Cormac
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WorkshopsWhat Happens at a Workshop?At folk clubs, festivals, music stores, and colleges, workshops can take several different forms, depending on the size and interests of the group. The standard is a diligent and supportive review of participants' songs in progress (lyrics or music), lending advice and offering different options and approaches. Another frequently applied method is an exercise where Cormac and the students work to create a song from randomly written lines that are thrown upon a table. With Cormac teaching and coaching it becomes a vibrant lesson in editing, creativity, and decision-making. Cormac brings to these exercises a vast knowledge of diverse musical styles and songwriting approaches. Many a decent song has begun from these inspirational and entertaining sessions. Reviews from Colleges and Universities "Cormac's presence on campus was exciting. The students were fascinated to meet a person who has made his life in music and literature and Cormac had a wonderful rapport with them. It was a real learning experience for the students to appreciate the realities of the creating and marketing of songs and recordings. His talk was funny and informative and quite enlightening to some of those students whose idea of the life of a musician is less that reality-based. His songwriting workshop led members of our faculty to create their own carols this last holiday season. The lecture and workshops also created a special interest in his concert where he sang the song that he and the students had written together. Cormac McCarthy is quite literate, informed and amusing. I highly recommend his lecture and workshops."
Cormac McCarthy is a well-respected singer-songwriter and performer. Considered by such diverse newspapers as the Boson Globe and The Austin Chronicle as one of New England's finest song writers, he is noted for his stage presence and humor. It is the literate nature of his songwriting that makes his lecture/workshops perfect for the serious student/writer or the budding musician. Cormac graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in English Literature and with an emphasis on poetry, where he studied poetry writing with Pulitzer prize winner, Charles Simic. It is his background in literature and music and his practical experience as a professional musician for the last 15 years, that makes Cormac's communication with teachers and students a delight to both. He is equally comfortable with the bardic tradition of Beowulf or Bob Dylan or the social relevance of Rap music. The emphasis is on serious writing and the song as a theatric monologue. Although song writing is frequently not considered " serious", its social significance is irrefutable and it's potential for expression and mass communication is overwhelming. Whether it's with his humorous & ironic songs about pink flamingos or cows, or soulful poetic ballads of life's challenges, Cormac McCarthy loves to entertain-- and to teach. His lectures presented at universities/academies typically incorporate a question and answer format, with a team teaching approach involving Cormac and the classroom professor fielding questions, and generating their own for the students. The discussion is lively and interactive and it allows the professor to tailor the exercise to fit the curriculum of that semester's studies. The lectures enable Cormac to work with larger numbers of students and help to create an interested and informed audience when presented prior to a concert. His approach is warm and intimate despite class size, and individuals get a chance to feel personally inspired.
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Workshop Reviews "I have attended, hosted or played host to hundreds of workshops, of all kinds. This one was informative, helpful, and entertaining. Cormac incorporated enough history, groundwork, speculation, and "hands on" to make a worthwhile experience for everyone who attended. Three separate groups of people had finished and performed at least two songs within a month following the workshop. Two of those songs have been recorded! With his songwriters workshop, Cormac sets a standard few will be able to meet...can't wait to have him back! John Derado, Workshops are sponsored by a variety of colleges and universities. Cormac also teaches at the Midnight Sun Songwriters Camp in Alaska with fellow instructors Cliff Eberhardt, Lucy Kaplanski and Kristina Olsen. |
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