Over the July 4 weekend more than 500 women from 23 choruses across the country will gather on Loyola University's lakeshore campus to workshop, network and sing their hearts out at the 10th Sister Singers National Network Festival.
"Our Kind of Sound," is hosted by Chicago's out-and-proud Artemis Singers, the first women's singing ensemble to name itself a "lesbian feminist chorus." The members of Artemis have celebrated music by and about women for over thirty years, and continue to attract new voices and volunteers to their ranks. The chorus first hosted Sister Singers Network ( SSN ) festival in Chicago in 1986.
While the full range of festival activities are open only to SSN members, there will be limited public admission tickets available to some of the concerts, scheduled for afternoons and evenings, July 1-4 in Loyola's Mundelein Auditorium. Interested fans can stay updated at www.sistersingers.net or by writing info@artemissingers.org or festival@sistersingers.net .
Festival highlights open to the public include:
—Thursday, July 1, 7 pm. Opening ceremony and small ensemble performances featuring The Righteous Mothers from Washington state.
—Friday, July 2, 3:30 pm. Choruses from Alaska, Florida, California and Virginia featuring Tampa Bay's Crescendo performing with Cris Williamson.
—Sunday, July 4, 7 pm. The two main festival choruses, Wind and Water will each perform A Universal Dream, commissioned by SSN for the 2010 festival. The work was composed by Jenni Brandon, with text by Meta Hellman of Artemis. "This provides a rare opportunity for audience members to hear two different interpretations of a world premiere in a single setting," said Midge Stocker, co-chair of the festival and long-time Artemis member. Artemis Singers will also perform at the culminating program on Sunday evening.
The Sister Singers Network is a "cooperative web" of feminist choruses and ensembles as well as composers, arrangers and individual singers who work together to "support and enrich" the women's choral movement. The network began in the Midwest in 1981, holding gatherings as part of Ozark Women's Festivals, expanding their reach over the years to provide communication, support and performance opportunities for women across the country.
In addition to two yearly membership meetings, the work of SSN is implemented by a national steering committee. Stocker serves on the steering committee. "Artemis Singers is thrilled to be bringing the festival to Chicago, during our own chorus' thirtieth anniversary year," she said. "When Artemis hosted the third SSN festival in 1986, a single three-hour concert of eight performing choruses, plus a mass chorus, was held at Lane Technical High School, and all singers stayed in community housing. For this festival, we have 23 performing choruses registered, with seven two-hour concert blocks planned, including two mass choruses, each of which will have 200+ singers. The strength and passion of Sister Singers Network is in her members: as a true network, we breathe, and listen, one another to life."
Catherine Roma, artistic director and founder of MUSE, Cincinnati's women's choir, has been involved with the women's choral movement since 1975. She is particularly enthused about this summer's gathering. "In Chicago this summer, the SSN will celebrate 35 years of the vibrant, second wave women's choral movement. I look forward to seeing—listening—how women's choral communities create change in their cities and towns," said Roma. "What do women's choirs sing about, where do they sing, and for whom? Our movement is committed to lift up the work of women composers. Women's voices are prominent and our programming shows our way of knowing. Come hear us—we are still singing for our lives."
A mainstay of the city's lesbian feminist cultural life, Artemis Singers began in June, 1979 and came out into the larger LGBT community in a December 1980 performance as part of the Chicago Gay/Lesbian Community Band and Windy City Gay Chorus concert. Over the years, Artemis has performed for such mainstay feminist groups as Kinheart, Mountain Moving Coffee House, Lesbian Community Cancer Project and at events including Illinois NOW's state conference and the historic Judy Chicago Dinner Party installation. In 1982 they performed at the first gathering of gay and lesbian choruses at Lincoln Center, the event that spawned the formation of the international Gay and Lesbian Association ( GALA ) of Choruses. Also in 1982, Artemis Singers received the Paul R. Goldman Award for outstanding contributions in the field of performing arts in Chicago.
