MUSE is pleased to present our 27th Annual Spring Concert, Still We Rise, in combination with the 13th New Spirituals Project. "Sing in" the long-awaited spring with MUSE, Saturday May 15, 8:00 pm, and Sunday May 16, 3:00 pm.

Don't miss guest artist Linda Tillery in her 13th appearance with MUSE. Ms. Tillery arrives in time to work with the choir prior to the concert, and she sings her own inspired set, too. Coming off of her recent recording with the Cultural Heritage Choir, Linda will perform her "Train Medley" with soloists from MUSE, and the chorus is already cookin' on the arrangement.

Tillery, a dynamite musician and veteran vocalist from Oakland, CA travels to Cincinnati for every New Spirituals Project program [begun in 1994]. Her set will include spirituals, works songs, congregational singing, and children's game songs. Come prepared to participate--Linda invites all into a jubilant call-response atmosphere.

The children and moms (grandmothers, aunts, significant others) will sing an uptempo piece from Tillery's CD, Shakin' a Tailfeather. Spring concert repertoire, with words and music primarily by women composers, will be featured as always.

Bring your mothers, sisters, aunts, nanas, your fathers, brothers, uncles, and gramps to share in two concerts rolled into one. The tag (or coda) to our title above, Still We Rise, is “We Gonna Have a Good Time!”

Image Credit: artwork by Ursula Roma

“Ella’s Song,” by Bernice Johnson Reagon
“I Am Willing,” by Holly Near
“With My Own Two Hands,” by Ben Harper
“Gracias a la Vida,” by Willi Zwosdesky

Also on the songlist, which you may have heard for the first time at the Spring or Fall 2009 concert, are:

“Iraqi Peace Song,” arranged by Lori Tennenhouse
“Yemaya,” by Brian Tate
“Peace of Wild Things,” by Joan Szymko
“The Women Gather,” by Carol Millard
“She Who Makes Her Meaning Clear,” by Joan Szymko
“There’s Hope,” by Indie Arie

The disc will also contain several sacred and spiritual works:

“Psalm 23” arranged by Bobby McFerrin
“Keep Yo Lamps,” by Rosephanye Powell (an original MUSE commission)
“Non Nobis,” by Rosephanye Powell

And there will, of course, be some surprises!

Friday, April 23
A long-time supporter of Take Back the Night, MUSE inspires allies and marchers at the Newport, KY, Freedom Bell; 6:30 pm.

Saturday, April 24
MUSE lends its voice to the Women Against Violence Conference held at Seton High School in Price Hill; 4:00 pm.

Saturday, May 15 (8 pm) and Sunday, May 16 (3 pm)
at the House of Joy in College Hill, MUSE will present our
27th Spring Concert/13th New Spirituals Project with Linda Tillery; 8 pm/3 pm.

Photo Caption: Linda Tillery and MUSE, Cincinnati's Women's Choir

MUSE Calendar of Events

We returned to Marysville on January 30th 2010, on our own. Again, the response was strong. The audience was on its feet numerous times, and Cathy got the group to sing along on several songs. After the concert, the Deputy Warden wrote:

“The women LOVED the concert. I have had at least 10 women approach me and comment on how wonderful and inspiring the songs were. One lady stopped me yesterday and repeated the words to a song that she memorized because it touched her so much. Thanks again for coming and bringing so much joy to the lives of the women at ORW. I really enjoyed the concert, too. It was a phenomenal performance and I am spreading the word! Thanks again!”

To prepare for the concert, MUSE participated in a number of educational activities to better understand the conditions of incarcerated women in Ohio:

1. On Nov. 6th, seven members of MUSE traveled to the University of Dayton to hear prison activist and University professor Dr. Angela Davis. Dr. Davis is a prison abolitionist who speaks passionately about the roles that race, class and gender play in punishment and the maintaining the “prison-industrial complex.” For more about her theories, read her book Are Prisons Obsolete?

2. Also this fall for the first time, MUSE worked with “Off the Streets,” a program which offers comprehensive assistance to women coping with drug addiction, homelessness, poverty and prostitution. Most of the women in the program are victims of childhood sexual and physical abuse. A small MUSE group sang “Never Turning Back” at Off the Streets’ graduation ceremony, adding a new verse: “we’re going to face our future proudly,” as the graduates entered the room. The singers were very moved as the graduates shared their stories of struggle, and how their experience in a safe, non-judgmental environment taught them to trust and love women, and find new strength to never turn back.

3. Following a suggestion from a New York City project, “Books through Bars,” MUSE’s Social Change Circle organized a book collection and sent two boxes of books to ORW ahead of our visit. We sent 64 children’s books to the Mothers and Children Reading Room, and a large box of popular novels, anthologies, poetry and lesbian literature to the women’s library.

4. In addition, the Social Change Circle organized an educational seminar on women in incarceration. MUSE watched the video “What we Leave Behind,” and invited Janet Moore, a lawyer with the Ohio Justice Policy Center, (a Community Shares partner organization) to speak to the choir. Janet led us through an empathy exercise to experience the inequities in our legal system. She explained the many barriers low-income people have to getting equal access to representation before the courts, which increases the racial disparity in prisons. She thanked MUSE for using our music to enrich the lives of women in prison.

Through these activities, MUSE began to understand more about the women incarcerated in Ohio:

From 1972 to 1992, the number of women in Ohio prisons increased 720% from 275 to 2,257. Much of this increase can be attributed to “get tough” policies for drug and gun related crimes. Many female prison inmates, in state-operated facilities, have similar characteristics—they are between 25-34, African-American, lacking a high school education, unemployed or employed as a low-skilled worker. Over 50% of female prisoners have children, and are single parents. Some are pregnant. Compared to men, incarcerated women suffer more from behavioral/emotional/mental health changes when suddenly separation from family, friends and familiar surroundings. Thoughts of suicide are often reported.

(Adjustment Effects of multi-modal program participation on Ohio incarcerated women, Pamela Chapman Dissertation p. 3-5)

Alternatives to incarceration are less likely to be offered to people of color. A California study showed that two-thirds of drug treatment slots went to white people despite the fact that 70 percent of people with drug sentences were African-American.

(War Resisters League)

On January 30, we sang from our hearts, sharing songs that we hoped brought comfort, hope and pride to the audience. We sang to acknowledge our sisters in prison who are invisible to too many in our society. The experience challenged and enriched our lives while supporting our continued growth as a choral community.

Photo Caption: left to right, Prison Activist, Dr. Angela Davis, and Janet Moore, lawyer with the Ohio Justice Policy
Center

Sheryl wrote:

“I have taken some of them to various church events and school concerts and their reactions and comments were never so plentiful. They told me they had never expected to see something so lovely. They specifically commented on:

how moving the music was
the range of notes, tones and voices
the coordinated outfits
how powerful they felt as women when it was over
the conductor and sign language person; they loved their movements and excitement

Please share my appreciation with the others that shared their tickets. It really touched the Bhutanese women’s hearts. These women have been oppressed for so many years in the refugee camp; the concert demonstrated that the sky is the limit here. They left feeling proud to be female.”

Photo Caption: Women from Bhutan recently settled in Cincinnati pose for a picture after the Fall MUSE concert: Budra Sapkota, Krishna Ghimire, Ms. Neopane, Savitra Sapkota (back) and Kauslulu Daurali.

Upcoming opportunities to help include:

1. Funds for our upcoming Spring New Spirituals Concert and guest artist (Linda Tillery) expenses. Bridging our work with others around the country is essential to the growth and continued artistic excellence of MUSE.

2. Monies to make our upcoming CD possible. Recordings are an important, but expensive contribution to the legacy of MUSE. Expenses include renting a piano, hiring the recording engineer, producer and instrumentalists, and paying for production. Please consider sponsoring a song for $500.00, or making a tax-deductible contribution in any amount.

3. MUSE will be traveling to Chicago for the Sister Singers Network Festival in July and any subsidy to these expenses would be another great gift for MUSE.

Please think about these special programs and projects and join us in meeting our goals. Your donations are much appreciated and we are most grateful!

Click here to help.

Samara loves the New Spirituals Projects, particularly the very percussive 2000 concert with Linda Tillery, Jackie Rago and John Santos. An interior designer, Samara crochets, plays the flute and enjoys experimenting in the kitchen.

Marti

Marti Mohar joined MUSE after a friend told her how much fun it was. Having last sung in a choir in high school, Marti found it overwhelming at first, but soon got in the groove with her Soprano 1 sisters. She enjoys her section pals so much, she often brings them souvenirs from her vacations -- like pencils or fans -- to use in rehearsals. Marti and her two daughters, ages 22 and 26, all wear their sleeveless MUSE T-shirts as pajamas. “I always wanted matching pajamas with my daughters,” says Marti.

Jill

Alto I Jill Huppert was watching the gay pride parade in the summer of 2009 when someone handed her a MUSE audition magnet. Living on Resor (where MUSE rehearses), she had known about MUSE for a long time, and decided to give it a try. Jill has sung in many choirs, but particularly enjoys being part of an all-female group led by a director who is respectful of the singers. She loves performing for the many causes MUSE supports.

Photo Caption:
(Left to right), Samara Carpenter has been in MUSE 14 years, Marti Mohar seven, and Jill Huppert one.

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