"This was a life-changing week for me."

This is how most folks departing a summer Western Wind workshop sum up their week of small-group a cappella singing, and not just on account of the lush New England venue. The terms "impactful" and "life-changing" could just as easily be applied to The Western Wind's concerts, recordings and outreach events.

The Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, formed in 1969 at the peak of the Early Music Movement, first sang madrigals and other Renaissance fare. Their repertoire was soon expanded to include music of all sorts, some of it composed for 6-part a cappella delivery, some of it adapted for this voicing. The Western Wind's public performances, 25 recordings, and numerous public radio shows feature medieval Ladino love songs to vocal jazz, Monteverdi to Meredith Monk, Poulenc to Tania Léon, and holiday classics to new commissions. Apropos, they gained international recognition first through their Bicentennial-era Early American albums, and then, through their prominent place in Philip Glass's Koyaanisqatsi soundtrack.

New arrangements and commissions are featured on every concert. Last season's highlight was Kamala Sankaram's Cultivar, premiered in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden that inspired it. This inventive work, addressing both our place in Nature and our manipulation of species and landscapes, may soon be paired with a new Sankaram commission entitled Waterways. Pray that the commissioning grant applications are approved!

Fifty-six years after its inception, The Western Wind continues to concertize, record, stage outreach events in schools and senior centers, and perhaps most notably, sponsor ensemble singing workshops in New York City and beyond. Day-long workshops are held in the Big Apple during the season; week-long events are held in the summer, usually on New England college campuses.

Western Wind workshops are unique for the range of repertoire explored, their accessibility to singers of every level and age group, and participants' direct engagement with superb performer/coaches, in and outside of rehearsals. Additionally, the summer workshops offer opportunities to sing Early Music and vocal jazz with the support of guest experts. Participants also can have their original scores read or let off steam in an uproarious Silly Seminar.

Two of the Wind's co-founders, William Zukof and Elliot Levine, continue to facilitate and coach at workshops, and Zukof continues to oversee operations. Countertenor Eric Brenner and soprano Linda Lee Jones now lead the way for the most part, collaborating with the other four singers, Board members, and volunteers from the loyal workshop community. Everyone playing a role in this period of leadership transition is eager to welcome new collaborators and supporters to The Western Wind family. So how can you take part?

To stay informed and sign up for concerts and workshops, visit www.westernwind.org, Then, ask to be added to the Wind's e-mail list: info@westernwind.org. Finally, join Western Wind Vocal Ensemble and Friends on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/46879657426.

To actively participate in the creation of The Western Wind's next chapter, nominate someone (including yourself) to serve on the Board, join a Board committee or recommend partnerships with private foundations, small New York businesses and neighborhood cultural groups. To do any, or all, of the above, please write to info@westernwind.org.