Singing the Bones

Imagine stepping into a circle where the songs of your ancestors come alive—where folk melodies, diaspora stories, and cultural memory become the pathway home to yourself. Singing the Bones is a four-day immersive retreat that invites you to reconnect with the folkloric traditions, stories, and songs woven through your own lineage. Whether your heritage is rooted in Eastern European villages, Mediterranean coasts, African traditions, or any cultural homeland, this workshop offers a sanctuary to reclaim the musical and spiritual knowledge held in your family's bones.

Led by facilitators Lydia Violet Harutoonian and Leah Song, this retreat at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY (October 22–25, 2026) creates intentional space for genuine community and deep cultural self-discovery. You'll explore the instruments, musical styles, and storytelling traditions alive in your ancestral heritage while honoring the resilience of diaspora experience. This is not a performance workshop—it's an intimate gathering for those called to root into story, to sing with their whole selves, and to deepen their relationship with ancestors through embodied cultural practice.

Over four days, you'll move between folk singing circles, evening storytelling celebrations, group discussions, and teaching sessions designed to awaken both personal and collective memory. Whether you arrive with a voice trained in song or simply a willingness to listen and learn, Singing the Bones welcomes you as you are.

What to Expect

You'll gather in circles to learn and sing folk traditions—songs that carry the wisdom, grief, joy, and resilience of your people. Evening celebrations weave storytelling with music, creating a container for shared meaning-making. Teaching sessions explore the cultural lineages within your own history, with particular attention to diaspora belonging and the ways ancestral knowledge persists across displacement and time. Group discussions invite reflection and connection with fellow seekers walking similar paths of cultural reclamation.

The retreat is structured to balance learning, singing, listening, and rest. You'll leave with a deeper relationship to your ancestral heritage, a repertoire of songs to carry forward, and a community of kindred spirits committed to this sacred work.

Venue & Logistics

Singing the Bones takes place at Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, a renowned retreat center nestled in the Hudson Valley. The workshop runs October 22–25, 2026. Comfortable, casual clothing is recommended for singing and movement. Omega's facilities include on-site accommodations and vegetarian meals; details on room options and dietary considerations are available upon registration.