About Us

An Introduction from

The Western Shaker Singers

     The Western Shaker Singers is a group of amateur singers that have come together out of a common desire to perpetuate one of the Midwest’s least known and understood folk spiritual traditions: the music of the Shaker West.  We are committed to sharing the music of the Western Shakers with contemporary audiences.  We believe that by sharing the songs of the Shaker West and by recreating some of the distinctive performance styles of the Shakers, we can provide audiences with a unique window into Shaker lives and culture.

    Early in 2007, the Western Shaker Singers formed a partnership with the Friends of White Water Shaker Village, the non-profit organization that seeks to protect and restore the buildings at the White Water Shaker site in northwest Hamilton County, the most extensive group of Shaker buildings in Ohio.  We will function as the education and outreach arm of the Friends of White Water, and we will highlight the importance of the White Water legacy through our songs and programs.  

     We come from a variety of backgrounds and professions.  We share a passion for the music of the Shakers, along with a strong conviction that many of the messages contained in the Shaker texts that we sing are as strong and relevant to audiences today as they were when they were written down or “received” by Shakers as much as 200 years ago.  Collectively, we represent nearly 40 years of experience researching Shaker music and performing it in a variety of venues for a range of audiences.  Each one of us has been deeply touched and changed by our experience of singing Shaker music.  And we wish to pass on to today’s audiences the opportunity to likewise be touched and even changed by an encounter with Shaker songs. 

     The Western Shaker Singers particularly focuses upon the music of the Ohio Shaker communities, because the Ohio Shakers’ musical contributions have received less emphasis by Shaker scholars and other Shaker performing groups.  Many songs from the Ohio communities of Watervliet, White Water, Union Village, and North Union remain in archival form, essentially unheard since Ohio Shakers once sang them.  We are continuously researching and recontructing such songs, with the goal of re-animating and re-interpreting Ohio’s Shaker past.   

     We hope you will visit us at www.westernshakersingers.org, email us at WSSingers@cincy.rr.com, or call us through members Carol Medlicott at 859-572-5316 or James Lochridge at 937-484-1178.  We would be happy to talk to you about performing for your group or organization.