The Free Range Folk Choir
is Vashon's own eclectic and joyful folk music ensemble. Welcoming
singers of diverse ages, backgrounds and musical experience, the choir
celebrates the ways that music from around the world can lift the spirit
and cultivate community.
Interested in joining the choir? We'd love to have you. Please see more information on the Join page.
Shane Jewell has been the founding director of the Free Range Folk Choir since 2008. He is a skilled composer and musical arranger with over 20 years professional experience directing vocal and instrumental ensembles. Trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a B.A. in music performance, Shane performs as a professional musician and offers instruction in over a dozen instruments. He has run a successful private music studio since 2001, and has served as a faculty music instructor at the Seattle Waldorf High School, the Sunrise Waldorf School (Duncan, BC), the Harbor School (Vashon, WA) and the Homestead School (Vashon, WA). He has also served as co-founder and instructor from 2011-2014 for the Rock Island String Kollective, a Vashon-based string ensemble dedicated to passing on a love of music to young musicians. Coming from a family with over five generations of musicians, Shane has deep roots in North American folk music traditions. He has also performed and studied with folk musicians from diverse musical traditions around the world. His particular interest is in the ways that music based in community lifts the spirit and cultivates resilience. For more information, visit ShaneJewell.blogspot.com.
Emily Pruiksma, choir co-founder and partner to Shane, enjoys singing with the choir's small but mighty soprano section. She's the organizational, “nuts-and-bolts” worker behind the choir and makes things happen. She is also an artist, creating finely etched glass lanterns, beeswax candles and pysanky. Her work has been featured during the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour, Vashon Strawberry Festival and at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. She sells her artwork and art supplies at UkrainianEggSupplies.etsy.com and FiddleHome.etsy.com.
Founded in 2008, the Free Range Folk Choir has grown to include 60-80 members each season. Under the direction of Shane Jewell,
the choir goes to the roots of folk tradition -- learning through call
and response, adjusting to the spontaneity of the moment and expressing
song through both voice and movement. Music performed has ranged from
South African freedom songs, Canadian sea shanties and Bulgarian love
songs, to old school Gospel music, medieval French rounds and even songs
about Vashon Island itself. Audience members at choir concerts often
find themselves drawn into the music, learning to sing along or clap
gospel-style. If the building isn't rocking by the end of the
performance, you haven't experienced the Free Range Folk Choir!
Leadership
Shane Jewell has been the founding director of the Free Range Folk Choir since 2008. He is a skilled composer and musical arranger with over 20 years professional experience directing vocal and instrumental ensembles. Trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with a B.A. in music performance, Shane performs as a professional musician and offers instruction in over a dozen instruments. He has run a successful private music studio since 2001, and has served as a faculty music instructor at the Seattle Waldorf High School, the Sunrise Waldorf School (Duncan, BC), the Harbor School (Vashon, WA) and the Homestead School (Vashon, WA). He has also served as co-founder and instructor from 2011-2014 for the Rock Island String Kollective, a Vashon-based string ensemble dedicated to passing on a love of music to young musicians. Coming from a family with over five generations of musicians, Shane has deep roots in North American folk music traditions. He has also performed and studied with folk musicians from diverse musical traditions around the world. His particular interest is in the ways that music based in community lifts the spirit and cultivates resilience. For more information, visit ShaneJewell.blogspot.com.
Emily Pruiksma, choir co-founder and partner to Shane, enjoys singing with the choir's small but mighty soprano section. She's the organizational, “nuts-and-bolts” worker behind the choir and makes things happen. She is also an artist, creating finely etched glass lanterns, beeswax candles and pysanky. Her work has been featured during the Vashon Island Art Studio Tour, Vashon Strawberry Festival and at the Pike Place Market in Seattle. She sells her artwork and art supplies at UkrainianEggSupplies.etsy.com and FiddleHome.etsy.com.
Tom Pruiksma, choir co-founder, piano accompanist and guest
director, is an anchor in the tenor section. As a writer and
translator of Tamil literature from South India, his latest book, Give, Eat, and Live: Poems of Avvaiyar has
received wide praise from poets and translators internationally. A
magician since an early age, he combines his love of literature and
illusion to perform delightfully artistic magic shows at venues
throughout the Pacific Northwest. Please see his website thepoetsmagic.com for more details.
