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
World Harmony Chorus
World Harmony Chorus sings stunning arrangements of a cappella world music. Repertoire includes ornamented, hauntingly beautiful Balkan songs, spicy Latin polyrhythms, joyful African music, and little-known traditional songs from five continents. There are no auditions, and no music-reading skills are required. Singers at all levels are welcome, and experienced singers can shine in shared leads.
Fall session starts October 10, 2023 7:00-9:00pm. Experienced singers can join any Tuesday starting then.
Berkeley Shambhala Center
2288 Fulton Street, Suite 203, Berkeley
Just show up and press 202 to be buzzed in.
VerbQ
VerbQ is a free writing tool for bloggers, students, and writers. Its database of 14,000 verbs, verb phrases and phrasal verbs stirs fresh ideas, and powers your writing. Search for verbs in groups arranged by topic and spark your writing with fresh writing prompts. Developed over ten years by Betsy Blakeslee and Nicole Janik, with input from over 30 professionals, VerbQ helps you search for the most precise or evocative verb for every sentence. If you love words, check out sample sentences and writing prompts.
Expressive Arts Refuge
In Calais Jungle, France, EAR taught music and produced three concerts featuring refugees. Between 2016-2017, in partnership with Caritas, EAR helped to develop a play written and acted by refugees. In 2017, EAR director Betsy Blakeslee partnered again with Caritas to run a program for homeless, underage refugee girls in Calais, France. Also in 2017, Betsy, Moira Smiley, and the EAR team taught their signature music and body music program at Skaramagas Refugee Camp, Greece. In 2018, EAR taught music and body music at the Palestinian refugee camp Bourj el Shemale in southern Lebanon. In August 2019, in partnership with Jerusalem Youth Chorus and the Armenian Benevolent Union, EAR helped run a music camp for Palestinian, Armenian, and Israeli Jewish teens. Youth participants wrote collaborative songs and performed three times in Jerusalem.
Original Scores
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.
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.