A host of West Coast songleaders, coming together to create a marathon of the good medicine that is community singing!

Living Room Choir introduces:
Singing Night and Day
a seedling for East Bay SongFest!

Friday, April 18 4-6pm and
Saturday, April 19th, 10am-7pm
(with a lunch break)
at Grace Lutheran Church 15 Santa Fe, El Cerrito, CA

Eventbrite Tickets: https://tinyurl.com/eastbaysongfest2025


Join Katie Sontag, Kaitie Ty Warren, Marv Zauderer, Sara Stutz, Deborah Leeds, Amanda West, Aditya (Adi) Rajkarne, Eileen Hazel, Tova Feldmanstern and more for the first incarnation of East Bay SongFest: Singing Night and Day!

These west coast/Bay Area songleaders, along with Living Room Choir of El Cerrito, are putting together a marathon of singing, Friday 4-6pm and Saturday 10am-7pm (with lunch break). This is open to all – whether you’ve been singing for years or never done it before! Everything is taught by oral tradition, so no musical experience or sight reading necessary. All ages and all genders are welcome, and no one is turned away for lack of funds. The venue is wheelchair accessible, 1 mile from El Cerrito Plaza BART.

We are asking folks who attend to be prepared to adhere to community guidelines to help protect one another. We will be meeting indoors with ample ventilation. You can read more about our community guidelines here: livingroomchoir.com/wellness-safety-guidelines

This event is the prototype learning experience for a new festival, East Bay SongFest, which in the future will be a full weekend long! Come support this seedling and enjoy the luscious harmonies, built easily in community.

Schedule (subject to slight modulations)

  • Friday April 18, 4-6pm Amanda West, Kaitie Ty Warren, Katie Sontag, Eileen Hazel, Tova Feldmanstern
  • Saturday April 19, 10-12 Katie Sontag, Sara Stutz, Aditya Rajkarne, Marv Zauderer
  • 12:00-1:00 lunch break
  • 1-3pm Aditya Rajkarne, Kaitie Ty Warren, Deborah Leeds, Eileen Hazel, Tova Feldmanstern
  • 3pm Grace Notes open to community: a section of Living Room Choir who will sing you some of their favorites and then everyone will work together on a new song
  • 4-5:30pm Living Room Choir open to community: you’ll join Living Room Choir for luscious, playful harmonies, walk-around songs, snacks, and even a craft corner perfect for kiddos but open to all.
  • 5:30-7pm Sara Stutz, Aditya Rajkarne, Kaitie Ty Warren, Deborah Leeds, Marv Zauderer, Eileen Hazel, Tova Feldmanstern

The area is residential with plenty of free parking nearby. There are no handicap-reserved spaces but we will reserve at least two spots directly in front of the venue; please be in contact if you’d like us to reserve one for you.

We can’t wait to sing with you, and open the way for East Bay SongFest with Singing Night and Day!

Songleaders:

Katie Sontag (she/they)

Katie Sontag (she/they) writes and teaches nourishing songs that celebrate self love and reminds us that we are not alone. In this circle, we will create a safe space to grieve, celebrate, feel and be authentically together. We sing to remember our connection. Through rounds, part songs, harmonies and unison, we will revive our belonging and leave with a sense of true self worth. At Katie’s song circles, you will laugh, cry, make new friends, and feel better than when you came. Her music has been described as “a big hug.” Katie’s songs have traveled all over the country. She is also a singer/songwriter, a seasoned performer and a music educator.. Learn more about Katie and listen to her music at https://katiesontag.com

Kaitie Ty Warren (she/they)

Kaitie Ty Warren grew up in the world of theater, but discovered community singing in 2010 and hasn’t looked back. She is the founder and co-leader of Living Room Choir (Lisjan Ohlone Land/East Bay, CA), member of the international Ubuntu Choirs Network, teacher for community singing at Berkeley Adult School, and works retreats, workshops, and with private students. She also writes songs, comic strips, prose and poems, and has developed vocal work for folks with Parkinson’s. KaitieTyWarren.com, Patreon.com/KaitieTy

Marv Zauderer (he/they)

Marv Zauderer (he/they) leads the Joyful Voices Chorus community choir and the All In Song Circle on unceded Coast Miwok land in Marin County, California. He loves the magic of singing together, magic that can connect us deeply and uniquely with each other and exquisitely bridge so many divides in this more-than-human world. He is passionate about co-creating spaces for singing that are safe, welcoming, and easy for anyone to join in and feel alive, connected, well held, and uplifted. More info: https://singwithmarv.com

Aditya (Adi) Rajkarne (he/they)
(Percussionist)

A passionate percussionist who finds joy in drumming on instruments from around the world. With a love for both Indian classical and Western music, he is on a journey to fuse diverse styles and create something truly unique.

Amanda West (she/her/they)
Amanda is a song catcher/writer, ritualist, community leader, mother and ever-evolving human. In a lifetime devoted to music and healing, she has brought song to the thresholds of birth and death, life rituals, spiritual centers, community gatherings, album recordings, festivals and performances throughout the West Coast and parts of Europe. She understands our world to be full of both collapse and possibility, and is passionate about cultivating resilience and hope during this time of collective re-birthing on planet earth. www.amandawest.com

Sara Stutz (she/her)
Sara grew up in a musical family and has always loved to sing. Over the years, Sara has been a part of many musical collaborations and finally found the “secret sauce” of the community singing world in 2015 which has been life changing and wonderful! Sara loves to help guide all people, regardless of singing experience or background, towards finding comfort, strength, healing and joy through singing for themselves and with others. Sara is a founding member and co-leader of Living Room Choir in El Cerrito, CA with Kaitie Ty Warren and is a member of The Ubuntu Choirs Network. Sara also writes songs and co-leads Grace Notes and leads TIO (Taking It Outside).

Deborah Leeds (she/her)

Deborah Leeds is a Psychotherapist who has, for over 30 years,  examined and explored the processes of relationship: those which we have with ourselves, others, and with life. Having loved singing and singing with others for as long as she can remember, she had the great good fortune to sign up with Kaitie Ty Warren’s Living Room Choir in it’s early stages in 2016, and has since gone for the whole kit and caboodle with growing passion and awe: singing, writing songs, teaching and leading songs, growing, enjoying, harmonizing and playing. Yes!

At this time Deborah enjoys the delicious opportunity to be the Music Assistant for the Living Room Choir, co-led by Kaitie Ty Warren and Sara Stutz. Her understanding and continued amazement at the medicine and joy in community singing unfolds and deepens her commitment to share this with others. Songleading is a natural expression for her, and Deborah’s  songs – as well as those she chooses to share from other songwriters – are often her reflections on meeting the moments of our lives, and what she understands about the nature of being here. Lofty stuff and hard to put into words, yes. Worthwhile and deeply pleasurable to sing, yes. Song medicine, all of this….YES! Grateful and with an open heart, she says to you about all of it, YES.

Eileen Hazel (she/her)

Eileen Hazel seamlessly blends her roles as a priestess, a devoted seeker of beautiful melodies, and a soulful bard attuned to the intricacies of the human spirit. Her music transcends boundaries, creating a tapestry that weaves together spirituality, nature, and the profound emotions that resonate within us all. A genuine orchestrator of community singing, Eileen finds profound joy in harmonizing with others. Join her on a journey where every note is a celebration of shared experiences and a testament to the unifying power of music. Learn more about Eileen and listen to her music at www.eileenhazel.com.

Tova Feldmanstern (she/they)

tova feldmanstern is a human & cat mama, musician and writer, whose
 passion and life’s work is channeling our collective creativity into our collective power. u.s. born, queer, of eastern-european and ashkenazi descent, tova has lived on Ohlone land since 2006.