About Betsy Blakeslee

B Betsy sits at the helm of three projects - World Harmony Chorus - Oakland, Expressive Arts Refuge , and VerbQ. Her choruses have performed at the State of the World Forum and UN Millennium Summit in NYC, and at Freight & Salvage and benefits in the San Francisco Bay. 

Her work with refugees spans two decades: She directed expressive arts programs for refugee youth in Bosnia and Croatia during the wars of the 1990s. Since 2016, her Expressive Arts Refuge team and Moira Smiley have been running similar programs at refugee camps in France, Greece, and Lebanon.

A love of language spurred her to develop VerbQ -- a thesaurus on steroids. VerbQ.com builds vocabulary and sparks the writing of bloggers, students and writers. With VerbQ partner Nicole Janik, VerbQ grew into a database showcasing 14,000 verbs, organized by topic. It's free!

Current Projects

Original Scores

  • WHEN

    Emotional pop ballad. The duet in the recording is sung by Moorea Dickason and Austin Willacy, arrangement by Grammy-nominated Wayne Wallace.

    LISTEN SCORE EXCERPT


  • Todas Las Voces

    Todas las Voces, popularized by Mercedes Sosa, is an Argentine ballad, by turns poignant and rousing. This arrangement is a cappella for SATB, of moderate challenge for ensembles or choruses.

    SCORE EXCERPT


  • LAMA BADA

    Lama Bada is a gorgeous Arabic muwashat from 13th century Andalusian Spain. Betsy’s arrangement is a cappella, for SATB, and of moderate challenge. It’s an excellent choral arrangement to introduce the hijaz scale. There’s an optional soprano lead.

    SCORE EXCERPT


  • I THINK OF THOSE

    Contemporary a cappella. SATB. A fresh, original composition with a catchy melody, easy-moderate vocal percussion, awesome harmonies, and optional body percussion by Keith Terry. Lyrics based on Stephen Spender's poem, "I Think Continually of Those who were Truly Great." A great piece for MLK Day and fundraisers. Moderate challenge.

    SCORE EXCERPT


Upcoming Events

World Harmony Chorus Fall Session

October 10, 2023 - early February 2024. Tuesdays 7:00-9:00pm, 2288 Fulton Street, Suite 203, Berkeley. No rehearsal Tuesday November 21.

 


Contact Betsy about Expressive Arts Refuge or World Harmony Chorus.