Remember

In October 2004 the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus held their second Bistro–”Autumn in New York.” For that concert I wrote a set of alternate lyrics to “Back to Before” from Ragtime by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. A few years later, the song was included in our “Safe Harbor: Signs of Compassion” concert and the recording below is from that concert featuring Lindsey Tauber and Ebbie Duggins.

There was a time our happiness seemed never-ending.
We were so sure that where we were heading was right.
Life was a road so certain and straight and unbending.
Our little road with never a danger in sight.
Back in the days when we spoke in civilized voices
Children at home not missing their parents at war.
Back in the time when we tried to find peaceful choices
We can never go back to before.

There was a time when I was left silently praying
friends at my side and thousands of mourners nearby
All came to see–bear witness to the senseless slaying
No one could know that all of those people would die.
Nine Eleven was like all the other fall mornings
But all that changed when terrorists breached our home shore.
All we do now is listen to government warnings.
We can never go back to before.

There are people out there
so afraid of revealing
that they might have a feeling
or they might have been wrong.
There are people out there
so afraid to feel sorrow
so afraid of tomorrow
so afraid to be weak…
so afraid to be strong.

Now is the time to fight against hate and injustice
We need to know that we can demand so much more.
Life is our gift, our destiny, our hope and promise
We can never go back to before
We can never go back to before

Fear

Wouldn’t it be great if we could live without fear? It’s a tall order. It would mean doing things without thought of failure, loving like no one has ever hurt us, embracing the world regardless of its strangeness, and staring down the unknown with nothing but certitude. How much of the hate rhetoric that we hear today is a result of fear–a result of a lack of understanding and compassion?

Some people have a talent for facing their fears while others don’t. Two very special people in my life fall into the first category. They are both facing panic-inducing ordeals: one is changing careers; the other is battling cancer. Both are combating these hardships with grace, dignity and fortitude.

While my fears may be silly compared to these, they’re very real to me. For one, the unknown unhinges me. Never tell me you really need to talk to me and then set up a time to talk three days from now. By the time we meet I will be certifiable and have come up with “the possible,” “the probable,” and, “the highly unlikely.” I’d rather be blindsided with whatever it is then and there.

But the known can be just as bad. During my second or third year with the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus (WCCC) we tackled the piece, “African Noel,” a fairly straight forward ‘Noel’ with African stylings (in fact here is the St. Olaf Choir singing “African Noel”)

It turned out to be one of the biggest crash and burn moments of my entire 13-plus years with chorus. Entrances were missed, phrases were started on the wrong pitch. In short, those of us who were singing could only sit back and watch in horror as the entire piece spun out of control. Just the sight of the music sitting on a music stand at church recently caused me to run screaming from the room.

Now that I am more experienced as a conductor, singer and overall musician and it’s our 25th anniversary season, I thought what better time to tackle–and conquer– this irrational fear of a simple piece of music. So on Saturday, December 10 at 7:30 pm and Sunday, December 11 at 3 pm the Men of the WCCC (I’ll be at the podium) will help me (and I think a few of the singers who were there the first time) conquer this fear once and for all.

For your listening pleasure and perhaps a little musical inspiration I give you Shirl Greeb of the WCCC singing “This is the Moment,” from the Broadway musical Jekyll and Hyde. After Dr. Henry Jekyll’s proposed experiment to separate man’s good from evil is turned down he decides to proceed on his own. This song has long been one of those that I listen to whenever I’m facing a tough challenge.

What fears are you currently tackling? Bookmark this page for those days you need an little extra push or inspiration to pick off one of your fears, I know I will because there’s no time like now.

Collaborate

Definition of COLLABORATE from the online Merriam Webster Dictionary

col•lab•o•rate verb \kə-ˈla-bə-ˌrāt\
intransitive verb
1: to work jointly with others or together especially in an intellectual endeavor
2: to cooperate with or willingly assist an enemy of one’s country and especially an occupying force
3: to cooperate with an agency or instrumentality with which one is not immediately connected

I’ve been thinking a lot about collaboration lately. This Saturday, the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus will kick-off its 25th anniversary season by participating in the opening concert of Present Music’s 30th anniversary season. This concert is more than just a concert– it’s an event. Music, dance, puppetry, technology, and ecology all coming together to celebrate and explore water. Kevin Stalheim is the Artistic Director of Present Music, a group that is well known for its collaborative ventures. Kevin has really elevated the practice to an art form and gift wrapped it for the city with a bow made of FREE ADMISSION.

As I have been doing my own planning for the WCCC’s historic 25th season, I have spent a lot of time thinking about some of the chorus’ past collaborations. For the 20th Anniversary Season we asked past and present members to submit original songs. The result, called “In Our Own Words”, is a musical of all original songs that tells the story of the chorus from its founding to the 20th anniversary. I had the tremendous privilege and challenge of taking the songs and building the show around them. Each was a gift graciously given to the chorus and to this day (OK, it is only 4 1/2 years later) there are still several of the songs that remain among my personal favorites.

For example, “Ayudita”, penned by WCCC’s Associate Conductor, Chuck Ellingson. In addition to being part of “In Our Own Words”, “Ayudita” was also part of “Safe Harbor: Signs of Compassion” in April 2008 as well as several other performances at Unitarian Universalist Church West. During one Sunday service, honoring the church’s volunteer efforts in Nicaragua building houses, this infectious anthem was greeted with thunderous applause–no wonder I now consider it part of our standard repertoire and have included it in the lineup of our 25th Anniversary Concert.

I almost forgot, ayudita means ‘a little help.’ When I was younger (truth, it really wasn’t all that long ago) I used to want to do everything myself. Not anymore. I’ve learned that collaboration is an amazing thing and that sometimes we need a little help.

Blessings

I’ve been thinking a lot about the blessings in my life and the blessing of life lately, as life events have made me stop and think. Unexpected death at an age far too young… a family member diagnosed with a serious illness…uncertain economic and political environments.

Fortunately, the past few weeks have also brought events that have grounded me–a reunion with relatives, a “girls night out” with dear friends, and, of course the start of rehearsals for the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus (WCCC).

Although Christmas is far away, the blessings of my family have also been on my mind. Gone are the days of the cousins seated at the kids table for Christmas dinner at my grandparents farm house. We’re all middle aged now, and some of us are even retired (or nearly so). And while we may only see each other every few years or so, the bonds that caused us to unite still exist well over 30 years later. We may rally over social justice issues or our favorite TV show instead of the mashed potatoes, but come together we do nonetheless.

I’m reminded of a Richard Bach quote:

“The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other’s life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.” –Richard Bach

I am incredibly blessed with two families–my family of origin and my chosen family. Last fall I started a playhouse series at my church, Unitarian Universalist Church West. Three other women and myself came together to mount a production of a trilogy I wrote. The fact that three other incredibly busy women willingly gave of their time and talent to produce one my plays is a huge blessing in and of itself. But beyond that, these three women have become a welcome part of my chosen family. And our “girl’s nights out” have become a balm that soothes my soul.

And of course, there is the WCCC–a significant part of my chosen family. Music always lifts me up: making music with others makes my heart soar. Just like with my family of origin, food plays important role with the WCCC (as a former artistic director used to say, “It’s all about the food”). At the WCCC we even have a special word for the event “Squeat” (“Let’s go eat.”)

I’ve gotten the habit of providing you with a sound clip from the WCCC each week. This week I immediately thought of “Blessing” by Scott Alan featuring Hilary Giffen during this past April’s concert. Why this clip besides the obvious correlation with the name? That’s simple–my wife, whom I count chief among my blessings and my parents who, unlike the mother in the song, support and embrace our relationship.

May this summer bring you and your own families many blessings.

We All Have Songs

I don’t know what I would do without music in my life. It amplifies my joy and consoles my deepest hurts. It helped heal me again last Wednesday night, at the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus’s first rehearsal of the season for our August 27 participation in Present Music’s season opener “Water”

It had been a difficult day filled with troubling news. But I had learned that as a conductor or director, none of that matters. Once you step into the rehearsal room, you put that crummy day on the back burner and guide the group of people in front of you in the joyous task of making music. So for two and half hours I shifted all my focus to the music and our chorus members and we sang. And for that short amount of time, I forgot about everything else. That night, rehearsal was exactly what I needed.

I have always been transfixed by that moment when a choir truly makes music. Not when everyone sings the right notes at the right time, though that’s important. What I mean is that moment when the voices raised in song transcend the notes written on the page. Vowels are unified, breathing is in sync and the message is clear–the collective has achieved gestalt.

So as we continue to gather each Wednesday night and strive for those moments, I will be reminded that the greater the diversity, the more colors and timbres that are added to the collective, the more amazing and rich those moments of gestalt are…for each of us has our stories, our songs.

May they continue to heal you or bring joy to your day.

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Please enjoy the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus singing We All Have Songs by Julie Shannon.

Why is it always the arts?

I had the great privilege this week to spend the day at the Joy of Singing conference singing with several hundred music professionals, mostly teachers, and several choral composers and arrangers from the Hal Leonard family of music publishers. The name of the conference’s keynote presenter was Dr. Steve Zegree. Those working in the business know him as the master of vocal jazz. To everyone else he is the “secret weapon” behind the winners of NBC’s reality TV program Clash of the Choirs–Team Lachey. But I digress…..

It’s no secret that times are tough. But why is it in the US that when both education and government look to make cuts, the arts are one of the first things to go? Participating in arts in the schools helps our children learn to express themselves, work as a team striving toward a unified goal, and learn about other cultures, religions and beliefs. In short, it helps them develop in the stronger, smarter, more well rounded adults.

For example, Dr. Zegree talked about a recent university choir concert that required the singers to learn a foreign language, understand poetry and higher math (music is very mathematical), and sing folk songs from foreign countries. So in one concert his singers studied a foreign language, poetry, geography, anthropology, and math. His point: let’s cut everything else and keep the music programs. I’m pretty sure it was hyperbole, but part of me thinks it is a perfectly reasonable idea.

The arts in our communities are not only educational, they contribute to the economy and can be an agent of social change, understanding and healing. The arts are indeed a reflection of society, sometimes reflecting not what was actually happening, but the desired impulses of the people.

So today, in the ever increasingly divisiveness of our society, look to the arts for healing, for comfort and for strength. We shall overcome.

Here is Peace Song by Greg Gilpin featuring Joel Kopischke, Mrs. Fun & the WCCC (from the WCCC’s 20th Anniversary concert.) Listen and enjoy.

Times may change, but much still needs singing…

During my last 13 years with the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus I have seen our numbers rise to 24 and dip as low as 8 and maintain, most often, in the 16 – 18 singer range. I have often puzzled over why we never seem to be able to reach the historic numbers of 40-50 singers of the very early days of the chorus. The conclusion that I came to, several years ago, is that the underlying forces that made the chorus so vital in those early years were no longer pertinent–a safe place for gays, lesbians and their friends to raise their voices in song and therefore increase visibility and shape perception just wasn’t needed anymore in this post Elton and Ellen world.

Guess what? I was wrong. The chorus has indeed evolved over the years and grown from a group that “is dedicated to the positive promotion of gays and lesbians” to one that is “celebrating the diversity of our community.” From the union breaking of our state government to the reckless ignorance of many of our federal officials, never has the time been more urgent to stand together and raise our voices singing “We Are One.” To me there is nothing more powerful than song, nothing more poignant and impactful, than an entire group of people singing together. Katrina, 9-11 and Haiti all inspired star studded musical extravaganzas, and it was also not uncommon to hear a song spring forth whenever a group came together to grieve, to remember and to heal.

So this year I decide to provide additional opportunities for people to join the WCCC and add their voice to the collective–there is a month long opportunity, a commitment that requires only 3-4 rehearsals over several months and, of course, we always welcome new singing members. Additional information is available on our website.

We all need your voice, now more than ever…

Something for everyone

What better way to start a yearlong celebration of our 25th anniversary than a new blog, website and an increased presence not only on the web but in Milwaukee as well. Having had the great privilege of being at the artistic helm of this amazing community chorus for both the 15th and 20th anniversary I can honestly say that sometimes it feels like we got here on a wing and a prayer.

But it really wasn’t a wing and a prayer. It is, in fact, because of the caliber of people who have chosen to be part of the WCCC over the years. It is the alumni who remember that they were part of something special and continue to support the chorus. It is the supporters who remember a concert that brought a tear to their eye or caused them to erupt in a belly laugh, and marvel at how the group has come so far and accomplished so much. And it is the first-time patrons, who upon attending their first concert wonder why they have never been to one before, and understand why the WCCC has often been called one of Milwaukee’s best kept secrets.

So if you haven’t already, visit our newly revamped website– take a look around and discover all the wonderful ways to experience the Wisconsin Cream City Chorus–subscribe, volunteer, donate, sing! There really is something for everyone.