IfM:pop | Interner Songwriting & Combo Workshop mit Michelle Willis (Day two) Mittwoch, 11. Juni 2025, 10:00 Uhr

Ein zweitägiger Workshop mit der kanadischen Singer/Songwriterin Michelle Willis
Unbedingt bis 3. Juni anmelden (Infos weiter unten)

am Dienstag: Fokus Songwriting
am Mittwoch: Fokus Combo

TUESDAY, 10th of June
10.00 - 13.00 Uhr: Songwriting Exercises in brainstorming, editing, listening, story telling in songs, Q&A. My music - performing my music for the students and breaking down my songwriting method in process (for example, how I write music to someone else’s lyrics).
15.00 - 17.00 Uhr: Student Performances Working with Critical Response method as way of helping students develop their ideas.

19.30 Uhr: Solo-Concert by Michelle Willis

WEDNESDAY, 11th of June
10.00 - 13.00 Uhr: Combo Work Communication & Groove between rhythm section players, rhythm section and vocalists / songwriters, supporting the melody and song, breaking down and building a groove, having healthy communication, listening & discussion.
10.00 - 11.00 Uhr: Playing through a song of mine with a student guitarist - talking / playing through developing a language together, how I hire and work with other musicians.
11.00 - 13.00 Uhr: Student Performances Focus on playing together, making arrangements, communication.
15.00 - 17.00 Uhr: Open space & Q&A Questions, more songwriting input, maybe if there is someone from the day before who made a change and wants to present, etc.

Bewerbung für aktive Workshop-Slots Für die Sessions am Dienstag, 10. Juni (15–17 Uhr) und Mittwoch, 11. Juni (11–13 Uhr) könnt ihr euch für einen aktiven Slot bewerben. Eingeladen sind sowohl Solo-Performer*innen als auch Bands oder bestehende Projekte. Bitte bereitet einen eigenen Song vor, den ihr live vorstellen möchtet – egal ob bereits fertig oder noch work in progress. Wichtig ist, dass ihr konkrete Fragen oder Aspekte habt, zu denen ihr gerne Feedback von Michelle bekommen möchtet (z. B. Songstruktur, Arrangement, Lyrics, Band Zusammenspiel …).

·    Dienstag: Fokus auf dem Song selbst – Songwriting, Text, Melodie, Arrangement
·    Mittwoch: Fokus auf Groove, Kommunikation und Zusammenspiel in der Band → Für Mittwoch ist eine Bewerbung mit einer eingespielten Band sinnvoll.

Bewerbungsschluss: Dienstag, 03. Juni Bitte sendet eure Bewerbung an Hannah Köpf: h.koepf@hs-osnabrueck.de Bitte gebt in eurer Mail folgende Infos an: • Welche Besetzung bringt ihr mit? (Solo, Duo, Band – mit Angabe der Instrumente und technische Anforderungen) • Bevorzugt ihr einen Slot am Dienstag oder Mittwoch? • In welchem stilistischen Kontext bewegt sich euer Song?
Wir freuen uns auf eure Songs!

Michelle Willis is a Canadian singer, songwriter and keyboard player, now based on the Fife coast of Scotland.
As a kid growing up, singing and playing was a pathway to self expression. “In the 90s, the hits on the radio were largely by women like Shawn Colvin, Lauryn Hill, Amanda Marshall, Jann Arden, Whitney Houston, Alanis Morissette, Janet Jackson and Sarah McLachlan. They said how they felt, and to me their songs felt deep, clever, honest. It was a sound where all my teenage emotion could live and be perfectly expressed. Around the same time, I was singing Brahms, Bach and the blue hymnbook in a choir - all that melodramatic music was circling around.”
She later grew to learn the vocabulary of the 60s and 70s singer-songwriter era, a sound she has grown quite close to given her fixed position in two bands led by rock and roll hall of famer David Crosby. After studying jazz piano at Toronto’s Humber College, she set sights on folk and pop songwriting, taking inspiration from heavyweights Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Donny Hathaway, CSNY, Ray Charles, Jimmy Webb, Rufus Wainwright and The Beatles.
While living a little under a decade in Brooklyn NY, Willis cemented her place as an in-demand keyboard player and singer, touring and recording with a diverse array of artists such as David Crosby, Becca Stevens, Zac Brown Band, Iggy Pop, Laura Mvula and Michael McDonald. Michelle is an artist on GroundUP Music, a record label started by Snarky Puppy leader and founder Michael League, with whom she has regularly collaborated and toured with for over a decade.
Willis’ sophomore release, Just One Voice (2022), follows her full length debut, See Us Through (2016). The new album, out now on GroundUp Music, is an ambitious studio record plus a live and filmed concert showcasing guest performances by Crosby, Michael McDonald, Grégoire Maret, Becca Stevens, and Taylor Ashton.
https://www.michellewillis.ca/