpone the concert until the fall. It wasn’t long before they realized that wouldn’t happen, either. When they started seeing other choirs using virtual technology, they decided to go the video route, too.

But instead of showing a virtual choir with a grid of performers in little boxes, one of the board members suggested having their choristers record their voices at home. Those individual voices would then be mixed to provide the soundtrack to visuals incorporating nature photos or animation. Members Aprille Clarke, Susan Stamnes and Susan Spears volunteered to handle the visual elements, and began learning animation.

“This has been one of the most amazing success stories,” Littlejohn said. “These three individuals ended up creating videos that were just way more creative and imaginative than anything I would have thought possible. …

“Once we could see that our process was going to work, we expanded and we ended up recording all 15 songs that would have been on the (May) concert. And then we decided to present them in three chunks to make it a little more manageable.”

The first video in the “Our Planet” series debuted on the group’s YouTube channel on Nov. 15, followed by the second section Jan. 1. Sunday’s final segment features songs by Dolly Parton, ELO and Billy Swan, as well as an original piece by Stamnes and another by the choir’s kids, about Hickory Hill Park. Littlejohn’s daughter, Claire Sauder, edited the children’s video.

Evolution

Littlejohn brought the idea for the ensemble to Iowa City from Boston, where the family moved for two years for her husband’s research fellowship. While there, she and her children, Claire and Ben, participated in two intergenerational choirs.

“It was such a neat experience,” she said, “just having something you could do with young kids where you could be equal participants. When we moved back to Iowa City, I thought that idea would work really well in this community.

“I didn’t really know how to start an organization, but I talked to some people and we got it started about six months later (in 2013).

“The reason we were able to really get things going was because we teamed up with the (Iowa City) Senior Center. For the first five years of our existence, we were just part of the Senior Center’s programing. And then we became an independent nonprofit in 2018, which was another steep learning curve, but we’re feeling really good about that now, and it’s allowed us to expand our programing a lot and grow into new directions.”

The group has performed in several locations, including the Senior Center and the Old Capitol’s Senate Chamber, but as membership grew, the ensemble outgrew those spaces and moved performances to the Englert Theatre in downtown Iowa City. Musicians typically join them on a wide range of instruments, from piano, guitar, drums and bass to fiddle, banjo, mandolin, ukulele and other folk sounds.

All ages of singers are welcome to join, without auditioning. Before the pandemic hit, the ranks had swelled to 80 participants, ages 4 to 80, mostly from Iowa City, Coralville and nearby communities.

Rehearsals have been held at the Senior Center from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sundays. Youth participants had their own 30-minute rehearsals, then joined their parents. Children’s activities and a babysitter also were available. Teens and University of Iowa students have sung with the group, as well.

“We had a really robust group of teenagers the past few years,” Littlejohn said. “It’ll be interesting to see once we go back to in-person, if that has to be sort of reconstituted from scratch or if they’ll still be there.”

Participation fees generally are $50 for adults and $30 for children over age 5, with a cap of $125 per family, but during the pandemic, those fees have been optional.

“We just want to welcome everybody to participate, even if they can’t pay,” Littlejohn said. “We actually do that normally, as well.”

The organization’s operating budget is small, between $17,000 and $18,000, and donations typically are accepted at in-person concerts. The financial flow has changed with the pandemic, too, and Littlejohn is grateful that grants from several community organizations have helped cover costs for the equipment needed to stage virtual events.

Musical styles

The musical scope also has changed over the years.

“We have this word ‘folk’ in our name and I’ve had a lot of occasion to reflect on what that could possibly mean,” said Littlejohn, who has a master of music degree in organ performance from Indiana University and a Ph.D. in music theory from Northwestern University in Illinois.

“When we first started, I think what it meant was that we have this sort of foundation in the tradition of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie and all these different strands of American folk music. But lately I’ve been thinking about the music that we perform — it spans a lot more genres than just that.

“In some ways, I think there’s this broader meaning of folk — that we perform music that gains something from group expression. … So that ends up including various strands of popular music and things like the Beatles. Sometimes we do some very recent music too, especially if it suits a particular theme that we’re working on,” she said.

“It’s actually a huge question and something we’ve talked about a lot on our board, because it’s very important to us to be inclusive, and so we’ve had a lot of discussion about it — is that word ‘folk’ actually making it seem like we’re only interested in certain types of music or certain parts of American culture?

“I feel like there’s a lot that’s good about the word, too, and so I guess I just want to advocate for a very broad interpretation of that word and hope that it works.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com

At a glance

• What: Family Folk Machine online mini-concert, “One Planet,” part 3

• When: YouTube premiere, 3 p.m. Sunday

• Where: Links at familyfolkmachine.org and facebook.com/familyfolkmachine

• Cost: Free

• Ensemble information: familyfolkmachine.org

https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/community/family-folk-machine-iowa-city-online-concert-series-20210315

FFM board president Aprille Clarke wrote this column for the Press-Citizen

With a light at the end of the tunnel, Family Folk Machine remains a source of joy, music, support

As optimism grows, vaccine distribution widens and spring lifts our spirits, Family Folk Machine is taking tentative steps toward a more traditional choir-like experience.

In the meantime, the final installment of our One Planet online mini-concert series will premiere on YouTube on Sunday, March 21, at 3 p.m. You’ll hear a fantastic arrangement from Associate Director Jon Ranard of Electric Light Orchestra’s “Mr. Blue Sky,” visit National Parks with global hero Dolly Parton on her song “If We Don’t,” and enjoy Billy Swan’s “I Can Help.” For that song, Associate Director Gayla Drake and Claire Sauder retooled some of the lyrics to reflect our conservation goals. Family Folk Machine members also contributed original compositions. Susan Stamnes’s “The Quiet” is a heartbreaking reflection on humans’ impact on bird populations, and a group of Family Folk Machine kids worked together to write “Hickory Hill,” an ode to a favorite local park.

We’re excited to showcase the voices and instrumental performances of our members, both geographically near and distant. In fact, one of the best parts of the 2020-21 virtual choir experience has been the participation of folks from outside the Iowa City area. We’ve seen old friends return and made new ones, including participants from Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, South Carolina and England. In 2020, we did nearly all our work independently, but we’ve since moved to an interactive model. We still meet on Zoom and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future, but regular group rehearsals have gotten us back into the habit of singing, though we stay muted for cacophony prevention.

Executive and Artistic Director Jean Littlejohn has developed a strategy and curriculum to keep us singing and thinking. While we are not preparing for a specific live concert at this time, Jean is introducing new material that will likely culminate in one or more videos. She also builds social time, music theory instruction and “vocal calisthenics” into our rehearsals. It’s not exactly the same as the in-person experience, but it’s rewarding to work toward goals simultaneously with other members. We’ve also been enjoying low-stress, low-commitment singalongs and open mic events. It’s not too late to join, either. Contact jean@familyfolkmachine.org for more information.

The focus of a recent singalong was a deep dive into the song “All Together Now” by OK Go, which was written about living and making music in COVID times. As we learned the song and discussed the lyrics, we had a chance to reflect on our own experiences. We remembered people we’ve lost and how our perspectives have changed. The line “A million knots that we were told can’t be untied, would always hold, all unraveling” was especially resonant. In a time when everything’s felt uncertain, when sacred institutions suddenly lost meaning and priorities shifted swiftly, the knot of Family Folk Machine has been an anchor. In its varied forms, Family Folk Machine has helped many of us maintain vital community ties. We hope you can find sources of joy, music and support, whether through Family Folk Machine or other channels. Visit Facebook.com/FamilyFolkMachine for updates about our March 21 mini-concert and other events.

https://www.press-citizen.com/story/life/2021/03/14/iowa-city-family-folk-machine-a-source-of-joy-and-support-amid-pandemic/4632549001/

Be sure to save the date so you can attend the premiere of our third online mini-concert! It’ll take place at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 21. We’ll have the YouTube link right here and on our Facebook page a few days ahead of time for you. This concert is the last installment in our One Planet series and will feature songs by Dolly Parton, ELO, and Billy Swan plus an original from FFMer Susan Stamnes and an original by the FFM kids about Hickory Hill Park.

February is right around the corner, and with it we’d like to introduce the Family February Machine. To keep our spirits up through the longest shortest month of the year, members of the Family Folk Machine are recording short music videos that will be shared one per day through the month of February.

If you’d like to receive the FamFebMachine videos, all you have to do is fill out this 3-question form.

We invite newcomers to join us at 3:00 p.m. CST on Sunday afternoons for FFM rehearsals and sing-alongs. To get the Zoom link, send an email to jean@familyfolkmachine.org. See you soon!

Things You Should Know About the 2021 Spring FFM Session:
• We’re planning to have two rehearsals per month, on Sundays, on Zoom
• We will not be meeting in person until it is really, truly safe
• On the weeks we’re not having rehearsal, one of the directors will offer a shorter event like a sing-along. You’ll hear more info about these the week of.
• Rehearsals will be about an hour or an hour and 15 minutes
• We’re planning to include these components at rehearsals: vocal strength training, ear training, sing-alongs, learning new or new/old songs, and socializing
• Our goal is to get more singing into our lives!
• Other goals: to eventually record a couple more original songs, starting with “This Machine”; to start learning some songs for our next in-person session, whenever that will occur; to increase our lung capacity, vocal agility, and musical skills; to get to know other FFMers better
• When you sing during rehearsal, you will be on mute. The rehearsal singing is for your vocal health and your musical learning.
• Home recording projects are completely optional; you don’t have to commit to recording in order to participate in our spring rehearsals
• You can keep coming to rehearsals even if you miss a week or more. Don’t worry, you won’t be behind.
• We will be having registration for spring session starting in a couple of weeks, but registration fees are optional during this time. Your presence at rehearsal is valuable and you should absolutely feel free to come even if you can’t afford fees right now.

About FFM kids:
Kids are welcome at all parts of our Zoom rehearsals. Most kids do not need more Zoom in their lives right now, I know. I’m hoping that the rehearsals will be beneficial for kids even if they are hearing rehearsal in the background while they’re doing something else. Parents can model by singing heartily along with all our rehearsal activities, and kids will absorb and join in on their own schedule.

How to do it: if you want to join us for rehearsal, just send an email to Jean. Use the “contact” button here on our website!

We are excited to launch our second online mini-concert with a YouTube premiere at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, January 1! You can watch here:

Join us on Zoom to chat before and after the concert! Everyone who joins the Zoom will be entered into a drawing for an Iowa City prize: gift cards from Oasis and Big Grove. Here’s the Zoom info:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/92558616407?pwd=T2liWEVXakxzTTlBb3JUMjB4VU8rQT09

Meeting ID: 925 5861 6407
Passcode: famfolk

And here’s a document with lyrics for the songs in this set:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LI3WM_r80Hv4TCvyJy7KkWwBeLY7n4QFSkKp4PMQvv8/edit?usp=sharing

The virtual choir project we have been working on since last June has involved lots of unbudgeted expenses and extra labor hours from many people. The Family Folk Machine is grateful to have received grant support to help defray these expenses. Last fall we were awarded a grant from the City of Iowa City Public Art Program to help compensate the guest musicians who recorded instrumental parts for the songs in our virtual project. We received a grant from the Community Foundation of Johnson County to help cover equipment and software and extra labor hours by staff. And just last week we learned that we were awarded a grant from the Iowa Arts Council, funded by the CARES act, to help defray expenses that were incurred by the pandemic. We appreciate our state and community for supporting the arts! We hope everyone who can right now is finding ways to support artists and arts venues so that they can continue enriching our lives when we get to the After times.

Family Folk Machine Lyrics for November 15 Online Concert

That Cause Can Neither Be Lost Nor Stayed
(lyrics in video)

My Rainbow Race
One blue sky above us, one ocean lapping all our shores
One earth so green and round, who could ask for more
And because I love you, I’ll give it one more try
To show my rainbow race it’s too soon to die
Some folks want to be like an ostrich, bury their heads in the sand
Some hope that plastic dreams can unclench all those greedy hands
Some want to take the easy way: poisons, bombs, they think we need ‘em
Don’t you know you can’t kill all the unbelievers—there’s no shortcut to freedom
Go tell all the little children, tell their mothers and fathers too
Now’s our last chance to learn to share what’s been given to me and to you

Out in the Country
Whenever I need to leave it all behind or feel the need to get away
I find a quiet place far from the human race, out in the country
Before the breathing air is gone, before the sun is just a bright spot in the nighttime
Out where the rivers like to run, I stand alone and take back something worth remembering
Whenever I feel them closing in on me or need a bit of room to move
When life becomes too fast, I find relief at last, out in the country

This Is Home
Touch the earth, drink the water, breathe the air, feel the sun
This is home, there is no other; we are all part, we are all one
Held in velvet sparkling wonder, royal azure, home to all
We are stewards for the future; we must stand or we will fall
Creatures call in every season; wild the hope both day and night
The green youth of spring is a beacon, winter’s frost a guiding light
Perfect peace is Earth’s greatest treasure; waters, peaks, and shifting sands
Stewards call us to work together with open hearts and healing hands

Fall on Me
There’s the problem: feathers, iron, bargain buildings, weights and pulleys
Feathers hit the ground before the weight can leave the air
Buy the sky and sell the sky and tell the sky and tell the sky
Don’t fall on me (it’s gonna fall) (what is it up in the air for? If it’s there for long, it’s over me)
There’s a progress, we have found a way to talk around the problem
(when the rain, when the children reign)
Building towered foresight isn’t anything at all
(keep your conscience in the dark, melt the statues in the park)
Buy the sky and sell the sky and bleed the sky and tell the sky
Don’t fall on me (it’s gonna fall) (what is it up in the air for? If it’s there for long, it’s over me)
Well I would keep it above, but then it wouldn’t be sky anymore
So if I send it to you, you’ve got to promise to keep it whole
Buy the sky and sell the sky and lift your arms up to the sky and ask the sky and ask the sky
Don’t fall on me (it’s gonna fall) (what is it up in the air for? If it’s there for long, it’s over me)

Hope you can join us at 3:00 (Central Standard time) on Sunday, November 15 for the YouTube Premiere of our first online One Planet concert! You can watch the concert here:

You can also join us on Zoom before and/or after the concert to chat about the songs:
https://uiowa.zoom.us/j/95006655217?pwd=N3k3MjlrVjdtQjRNQkE5Q2N3SXN0QT09

Meeting ID: 950 0665 5217
Passcode: famfolk

We’ll have the Zoom-ers on mute during the concert.
If you’d like to be entered in our prize drawing, all you need to do is join the Zoom by 3:15. We’ll announce the drawing winners (2 prizes!) on Zoom at the end of the concert. (The prizes are local Iowa City gift cards.)