IWC's YouTube Channel Link
I Wish that I Could Show You
Music by Barbara McAfee
Lyrics by Daniel Ladinsky as inspired by Hafiz
Arranged by Pam Blevins Hinkle
Copyright Big Bug Music - used by permission
www.barbaramcafee.com
Radium Girl and Be the Change
The Radium Girl
Music by Michael Bussewitz-Quarm
Lyrics by Shantel Sellers
Based on the tragic story of the "Radium Girls" - young women who were exposed to radium as part of their work in clock factories who eventually died from the exposure. This piece is intended to shine a light on these women and other people working in tragic conditions through the power of song.
More at www.listenafresh.com/song-portfolio/theradiumgirl
Be The Change
Music by Marc Kaplan and Colin Britt
Words adapted from Gandhi (attr.)
From The Justice Choir Songbook
More at www.justicechoir.org/
Stoiala Sosna ("Song of the Creation of the World")
Traditional Ukrainian
Translation:
There was a pine tree in the middle of the Danube, God grant it!
A falcon was sitting on that pine tree, God grant it!
He fluttered his wings, fell into the Danube, God grant it!
He came out of there in the third year, God grant it!
He took out three seeds from there, God grant it!
The first seed is black earth, God grant it!
The second seed is spring wheat, God grant it!
The third seed is green grass, God grant it!
Black earth, bread will be born, God grant it
Spring wheat is for the bread, God grant it!
Green grass, for the livestock, God grant it!
Be the Light
Music and Lyrics by Lea Morris
Inspired by Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb”
Used by permission
More from LEA at www.thisislea.com
In the Wistful Heart of Night
By Miho Sasaki
Text by Sara Teasdale
"In the Wistful Heart of Night" is one of the Cycle of Five pieces from Tapestry of Beauty. The completion of the entire five movement work is supported by the St. Paul's Episcopal Church Faith, Justice and the Arts grant (2020-22) - Indianapolis, IN USA. In the Wistful Heart of Night was written for The Indianapolis Women's Chorus and was premiered by IWC on May 14 & 15, 2022.
We Shall Be Known by MaMuse
Part of our 2021-2022 Season: Tending, Turning, Transforming. We celebrate community: the singers that are IWC, the company of friends and loved ones, the role models who inspire us, the generations who have come before and those who will follow. We celebrate the tending of fires and hearts and seeds and relationships. We envision a way of thriving together, turning away from brokenness and turning towards a transformed way of living where we each lead in love. Images featured in the video were collected by members of IWC.
IWC is grateful to our generous video sponsor: Anthony Team Realty & Worley Erhart-Graves Financial Advisors.
July 2021 Virtual Concert
To stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indianapolis Women’s Chorus met virtually from March 2020-April 2021, recording four remote performance videos and staying connected through online rehearsals, workshops, and virtual community sings. In May 2021, we met in-person for the first time in over a year, and in three short, outdoor rehearsals prepared for a safe indoor recording session of six pieces.
“Singing with Love and the Will to Trust” is a compilation of eight songs from IWC’s core repertoire, including one newly composed piece. It demonstrates the chorus’ dedication, commitment to musicianship, resilience, and the love of singing together with justice at heart that binds our vocal community. To be together in sound in any way we can, in body, in spirit, in mind, and in heart — that is the beauty and wonder of community singing for us. Singing together has sustained and nurtured us even in this time of global crisis, and we hope these songs bring you joy, healing, and hope.
"World-Wide Tuning Meditation" Pauline Oliveros
© Deep Listening Publications 2007. Used by permission of the Pauline Oliveros Trust.
"The Winter Bird" Meagan Johnson and Tyler Secor
Text by Jones Very
Used by permission of the composers. Text in the public domain.
"Be Like the Bird" Abbie Betinis
Text by Victor Hugo
Uploaded with permission of the publisher, Abbie Betinis Music Co.
"I Believe" Mark A. Miller
Text by an anonymous Jewish poet
Copyright © Choristers Guild. Used by permission.
"I Sing" Whitney Szabo
Used by permission of the composer.
"Resilience" Abbie Betinis
From The Justice Choir Songbook.
Used under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 License.
"One Voice" Ruth Moody of the Wailin’ Jennys
© 2004 Ruth Moody (SOCAN). Used by permission.
"Arise My Love" Joan Szymko
Words adapted from The Song of Solomon and At the River
© 2004 Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Inc. Used by permission.
The Winter Bird
Recorded remotely by members of Indianapolis Women's Chorus, March 2021
.
Text by Jones Very
Music by Meagan Johnson and Tyler Secor
"The Winter Bird" is sponsored by Worley Erhart-Graves Financial Advisors.
Auld Lang Syne
Recorded remotely by ensembles of the Indianapolis Choral Collaborative
Traditional Scottish Folk Melody
Poetry by Robert Burns
Arrangement by Greg Sanders
Audio & Video Editing by Tyler Secor
Voices from across Central Indiana come together to wish our community the brightest of greetings as we celebrate the season and look forward to the New Year.
The Indianapolis choral community misses seeing you in the audience. This is a time of year when we especially look forward to choral performances that express the magic and beauty of the holiday season. Until we can safely welcome you back in person, it is with this song that all of us wish you and yours the very best in the upcoming year. Happy New Year from the Indianapolis Choral Collaborative!
The Indianapolis Choral Collaborative is:
The Castlewood Singers
Capital City Chorus
Circle City Sound
The Indianapolis Arts Chorale
The Indianapolis Children's Choir
The Indianapolis Men's Chorus
The Indianapolis Symphonic Choir
The Indianapolis Women's Chorus
I Believe
Recorded remotely by members of Indianapolis Women's Chorus, November 2020.
Copyright © Choristers Guild. Used by permission.
Cortnee Yarbrough & Sherry DuBois, soloists
Jayne Kercheval, ASL Interpreter
Meagan Johnson, Artistic Director
Tyler Secor, producer, pianist & Assistant Director
By now, you may have seen several “virtual choirs” making the rounds of the internet - videos featuring singers in individual boxes, seeming to sing together, at the same time, in beautiful harmony. You might already know how they are made - if not, here’s the general process: A conductor or other leader musician creates a guide video and/or track for individuals to follow. Each individual records their own, solo voice, following the guide track and video as closely as possible. After all tracks are recorded, they are painstakingly mixed together by someone with the technical know-how — typically taking dozens, if not hundreds of hours, depending on the complexities required and the level of perfection aimed for. Afterward, when you watch and listen to the video, it seems as if all the singers were singing together. However, no individual singer could hear the voice of any other individual — only the guide track.
Recording yourself singing alone for a “virtual choir” is not the same emotional, physical, or musical experience as in-person choir. There is no listening and responding to other singers in the moment, which is such an important part of the choral experience. Virtual performances could never replace the impact that in-person choir has on our community of singers and our audience. It was the choice of IWC to not highly edit this “remote choir” video to make it sound perfectly in-sync, in-tune, or without flaws. Instead, this video demonstrates the reality of our current moment – a moment where we must each sing alone to protect the health of our various communities. Singing alone to a track is an unsettling and imperfect task for those who love and need to sing together in a choir. Therefore, this video will reflect this imperfection with pride and acknowledge its purpose, which is to create a sense of “singing together” in a time when actually singing together is impossible. IWC's singers are excited about this video “remote choir" project, but you can be assured that at our next concert, IWC will sing “I Believe” with immense joy at being able to raise our voices together, to share together, and to reflect on a difficult time in our life experiences. This song has been incredibly important to many members of IWC over the years. We hope you enjoy this video and find comfort in its meaningful and timely words.
Rise
Live concert performance from Saturday, May 4, 2019.
Words and Music by: Arianne Abela
from the "Justice Choir Songbook"
Used by permission of the composer
Shen Khar Venakhi
Live concert performance from Sunday November 24, 2019.
Shen Khar Venakhi - Traditional, Kartil-Kakheti, Georgia
Text by King Demetre I
A song of praise to the Virgin Mary, dating back at least 1000 years. Today, it is often sung at Georgian weddings in honor of the bride.
Shen khar venakhi
Akhlad aqvavebuli
Norchi k’etili
Edems shina nerguli.
Alva suneli
Samotkhes amosuli.
Ghmertman shegamk’o,
Vervina gjobs kebuli
Da tavit tvisit,
Mze khar da gabrts’qinvebuli.
You are a vineyard
Just blossoming,
Young and good,
Springing up in Eden.
A fragrant poplar,
Growing in paradise.
May God adorn you,
None is more worthy of praise.
You yourself,
Are the sun brilliantly shining.
(Translation from Kitka’s “Wintersongs” songbook)
Special thanks to Kitka Women's Vocal Ensemble/Diaphonica Productions (http://www.kitka.org/) for publishing the score to "Shen khar venakhi" in their Wintersongs Songbook. This wonderful collection of seasonal music for treble voices is available from http://www.kitka.org/shop
A Little While
Live concert performance from Sunday, May 5, 2019
Music by: Sami Copeland
Text by: Sara Teasdale
Soloist: Andrea Groner
Winner of the 2019 Emerging Voices Competition
God Says Yes to Me
Live Concert performance from November 24, 2019
Music by: Paul Carey
Lyrics by: Kaylin Haught
Soloist: Sarah Rowley
Used by permission of the composer.
Cradle Me
Recorded remotely by members and alumnae of Indianapolis Women's Chorus, April 2020.
By now, you may have seen several “virtual choirs” making the rounds of the internet - videos featuring singers in individual boxes, seeming to sing together, at the same time, in beautiful harmony. You might already know how they are made - if not, here’s the general process: A conductor or other leader musician creates a guide video and/or track for individuals to follow. Each individual records their own, solo voice, following the guide track and video as closely as possible. After all tracks are recorded, they are painstakingly mixed together by someone with the technical know-how — typically taking dozens, if not hundreds of hours, depending on the complexities required and the level of perfection aimed for. Afterward, when you watch and listen to the video, it seems as if all the singers were singing together. However, no individual singer could hear the voice of any other individual — only the guide track.
Recording yourself singing alone for a “virtual choir” is not the same emotional, physical, or musical experience as in-person choir. There is no listening and responding to other singers in the moment, which is such an important part of the choral experience. Virtual performances could never replace the impact that in-person choir has on our community of singers and our audience. It was the choice of IWC to not highly edit this “remote choir” video to make it sound perfectly in-sync, in-tune, or without flaws. Instead, this video demonstrates the reality of our current moment – a moment where we must each sing alone to protect the health of our various communities. Singing alone to a track is an unsettling and imperfect task for those who love and need to sing together in a choir. Therefore, this video will reflect this imperfection with pride and acknowledge its purpose, which is to create a sense of “singing together” in a time when actually singing together is impossible.
IWC's singers are excited about this video “remote choir" project, but you can be assured that at our next concert, IWC will sing “Cradle Me” with immense joy at being able to raise our voices together, to share together, and to reflect on a difficult time in our life experiences. This song has been incredibly important to many members of IWC over the years, and to many choruses in the larger women’s chorus movement. We are grateful to composer Deborah Dougherty, who not only gave her blessing for the project, but also sang the opening solo and as part of the remote chorus. We hope you enjoy this video and find comfort in its meaningful and timely words.
WFYI Art of the Matter Interview
Click HERE to listen to the WFYI Art of the Matter interview with Meagan Johnson and Marty Miles.
