Blainesworld Podcast!
Womansong is thrilled to share that we were a featured guest on Blainesworld! Watch our Artistic Director, Dr. Allison Thorpe discuss Womansong, its focus on joy, social justice and community, as well as, how she identifies music that we sing! There is so much more included in the podcast and Blaine was a terrific host!
“BLAINESWORLD is a webcast that focuses on positive news and information about people and organizations in both Western NC and throughout the country. It is now on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and it is featured in each week’s issue of the BLAINESWORD blog (that has nearly 1,100 subscribers).”
Director’s Roundtable with Dr. Allison Thorpe
Below, you will find a new Q&A from our Artistic Director that helps you to “get to know” Womansong. Take a few minutes to learn more about us.
What is Womansong?
Womansong was formed in 1987 by a woman named Linda Metzner, and it started as a small group of women looking to empower themselves and others through singing. Now 38 years later, that small group has grown into a beautiful village of about 100 performing and non-performing members. Our mission is singing together for joy, social justice, & community. We rehearse on Monday nights from 7-9pm, and we have two concert series a year – one in the fall and one in the spring – with breaks over the summer and the winter holidays. We also like to support local causes by singing at smaller community events throughout the year. We mostly sing in three-part harmony but sometimes divide into as many as six parts.
How are you recovering from the storm?
Womansong is firmly rooted in Western North Carolina, so the storm affected us deeply. Like so many in the region, many of our members lost or sustained damage to their homes, and our rehearsal and performance spaces were closed due to water issues for several months. But we are a resilient bunch! Several people left town temporarily, but those who were still around really wanted to be together. So our friends at Deerfield agreed to temporarily host us, and we continued to sing together on Monday nights just to lift our own spirits. Then instead of our usual big, ticketed performances in the fall, we found places to sing in the community for free.
Thanks to help from our friends from across the country, and especially other women’s choruses through the Sister Singers Network, we are now back on our feet. We were thrilled to start our 38th year back in our regular rehearsal space, and we have concerts booked for May 16 and 17 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Asheville and on May 31 at Grace Covenant Presbyterian.
What are you working on now?
We are currently working on the performance that we intended to deliver in the Fall. It’s called, “Crowded Table,” named after the popular song by the Highwomen. It talks about the beauty of creating a space where all are welcome. One perk to delaying the concert is that we get to add the winner of our fall songwriting contest, a song called “Eve” by local songwriter, Andrea Rosal. It talks about a transitioned child of a loving caring family. We are very excited to learn it!
How might someone get involved?
Well, obviously singers are always welcome to come check us out. We ask folks who are interested in singing with us to come observe two rehearsals before auditioning. That way they can feel out our vibe and see if they think it’s a good fit! But even if you’re not a singer, you can join our email listserve and attend our performances in the audience. You can also become a financial supporter and donate. If you are someone in the community who organizes social justice events, you can invite us to come sing. And if you’re an instrumentalist, we can find ways for you to participate, too!
How might someone learn more?
The easiest thing to do is to visit our website, womansong.org. There you can read about our history, our mission, our staff, and other projects including our philanthropy, New Start. Folks can also join our email listserve for news of upcoming events. We also have a Facebook page, Instagram Handle, and YouTube channel. Just google Womansong really, and you’ll see lots of links!
Tell us about your philosophy on a diverse membership.
As supporters of social justice, we are constantly looking to grow and evolve ourselves, trying to be the best we can be. This past year, we spent some time reflecting on the topic of gender expansiveness – the idea that women’s issues are broad and include folks who might not identify as female but rather as non-binary, gender-fluid, or trans, for example. So, we developed an official diversity statement to help us communicate our new understanding. It reads: 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.
What would someone experience at one of your concerts?
The overwhelming feeling of our concerts is joy – people singing together to empower themselves and each other. We also try to shine light on important topics related to social justice. And we like to have fun, so there is usually a lot of laughter, too!
You will hear instrumental accompaniment including piano, flute, percussion, violin, banjo, saxophone, marimba, and others. Our audiences are welcome to sing along, and we always include at least one song where they get to sign along with our ASL interpreter. It’s a great time!
What other venues/programs do you participate in?
We love getting out in the community. We’ve sung at the Women to the Front festival, a dedication for the Karen Cragnolin Park, environmental justice programs, a Rev. Barber voting rally, a ceremony honoring the Rosenwald School in Mars Hill, the VA Hospital, and the Deerfield community. That’s actually a great way to get involved with Womansong – let us know if you have an event where you would like us to come perform!
One of your members spoke very highly of the chorus, how do you nurture the strong community feeling that exists?
At Womansong, we recognize that people come first, and that the music comes as a natural result of nurturing those relationships. We care for one another. We support one another. We encourage and celebrate one another. During the hurricane, we shared resources with each other. We are very much a community as well as a chorus. A member once described it as church without the religion, and I think that’s a pretty accurate description.
Thank you to Dr. Allison Thorpe for her insight and sharing here. We look forward to seeing you at our concerts!
