Ageless Voices Converge on Morton for Sacred Harp Singing

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The eyes and enthusiastic voices of America are centered on Morton this weekend as an international annual sing-along event happens today and Sunday at the Tiller Art Center in Morton. Local members of the public are invited — no musical experience necessary — and the event is free.

At least 120 singers have signed up to attend, coming to East Lewis County from New York, Virginia, Texas, Minnesota, Colorado, California, British Columbia and beyond.

Kate Fortin, a 2012 White Pass High School graduate, helped plan the event.

The day harkens back two centuries to a form of group singing called shape note. Instead of the typical musical notation with circles on a staff, each note is a different shape. It’s a system designed to be easy for musical novices to pick up.

Shape note singing was born in the South, and this is the first time that its practitioners will come to the Pacific Northwest for one of their biggest annual events. In the 35-year history of the annual Young People’s Convention, this is only the fourth time it’s been held outside its Southern homeland and it’s the first time it’s been held in the West.

The national Sacred Harp group (an shape singing group named after their primary music book, “The Sacred Harp”) had already decided to recognize the enthusiastic shape singing community in the Washington-Oregon-British Columbia area by holding their annual planned-by-youth shape singing event in the Pacific Northwest. Although the event is focused on bringing young people into leadership of a Sacred Harp event, it’s open to all ages. Sunday’s event will be the first-ever Morton All-Day Singing of shape note music.

With many interested in a central location between Seattle and Portland, Fortin suggested the former Masonic lodge in Morton, now home to the Tiller Art Center.

“I saw this opportunity to put Morton and Randle and East Lewis County on the map,” said Fortin, who grew up in Randle and now lives in Olympia. “I was like, it’s perfect, there’s a really great location in the Tiller Art Center. I bet it would be great for a singing.”

Fortin first experienced Sacred Harp singing during a class at The Evergreen State College (she just graduated, finishing her bachelor’s degree in three years), and has become an enthusiast.

The songbooks are composed of Christian hymns and anthems, but the event does not have a religious focus. It’s open to folks of all beliefs, ages and backgrounds. The only requirement is a love of singing and a willingness to be loud.

“It’s a very democratic, socially inclusive practice centered around people getting together to sing music, not to perform it,” she said. “There is never any cost or auditions. We don’t get together and rehearse — we get together and sing.”



She has also primed the community by teaching a seven-week shape singing class through the community education program at Centralia College East.

Among the attendees were her parents, Marty and Susan Fortin, who had no experience with shape note singing until this summer.

Marty said he’s found Sacred Harp singing to be easy and rewarding.

“I’m not a singer,” Marty Fortin said. “I was told in fourth grade I couldn’t make the chorus, and after that I never tried.”

Now he’s decided that being able to sing is like running or throwing a ball. It just takes practice, and it helps to have other dedicated folks around to share the experience.

The Fortins are hosting a social event Saturday night at their Randle home, and they’ll be hosting a number of attendees. They’ll also be among those leading Sunday’s first-ever Morton All-Day Sing of shape note music.

They’re also part of the new Sacred Harp Singers of East Lewis County, a shape note singing community that aims to meet and sing regularly. They have a Facebook group with information.

Curious about the sound and what it’s like to inhabit a wall of sound? Come by Morton this weekend. Even those walking through downtown are likely to experience the songs, which can sometimes be heard a mile away.

Feel free to bring the family. This centuries-old experience is accessible to all.

“I’ve been to singings with 3-year-olds leading songs,” Kate Fortin said. “People grow up in this tradition.”