Sep. 18 - 20
Star Harmony is a welcoming, immersive weekend of group singing for curious beginners, seasoned singers, and everyone in between. Whether this is your first time singing with others or you spend your weeks leading choirs of your own, you’ll find yourself right at home — making vibrant music, learning by doing, and connecting with a generous, joyful community.
The varied repertoire includes choral music (usually SATB) as well as “paperless” (by rote) folk / gospel / protest / spiritual songs — learned and sung by ear. Some ability to read music helps, but is not required. A joy for singing is essential!
Founded and led for many years by Peter Amidon, this beloved weekend of singing has long appealed to singers and choir enthusiasts of all kinds — from community choirs and hospice choirs to church choirs and those who have never sung in a choir before.
After Peter’s passing in the fall, the Star Harmony community continues to hold his spirit close. Adam Podd, a mentee, collaborator, and dear friend of Peter’s, now carries the tradition forward with joy, deep respect for its history, and a fantastic team of song-leading friends.
Read more about our fantastic leaders for 2026 below!
Adam Podd
Adam Podd is a Brooklyn-based musician and composer with more than two decades of church, choral, and collaborative music-making experience. As Music Director at First Unitarian Church of Brooklyn, he leads the choir, and plays organ and piano, creating musical experiences that blend classical, traditional, jazz, gospel, and folk influences. With an aim to expand the definition of “sacred music,” heart-centered worship design and intentional programming are at the very core of Adam’s music ministry. As a choral composer and arranger, his works have been sung by hundreds of choirs all over the world. More about his choral music here.
Adam has led music, worship, and workshops at the national level for the UUA, AUUMM, and ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) as well as dozens of individual schools, churches, and other arts organizations. Adam brings a spirit of creativity, warmth, and collaboration to every ensemble he leads. He is obsessed with blurring the lines between performed and participatory music in church (and elsewhere).
Mary Cay Brass
Mary Cay Brass has led harmony singing at the Vermont-based Village Harmony camps for teens an adults for 28 years. She is a specialist in music from the former Yugoslavia where she studied on a Fulbright and has created and led Village Harmony camps in Bosnia and Macedonia. Mary Cay leads two community choirs: The River Singers in Westminster West, Vermont, and Greenfield Harmony in Greenfield Massachusetts; both SATB intergenrational choruses of 60 - 90 singers - both exploring the vocal music cultures of many community-based world tradiitions including the Balkans, the Republic of Georgia, South Africa, the British Isles, France and American folk traditions such as shape note, Appalachian and African-American gospel. Mary Cay is a founding member and co-music director of Hallowell, Vermont's first a cappella SATB hospice singing group.
Matt Meyer
Matt Meyer is a troubadour who has led music and worship for hundreds of services in congregations all over the country. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2004, where he studied hand drumming and world music, and continues to bring a love of traditional song and world rhythms wherever he goes. Matt is a cofounder of the Unitarian Universalist Songleaders Convergence, fostering a vibrant culture of community singing and singing by rote. He regularly leads songs for protests and demonstrations as wella s training other songleaders in 'Songleading for Resistance & Resilience."
Matt is honored to have performed with Ysaye Barnwell (of Sweet Honey in the Rock), Pete Seeger, Emma’s Revolution, Peter Mayer, Jim Scott, Nick Page, The Halalisa Singers, Samba Tremeterra, and Bloco de Afrobrazil. More at www.RhythmRevelations.com
Sophia Miller
Sophia Miller is a New York City–based conductor, songleader, clinician, singer, and leader in the children’s, youth, and community choir world. Her clear artistic vision, deep listening, and responsive presence create ensembles where singers feel supported, challenged, and fully engaged in expressive, skillful music-making.
Sophia has conducted the Young People’s Chorus of NYC, the Boston Children’s Chorus, the Savannah Children’s Choir, and now the Miami Children’s Chorus as Interim Executive Artistic Director. She is also Artistic Director of the Fieldston Choral Society in Manhattan, and she brings her heart-forward music leadership to Unitarian Universalist communities in Colorado and Brooklyn, where she leads music in worship that invites everyone in, helps people feel connected and at home, and reminds people that singing belongs to all of us.
Sophia has led All-State choirs, festival choirs, and community singing events spanning all ages in more than twenty states across the country. Her two great loves — people and music — meet in the spaces she leads, creating environments that are playful, attentive, and artistically rigorous, held together by the kind of connection that makes ensemble singing feel real and deeply shared. You can learn more about Sophia here and here.