Womansong will be performing at the Cragnolin Park Dedication on Friday, August 25th at 5pm. Join us as we celebrate the remediation of this once contaminated property, and honor the life of RiverLink founder and community visionary, Karen Cragnolin.
The community of A is invited to this free event. Parking is available at Carrier Park, with a drop-off for the mobility impaired at the Karen Cragnolin Park entrance at 190 Amboy Rd. The schedule of events includes:
4-5 p.m. – Complimentary Sno-cones, music buskers, street chalking, bubbles, games, temporary tattoos and more, all along the Karen Cragnolin Park greenway
5:00 – Performance by Womansong
5:15 – Remarks from several local, Asheville Leaders
5:45 – Ribbon cutting by Karen Cragnolin’s grandson
6 p.m. – Transition to after-party at Hi-Wire in the RAD with Connect Buncombe’s Brewing for Greenways event. Join Mark Cobb for a walk and conversation on the greenway!
Womansong stepped out into the community and sang for Asheville’s segment of the 24-hour international Peace Wave!
International Peace Bureau and World BEYOND War held the second-annual 24-hour peacewave on July 8-9, 2023. This was a 24-hour-long Zoom featuring live peace actions in the streets and squares of the world, moving around the globe with the sun. “Be the peace you want to see in the World”.
Womansong attended the 13th Sister Singers Network Choral Festival which was held this year in Cleveland, Ohio. Singing members of Womansong shared their voices with choirs nationwide. We are beyond proud to announce that a song written by our own accompanist, Lytingale, was chosen as a mass choir piece! “Together We Can Change The World” was inspired by this year’s theme for the Sisters Singers Network festival, “We Rock the World”.
Applications must be submitted by a government or private non-profit social service agency. The applicant must have a case manager and currently be receiving services from the agency submitting the request.
Applications are not accepted from individuals.
The applicant must be on a path to self sufficiency.
The applicant must be a resident of Western North Carolina.
Individuals may receive only one New Start Grant.
Please Note:
Client names are needed for our records; however, names are kept in confidence.
Grant checks are made payable directly to the appropriate vendor, not to the individual.
Grants are NOT provided for medical expenses, childcare, Pell Grant repayment, or fines.
Grants may be requested for such things as security deposits, rent, utilities, recovery housing, laptop computers for school, vehicle related expenses, and transportation, if such requests are essential needs for a new start.
Grants may also be requested for education, training courses, and licenses that help an individual become more employable.
Vehicle repair applications must include an itemized estimate from a reputable automotive repair shop. The applicant must own the vehicle and provide a valid driver’s license, current registration, and proof of insurance.
The New Start Fund partners with Working Wheels for vehicle purchase.
Applications for vehicle repair or purchase are considered only when the vehicle is required for current employment or school.
Lytingale (Lois Henrickson) joined Womansong in 2003 as a singer but soon added her talents on piano, flute, and hand percussion, becoming our official accompanist in 2011.
Lyte earned her B.S. in Music Education (Voice) at University of Connecticut, and has used her strong soprano voice for all kinds of music, from rock to Broadway, classical to jazz. She taught Voice and served as Music Director and leader of The Unitic Band at Unity Center from 1983-2015.
Lyte has composed over 400 songs, including “With Great Love” performed by Womansong and by the mass choir at the 2010 Sister Singers Network Festival; “I Will Carry You” (title song of Womansong CD); “My Sisters” and “Dinner” (on our “Turn the World Around” CD), “Me, Too”, “Doin’ the Best We Can,” “Pizza Round” and more. A new piece, “Together We Can Change the World,” will be performed by a mass choir at the 2023 Sister Singers Network festival in Cleveland. Lyte is the proud parent of singer-songwriter/voice teacher Kathryn O’Shea and drummer/mixing-mastering engineer/politician Michael O’Shea.
Our spring theme is Love Your Mother (Earth)! The beginning of our program will highlight music that expresses love for the earth in our hearts – appreciation, reflection, connection, joy. The second half will feature music that expresses our love for the earth in action – doing, moving, making change.
The Asheville Only One Earth Coalition threw a party for Earth Day 2023! The evening featured music, food, and drink with some local activists and other beautiful earthlings.
Dr. Allison Thorp joined Womansong as Artistic Director in July 2022. She also serves as the Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC, where she conducts the Concert Choir and University Chorus, teaches conducting and choral methods, and supervises student teachers in choral music education.
“I am excited to be a part of the Womansong community!” Allison shared. “I see women’s choruses as a place to be renewed, to meet kindred spirits, to be seen and to not be invisible. We put beautiful energy out into the world through our music but also take it home within ourselves.”
An advocate for “choral activism,” Allison enhances Womansong by encouraging voices of diverse communities through our repertoire. She seeks to spread joy through music and to support and empower the members of the Womansong Village. “I think it’s important to nurture that element of human connection—it’s good for our minds, our bodies, and our music.”
Dr. Thorp earned her doctorate from the prestigious Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY where her dissertation was a study of socially identified community choirs including the Akoma African American Women’s Gospel Chorus, Rochester Gay Men’s Chorus, and Rochester Jewish Chorale. Prior to her career in higher education, she taught choral, instrumental, and general music as a public school teacher in Kentucky and also served as Director of Music at Louisa United Methodist Church in Louisa, KY, and South Presbyterian Church in Rochester, NY. Since moving to WNC in 2016, she has worked with regional organizations including the Asheville Lyric Opera, the Asheville Defiant Requiem, and the Folkmoot Festival Choir, among others.
Dr. Thorp’s research interests include social justice in music education and community building through musical performance. She lives in Waynesville with her husband, Sean; toddler, Aidan; and cat, Ella Fitzgerald.
Claire Lemke joined Womansong as our Assistant Director in Spring 2023. She is always thrilled about any opportunity to gather and uplift other women, and adding joyful music-making and friendship to the mix is a perfect combination. She looks forward to continuing her work with the group and to experience the emotional and musical fulfillment to come.
With over 20 years of experience, Claire is a classically trained vocalist, seasoned performer, and music instructor. In 2019, she completed a Masters in Music Theory from Northwestern University in Chicago after earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music with a concentration in Vocal Performance from Western Carolina University. Claire has been teaching private voice lessons, piano lessons, and academic music classes through local community colleges including A-B Tech. She also performs locally as a singer-songwriter.
At the center of her teaching and music-making philosophy is the goal of cultivating and maintaining the childlike joy that music can bring. Overall, she has set her sights on sharing her love of music and learning with all generations with the hope that they can hone their unique creativity and performance abilities.
Claire is kind and enthusiastic and shares our choir’s commitment to advancing social justice!
In March, 2023 Womansong took part in a private performance exclusively for residents of Deerfield Retirement Community, we celebrated Mother Earth with our many friends and supporters
