Barbershop Chorus holding free workshops

PLATTSBURGH — The Cumberland Bay Barbershop Chorus is inviting men in the Plattsburgh and surrounding areas to four free workshops to learn more about a capella singing.

The workshops — from 7 to 9 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 6, 13 and 20 at the Northern Alliance Church, 7 Northern Road, Plattsburgh — will focus on healthy vocal production and the fundamentals of four-part a capella singing. They will be conducted by William Verity, special guest musical director, a graduate of the Crane School of Music and the choral director of the mixed chorus and select vocal ensemble in the Plattsburgh City School District. Workshop attendees will sing close harmonies, taking a capella singing from concept to applying songs to performing at the final session.

No experience is necessary.

To register, call Dave Hurd at 593-3686 or visit cumberlandbay.org.

Lecture to highlight life of Alice T. Miner

CHAZY — Dr. Joseph Burke will give a presentation on many of the myths about Alice T. Miner and the establishment of her Colonial Collection at 7 p.m. today at the Alice T. Miner Museum, 9618 Route 9.

The lecture, "To Get a Handle on Alice T. Miner Look to Her Colonial Museum," reveals Miner as a remarkable woman whose museum stood at the forefront of the Colonial Revival Movement and the establishment of museums featuring American decorative arts.

To learn more, call 846-7336 or email director@minermuseum.org.

CCC offering Creative Writing Workshop

PLATTSBURGH — A Creative Writing Workshop focusing on fiction and nonfiction writing is planned from 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays, March 14 through April 11, at Clinton Community College, Room 316M.

Participants will examine short fiction as well as write their own. Each meeting will focus on a different area of short-story craft (plot, character, tone/voice, setting, tension/conflict, etc.). By the end of the workshop, everyone should leave with one finished short story or piece of creative nonfiction that will be ready for submission to a publication. Cost is $36. To learn more or register, call 744-9194.

Singer/songwriter to lead workshop

BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE — The Adirondack Lake Museum is hosting a "Soulful Landscape" creative-writing workshop led by singer/songwriter Erica Wheeler from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the Mark W. Potter Education Center.

The workshop aims to help people uncover their memories of connection to places and provides tools and experiences to develop and express what "sense of place" means to them. Attendees will leave with fresh ideas, new skills and writings to develop further. The workshop is for all levels of experience and all kinds of writers.

The fee is $30 for museum members and high-school/college students, and $35 for nonmembers.

Call 352-7311, Ext 128, to register.

VYOA accepting registrations for Presto

COLCHESTER — The Vermont Youth Orchestra Association is accepting registrations for Presto, its ensemble program for beginning string players. The sessions will be on Saturday mornings from March 10 through April 14 at the Elley-Long Music Center at Saint Michael's College.

Led by conductor Asiat Ali, the program offers five weeks of introductory coaching in all areas of ensemble string playing. Sessions cover topics such as orchestra etiquette, learning to watch the conductor and playing/listening in a group. The program is open to string players who can read C, D, A and G major scales and are learning the F major scale. Two levels of Presto accommodate students according to their skill level. The spring session culminates in a concert for parents and families, held April 14.

Tuition is $75 for the session. Financial aid is available.

For an application, call (802) 655-5030. Forms are also available online at www.vyo.org/Presto. Applications are accepted only by mail. The deadline is March 3.