Concert Welcome from Dr. Nicole Becker, Artistic Director and Executive Director of Every Voice Choirs
I am thrilled to welcome all of you to our sixth annual Peace Seekers concert. These concerts are presented during the week in which we celebrate the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others who have worked towards justice and peace in our nation and the world.
We presented parts of this concert for the community on Martin Luther King Jr Day this week, and many in our audience said the music was just what they needed, that they were uplifted, that the music was a balm after a bad week and a bad year. I was grateful that they said that and that they felt that way, and here’s why:
EVC presents concert on themes of social justice, and we talk about how our work for social justice permeates our curriculum. In past years, as we have prepared for our MLK concert, we have watched videos of Dr. King, we have learned about struggles for freedom and human rights around the world. We have discussed current events and written songs, about the death of Eric Garner, and last year, about the election.
This year has looked different. That difference was apparent in the adult choir I direct as well: I have come to rehearsals and said, “do you want to talk?,” and almost unanimously people said, “no, we want to sing.” This fall we asked EVC’s Youth Choir if they wanted to write a song, and they didn’t.
And so while we feel deeply that it’s so important to dig into the cultural context of our music and not to skirt over difficult questions by saying simply that we all respect each other, this semester, more than ever,
everybody has just wanted to sing.
And so we have sung. And we have sung around the city; sharing our voices in holiday celebrations throughout Harlem, we sang at Carnegie Hall in September, and rang in the new year on national television from Citi Field, and we keep hearing that the voices of our children singing are what everyone seems to need right now.
And so I hope these voices are what you need right now. I know many of you have been protesting today; you have been the Peace Seekers, and so we honor you, and we hope that if you are exhausted or depleted or have been losing hope, that we can lift you up. Thank you for joining us.
Read about Peace Seekers V: Lead the Way
We presented parts of this concert for the community on Martin Luther King Jr Day this week, and many in our audience said the music was just what they needed, that they were uplifted, that the music was a balm after a bad week and a bad year. I was grateful that they said that and that they felt that way, and here’s why:
EVC presents concert on themes of social justice, and we talk about how our work for social justice permeates our curriculum. In past years, as we have prepared for our MLK concert, we have watched videos of Dr. King, we have learned about struggles for freedom and human rights around the world. We have discussed current events and written songs, about the death of Eric Garner, and last year, about the election.
This year has looked different. That difference was apparent in the adult choir I direct as well: I have come to rehearsals and said, “do you want to talk?,” and almost unanimously people said, “no, we want to sing.” This fall we asked EVC’s Youth Choir if they wanted to write a song, and they didn’t.
And so while we feel deeply that it’s so important to dig into the cultural context of our music and not to skirt over difficult questions by saying simply that we all respect each other, this semester, more than ever,
everybody has just wanted to sing.
And so we have sung. And we have sung around the city; sharing our voices in holiday celebrations throughout Harlem, we sang at Carnegie Hall in September, and rang in the new year on national television from Citi Field, and we keep hearing that the voices of our children singing are what everyone seems to need right now.
And so I hope these voices are what you need right now. I know many of you have been protesting today; you have been the Peace Seekers, and so we honor you, and we hope that if you are exhausted or depleted or have been losing hope, that we can lift you up. Thank you for joining us.
Read about Peace Seekers V: Lead the Way