Our spring theme is “We Come From Women”! Through harmonies and melodies spanning generations, we honor the resilience and contributions of women worldwide.
PERFORMANCE DATES: May 17 at 7 PM and May 18 at 3 PM
Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville One Edwin Place Asheville, NC 28801
June 1 at 3 PM
Fletcher United Methodist Church 50 Library Rd Fletcher, NC 28732
TICKETS:
$25 per person Kids 12 and under are free with a paying adult
Womansong will be at Blue Ridge Pride this year! Stop by and say “hi”! We look forward to meeting all of our friends and family in the community.
Womansong welcomes all who identify within the women’s experience and sing in the treble range. We affirm and support diversity of race, color, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, socioeconomic background, national origin, immigration status, and spiritual beliefs.
Blue Ridge Pride will be at Pack Square from 11 – 6pm on Saturday, September 21, 2024.
[Asheville, NC] – Womansong of Asheville has announced their first songwriting contest, “Melodies of Inclusion.” The winning original song will celebrate gender expansiveness and be performed by Womansong, a social justice-oriented treble-voice chorus. Assistant Director Claire Lemke says, “Our goal is to support songwriters in our region, as well as to increase the repertoire of choral music that speaks to the topic of gender diversity. We are excited to offer this contest opportunity to all songwriters based in Western North Carolina.”
The contest will award the winner a stipend of $1,000 and the opportunity to perform the song with Womansong at their May 2025 concert, “A Room Of Our Own.”
This songwriting contest is part of a 3-concert series project entitled “Women – Together We Can Change the World,” focusing on the legacy of powerful women (May 2024), to the changing conception of what a woman is and can be (November 2024), to the powerful messages and voices women have with woman-composed songs (May 2025).
In this context, Womansong chooses to use the word woman in a gender-expansive way, including those who identify as gender-nonconforming, non-binary, and/or transgender. Lemke says, “This fall we will also celebrate inclusiveness by co-hosting a forum about embracing all conceptions of gender in artistic spaces. We want to share our process of adopting this statement of diversity and inclusion: ‘Womansong welcomes all who identify within the women’s experience and sing in the treble range. We affirm and support diversity of race, color, gender identity/expression, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, socioeconomic background, national origin, immigration status, and spiritual beliefs.’ ”There is no fee for submissions, whichmust be received by October 1, 2024. Knowledge of music theory, notation, or arranging is not required. Songs will be selected on various criteria, but especially on how well it expresses inclusiveness, diversity, and gender expansiveness. For full details, visit womansong.org/songwritingcontest.”
Interested in performing with Womansong? Prospective members are asked tovisit two rehearsals to experience the variety of our music and style. After two visits, we will schedule you for an audition.
Reach out to us today to learn how you can join Womansong Spring 2024!
The rehearsal room is alive. Singers are chatting, laughing, and hugging. The instrumental team’s drumming rat-a-tats, fluting whistles and harmonious chords fill the air. The directors glide about organizing and leading. This is what anticipation for a coming concert feels like. We’re getting ready and the energy is palpable.
The rehearsal room is alive. Singers are chatting, laughing, and hugging. The instrumental team’s drumming rat-a-tats, fluting whistles and harmonious chords fill the air.The directors glide about organizing and leading. This is what anticipation for a coming concert feels like. We’re getting ready and the energy is palpable.
And you know what? We sound amazing. We now have over 50 singing members, up from our low of just around 30 during the pandemic downtime. As one of our members called out a couple of weeks ago, “We’re back!” Of course, we have always been here, but as happened with many, we pulled in to navigate the uncertainties of the pandemic. We have survived and now we thrive.
Over the past 18 months, we have hired a new Artistic Director and Assistant Artistic Director. Allison Thorp and Claire Lemke have brought energy, vision and musical expertise to us and we are thankful. Under their leadership, we have been able to once again extend ourselves into the community. Since April we have sung at numerous events: we performed our spring concert repertoire in Hendersonville and at Deerfield Retirement Community; we sang at an Earth Day Party, Asheville’s segment of the 24-hour Global Peace Wave, the dedication of the Karen Cragnolin Park, the Women to the Front festival, and a service of the UU Congregation of Asheville, our rehearsal home. That is all in addition to our May concerts!
All of this is possible because you love us (we love you too!) and support us through our concert attendance and donations. We hope you will consider continuing your financial support by donating to Womansong as part of your holiday giving. We also hope to see you at our November concerts. The music of “Healing Hearts” will soothe your spirit and revive your soul.
September 17 | 12 PM | New Belgium Brewing – 21 Craven St, Asheville, NC 28806
Several members of Womansong will be performing at the “WTF – Women To The Front” Music Festival. This free festival is dedicated to celebrating female-identifying musicians, songwriters, sound engineers, and others in the music industry, as well as highlighting businesses and nonprofits that serve and support women.
To see Womansong perform, be sure to be at the “Leaf Stage” at 12 PM. Womansong will be showcasing select songs between 12-12:15 PM.
Womansong celebrates its 36th anniversary with the Fall concert series, “Healing Hearts”, on November 10 & 11. This concert features music encouraging self-care as well as celebrating the healing powers of being together in community. From choral anthems to contemporary pop tunes, there’s something for everyone – music to make you laugh, cry, and dance!
Please note, masks will be optional at this performance.
