Arts Activities Support

By survey, 100% of choir members expressed deeper understanding of “every voice matters” –they found connection in the process, appreciated the different places we come from as we interpreted the music, found meaning in the emotional rather than the intellectual interpretation of the music, and focused on connection and trust as the project went on. 225 audience members attended the concert. “Success for this project will be realized when our choirs come together to create a concert that speaks deeply and builds connections between singers and audience.” As we reflected on this, we realized that the originally planned repertoire would not lead to this success. As a result, our theme changed to one of inclusivity and our desire to “draw the circle wide.” The new repertoire included all singers-both Saint Paul Vocal Forum and New Day – in all songs as one choir. With this change, we met our artistic goals and surpassed our expectations! Our August retreat brought together both choirs to explore the music which centered on the concept of Widening Circles. We shared stories and perspectives about the musical messages, we shared a meal, we created shawls for every singer to wear at the concert. We began the process of writing our own verses for an arrangement of “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” facilitated by Jean Greenwood and J. David Moore. The repertoire selected by director Karin Barrett explored the idea of widening circles, widening our perceptions…it gave all the singers some challenge. It also musically represented the theme by including rounds, and by including the audience in the singing (widening the circle at the concert). Asking Saint Paul Vocal Forum to commit some of the music to memory created a new level of engagement. While the challenges of directing New Day remained (attendance is fluid, more process oriented rather than goal oriented) it was important for them to understand that their contribution was key to the success of the program. NEW DAY was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about reading music in addition to teaching by imitation, and they expressed that this was really important to them even though it was quite a challenge! A reception for all the singers and audience members followed the concert. Many choir and audience members took advantage of the opportunity to talk together about their experience. It was very well received. The strength of the process was the collaboration, coming together for rehearsals at Saint Christopher Place, where many of the New Day singers reside, and owning the idea of being part of a unified circle of existence – all of us, regardless of our backgrounds or stories, are part of the inclusive circle. The challenge of the process was to stay in the process…to not get drawn into a more goal oriented approach, which is what Saint Paul Vocal Forum is used to. Working with NEW DAY made us more aware of the process of music making, and this helped Saint Paul Vocal Forum singers who may have been frustrated or judgmental at the outset to shift the focus from judgment to joy in the process of singing together and finding deeper value in our collective voice. The concert was held at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown St Paul. While the New Day choir rehearsed at Assumption, they were not available to host the concert. We believe we may have lost some Dorothy Day audience because of the added distance-a consideration for a future project. The singers from New Day included people of color and people who have experienced homelessness or those who support them – clearly one of our intended communities. We hoped for more singers to participate in New Day, but feel like this was a good start due to the fluidity of this demographic. There were between 8 and 10 singers who consistently joined us…4 women and 4-6 men, depending on the day. Overall, the community who came to hear the concert was more diverse both economically and racially than our normal audience due to friends and family of the NEW DAY singers. We also attracted new audience members who were interested specifically in the collaborative vision that this concert represented as well as audience members interested in supporting people experiencing homelessness. It was disappointing that we did not see as many people from the Dorothy Day Center as we had hoped would attend the concert. We believe part of the difficulty was that the concert couldn’t be held at Assumption Church which is just across the street from Dorothy Day. Central Presbyterian was about 4 blocks away. While a concert is one format, to really engage the people who are experiencing homelessness who use the services of Dorothy Day center, the concert program would need to be at the facility or right there outside. This is something in the works for a future time! We have been pleased that interest remains high in both choirs and the audience to continue this collaboration! In order to be open and accessible, we held joint rehearsals at Saint Christopher Place, where many of the New Day singers reside. We also provided rides for New Day members to the concert venue as needed. We were able to accommodate those with physical needs during the concert (seating, music stands, etc.) and provided healthy snacks/meals at rehearsals and at the concert reception. Central Presbyterian Church is fully accessible and served by public transportation, allowing easy access for audience members and choir members.