Out Loud!
On Saturday, April 14, 2018 - One Voice Chorus will present Out Loud!, a concert that celebrates love, community, and strength.
Singing Love, Community and Strength
When the politics of the world become polarizing, it's easy for us to name the things that we're against. What would happen, though, if we spent more energy on naming the things that we support, and to state our support out loud? Might it be an antidote to division?
On Saturday, April 14, 2018, One Voice Chorus will present Out Loud!, a concert that celebrates love, community, and strength. With music like David McIntyre's "Myself" and Bernice Johnson Reagon's "We are the Ones We Been Waiting For", we celebrate community strength. With Gatineau composer Phillippe Duquette's "Chanter", and with "You Will Be Found" from the musical Dear Evan Hansen, we name the many joys of friendship and singing together. We will sing the world-premiere performance of "Love Unlocks", a brand-new piece that OVC has commissioned from Calgary spoken-word artist Sheri-D Wilson and Toronto composer Edward Connell. It's a powerful work that will leave you both exhilarated and breathless. Sheri-D is one of our favorite collaborators and will be with us at our performance to share her many gifts.We look forward to seeing you in the audience and at our reception after the concert!
Tickets: $25 regular * $20 senior/student * free for children under 13!
Bridges
How can non-Indigenous Canadians be good allies to their Indigenous neighbours? Members of One Voice Chorus have spent their rehearsals this fall exploring this question, ultimately discovering how much they have left to learn. But as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote, the longest journey begins with a single step. The choir invites its audience to take this first step with them with the concert Bridges.
How can non-Indigenous Canadians be good allies to their Indigenous neighbours? Members of One Voice Chorus have spent their rehearsals this fall exploring this question, ultimately discovering how much they have left to learn. But as the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote, the longest journey begins with a single step. The choir invites its audience to take this first step with them with the concert Bridges.
The concert will see One Voice Chorus share the stage with traditional musician and arts educator Chantal Stormsong Chagnon, community organizer Michelle Robinson, Voices co-founder Evans Yellow Old Woman, and social worker and spoken-word artist Dwight Farahat. These guests will speak about Indigenous ways of knowing and being; about Two-Spirit identity; about the effect of the Indian Residential Schools and the Sixties Scoop on the traditions, culture, and societal health of Indigenous communities; about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women; and about the struggles and successes of the current generation of Indigenous children and youth. One Voice Chorus will walk with its guests through the concert by providing choral reflections that will allow all in attendance some time to sit with our guests; words and to keep hearts open and minds curious. The choir's repertoire will include music as varied as Jason Shelton's Love, Break Our Hearts; Cyndi Lauper's True Colors; Ulali's Mahk Jchi, and onstage musical collaborations with Chagnon and Farahat.
This will be no ordinary concert. It is OVC’s aim that everyone will be changed by the words they hear, by the musical collaborations they witness, and by the simple act of joining together - Indigenous and non-Indigenous - for this night of learning, community-making, and bridge-building. OVC and our special guests look forward to welcoming audiences to Bridges.
Tickets: $25 regular * $20 student/senior * children 13 and under free!
Prairie Queer Companion
Adolescence is a challenging time for many of us, not least for queer youth. It sometimes includes being the victim of taunts, rigid social norms, and fear of letting others know who they really are.
Holding space for one another's stories
Saturday, May 27, 2017 at 7:30 pm St. Stephen's Anglican Church 1121 - 14 Ave SW
Adolescence is a challenging time for many of us, not least for queer youth. It sometimes includes being the victim of taunts, rigid social norms, and fear of letting others know who they really are. It can also be a time of self discovery, of first love, and of recognizing that the diversity of the human experience is something to celebrate. For some of us, these coming-out epiphanies happen much later in life, with every bit as much self-recognition, relief, and joy.
One Voice Chorus proudly presents “Prairie Queer Companion” , a concert featuring two musicians whose work explores what it’s like to grow up queer on the Canadian prairies. The choir will perform Regina composer David L. McIntyre’s Watershed Stories I, eight songs based on the coming-out experiences of members of his Prairie Pride Chorus. OVC will complement this suite with the world premiere of a brand-new movement the choir has commissioned from McIntyre to add transgender and gender queer perspectives to his work, entitled “Myself”. Joining OVC on stage will be award-winning Canadian musician, songwriter, and author Rae Spoon. Rae's seventh solo album, My Prairie Home, describes their upbringing as a queer youth in a Pentecostal household in Alberta. The album was nominated for the Polaris Prize. Spoon's latest album, Armour, is their look forward to the future. Spoon's music and writings give a voice to a new generation of queer youth and have made their shows a beacon for the queer community.Prairie Queer Companion will be an evening about sharing our own stories and holding space for others to tell theirs. Prepare to be moved. And prepare to continue the storytelling over coffee and treats, amongst friends, following the concert.Guest artist: Rae Spoon