In Celebration of the Human Voice - The Essential Musical Instrument

Flying Without Instruments

Emily grew up singing folksongs on family roadtrips and coercing her cousins into impromptu choruses. After realizing coercion was a poor foundation for an ensemble, Emily joined the Contra Costa Children's Chorus, where she now sits on the board of directors. She went on to major in music at Pomona College, winning the President's Prize in Women's Studies for her lecture-recital on music by women composers from Clara Schumann to Margaret Bonds . After a couple of stints abroad, Emily joined the only theater group with its own law school, the Georgetown Gilbert & Sullivan Society, where she still moonlights occasionally as a second violin. During her law school days, Emily learned that the average time in a refugee camp is 17 years; in response, she founded Asylum Access, a refugee human rights organization that has improved human rights for over 500,000 refugees in Africa, Asia and Latin America under Emily's leadership. Despite loving her job, her fantastic husband, and life in SF, Emily couldn't help feeling something was missing from her life ... until she found FWIdom in 2009. (She still feels something may be missing -- she thinks it's called "sanity" -- but takes solace in the fact that she's now in good company.)

Discography

Displaying 1-2 of 2 items.

Flying Without Instruments : At Last

Review: We enjoyed a 10-minute taste of 4-man, 4-woman San Francisco-based FWI at the 2005 Bay Area Regional (OK, actually they appeared as a septet, the maximum that may compete in the Harmony Sweeps). The group, first formed in 1996 as a quartet, love making music together and they wowed the crowd at the Regional with the Texas Swing tune 'San Fernando Valley' Palestrina's incongruous, albeit lovely 'Sicut Cervus,' and the Jefferson Airplane Summer of Love psychedelic anthem, 'White Rabbit,' all included here. 11 a cappella songs in total, Billy Joel's 'And So It Goes,' the Rockabilly classics 'Truck Drivin' Man' and 'High and Lonesome,' the very funny 'Big and Stupid,' our friend Richard Greene's '(Please Come Back and) Mess Me Up Again' and U2's brief, sublime harmonic gem 'MLK' are favorites. 'FWI At Last' is an impressive debut CD for FWI.

Songlist: San Fernando Valley, Big & Stupid, White Rabbit, And So It Goes, Truck Drivin' Man, Tenderly , Sicut Cervus, High & Lonesome, (Please Come Back and) Mess Me Up Again, You're No Good, MLK

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The Spider

Flying Without Instruments : FWI Will Rock You

Review: FWI describes itself as 'a refreshingly quirky yet musically substantive eight-person San Francisco-based a cappella ensemble known for its versatility and unpredictability.' Founded in 1996, this 4-man, 4-woman ensemble gave a very impressive performance at the 2005 Bay Area Regional, and prides itself in singing something for everyone. These 17 cuts are clear evidence of this: a wonderfully harmonic cover of CSN&Y's 'CarryOn/Questions' medley, Shakira's 'Whenever, Wherever,' Lennon/McCartney's 'Can't Buy Me Love' performed as a Renaissance madrigal, and the heart-tugging WWII anthem ' I'll Be Seeing You' are part of a musical Whitman's Sampler that continually delights and surprises. k.d. lang's hit 'Constant Cravings,' Z. Randall Stroope's lovely 'Amor de mi Alma,' J.S. Bach's hilarious 'Traffic Fugue' (with lyrics added, with no disrespect, by C. Seagrave); Randy Weeks' country tune 'Can't Let Go,' and the silly 'Plastic Jesus,' Joni Mitchell's 'Big Yellow Taxi,' and The Arachnid Suite: 'The Spider' and ' The Spider in the Bath' are favorites. This is fun, entertaining stuff with something to please everyone!

Songlist: Carry On / Questions, Whenever, Wherever, Can't Buy Me Love, I'll Be Seeing You, Hurt, Constant Craving, Amor de mi Alma, Traffic Fugue, Can't Let Go, Go, Lovely Rose, One , Plastic Jesus , Big Yellow Taxi, The Spider, Spider in the Bath, My Immortal, Happy Together

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