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Seattle Men's & Women's Choruses Tackle Tough Topics Through Song
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 10, 2019
Music heals, music inspires, music transcends; artistic director Paul Caldwell has selected a broad repertoire of pieces for the 2019-2020 season that do all these things while also reflecting upon the times in which we live. Voting rights, racial equality and sexual freedom are just a few of the important topics the Choruses will touch upon with the songs and anthems they perform this season.
Perhaps the most ambitious endeavor Caldwell undertakes this season is the March 2020 premiere of a new commission for the Love Beyond Borders concert. The concert includes a 50-minute piece spotlighting Seattle's pivotal role in the LGBTQ Underground Railroad that ran from 2009-2017. Ultimately this community's efforts brought more than a dozen LGBTQ Muslims seeking asylum from Middle Eastern countries into Seattle and on to safe havens in parts of Europe and North America. Among the Muslim LGBTQ refugees profiled in the concert are Nayeff and Haidar (Btoo), currently married and living in Seattle. They are featured in this video, and the 2016 documentary Out of Iraq.
The 5-show season kicks off November 30th at Benaroya Hall with Seattle Men's Chorus' annual holiday concert, 'Tis the Season. It delivers familiar carols and popular holiday tunes that are both naughty and nice. Early in 2020 Seattle Women's Chorus performs Revolution 2020 to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the 19th amendment and honor the continued work over the past century for free and fair voting access, a challenge that we still deal with today. This marks the first time the chorus will perform in Federal Way at their new performing arts venue. Concerts featuring the iconic Motown sound and powerhouse girl groups round out the season which wraps just prior to Seattle Pride 2020. The Supertonics (mixed a cappella ensemble) perform for their second year, joining SMC for 'Tis the Season and SWC for May's Supreme. Season subscriptions and single tickets to the concerts listed below are on sale now.
'Tis the Season
Kick off the holidays with the merry voices of SMC! We come a-caroling with a rocking and rolling celebration for the jolliest time of year. It's everything you know and love about this naughty and nice annual tradition. Featuring "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," "Good King Wenceslas," and "Santa Claus Got Stuck in My Chimney."
Dates: 11/30/19 - 12/22/19
11/30, 12/8, 12/17 at 7:30pm; 12/22 at 8:00pm; 12/1 at 2:00pm
Seattle, Benaroya Hall
12/7 at 3:00PM, & 7:30PM
Tacoma, Rialto Theatre
12/14 at 7:30PM
Everett Civic Auditorium
SEATTLE WOMEN'S CHORUS
Revolution 2020
SWC rocks the vote with a timely and rousing event that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and decries the continued struggle for free and fair voting rights for all people. Featuring "The Times They Are A-Changin'," "R.O.C.K. in the USA," the Beatles' "Revolution," and "Lifting as We Climb," inspired by the words of suffragist Mary Church Terrill, charter member of the NAACP.
Dates: 1/31/20 - 2/8/20
1/31 at 8:00pm; 2/1 at 2:00pm & 8:00 pm
Seattle First Baptist Church
2/8 at 8pm
Federal Way Performing Arts and Event Center
Love Beyond Borders
Love and hope can't be constrained behind closed borders but sometimes they need a helping hand. Dramatic and inspiring stories of escape are joined by pop sounds of LGBTQ artists from across the globe including Freddie Mercury, Ricky Martin and k.d. lang. Featuring a world premiere commission inspired by the lives of LGBTQ Muslims who settled in North America after years of seeking asylum. With music from Caldwell and Ivory, Hannah Fidler, Amir Rabiya and Mari Esabel Valverde, and Bonnie McKee, songwriter for pop music's biggest stars, including Katy Perry and Britney Spears.
Dates: 3/20/20 - 3/21/20
3/20 at 8:00pm & 3/21 at 2:00pm
Seattle, Benaroya Hall
SEATTLE WOMEN'S CHORUS
Supreme
From The Andrews Sisters' boogie-woogie beats to the Spice Girls' "girl power" anthems, these supremely talented vocal groups have been the intoxicating soundtrack to life and love. Featuring songs from twenty of the biggest ensembles to grace the charts, including "Stop! In the Name of Love," "Cruel Summer," "Wide Open Spaces," and "Survivor."
Date: 5/31/20 at 4:00pm
Seattle, Benaroya Hall
Motown: Dancing in the Street
In the 1960s, a little record label out of Detroit released a new musical sound onto the airwaves, launching the careers of some of the most successful black artists of the 20th century and forever changing America. This concert is a celebration of the greatest hits of the Motown sound and the pop, R&B and soul music that grew in its wake.
Dates: 6/20/20-6/21/20
6/20 at 8:00pm; 6/21 at 2:00pm
Seattle, McCaw Hall
About Seattle Men's Chorus/Seattle Women's Chorus
The internationally renowned Seattle Men's Chorus (founded 1979) and Seattle Women's Chorus (founded 2002) comprise the largest community choral organization in North America. Both choruses stand out among the largest LGBTQ-identified choruses in the world. The choruses comprise one of the Pacific Northwest's largest, most vibrant and successful music organizations, performing in Seattle's most prestigious venues for an annual audience of more than 30,000 patrons. Flying House Productions is the not-for-profit organization that governs and manages the Choruses. Collectively there are over 600 singing members along with staff, volunteers, and associate members who support both Choruses. They are a leading voice for the LGBTQ community and offer more than 30 outreach events and main stage concert performances annually.
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