Voices of Connection: 01/01 New Beginnings
Happy New Year to the Voices of Ascension family!
While the date of the New Year is in some sense arbitrary, it is of course a traditional time for reflection and looking to the future, and so we feel it is a particularly good time to share with you the work that Voices has been doing over the past year with respect to diversity, equity and inclusion in our corner of the arts world. We recognize that we will be judged on our actions and not just our words, but we also recognize that words matter, and so we are proud to share with you our statement on diversity, equity and inclusion, which will appear on our website as of today. Read the complete statement here.
The entire board and staff of Voices stands behind this statement, and we look forward to sharing our progress with you as we work to implement tangible steps to further racial and gender equity, including in our audition processes, our repertory, our artistic partners, our board, our staff and all with whom we engage. As part of our community, we hope you will stand with us in these efforts, and your ideas and input are most welcome as we seek to begin a new era of intentional inclusivity. — John Grimes, Board President
"Last year Voices of Ascension commissioned composer and ensemble member Bora Yoon to write a new work for the chorus. She responded with “Infinite Light,” a beautiful two-part piece with texts by Sufi mystic poets Rumi and Hafiz. In this world premiere performance of the second part, “Light Will Someday Split You Open,” the gloriously rich choral sound makes Bora’s piece feel, even on first hearing, warm, familiar, and illuminating.” – Wende Persons, Board Member
We look forward to hearing more of Bora's music as part of our first event of 2021: Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space. Voices of Ascension has commissioned the work of 10 women composers for this inaugural project of our Voices of the New program. We look forward to sharing a virtual premiere of Astronautica with you on January 27th.
BORA YOON "Light Will Someday Split You Open" from Infinite Light
WORLD PREMIERE
Commissioned by Voices of Ascension
Dennis Keene, Artistic Director
from the concert A Voice of Her Own
Wednesday, March 20th, 2019 - The Brick Presbyterian Church
The singers in this performance are represented by the American Guild of Musical Artists, AFL-CIO.