Photo of composer, Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, with recent commissioning choir, Women’s Voices Chorus of Chapel Hill and Capital City Girls Choir.
PLEASE NOTE: This Consortium is in collaboration with major commissioner, Knoxville Gay Men’s Chorus.
Purpose: The purpose of the choral work will be to support trans youth by drawing from experiences of trans individuals of when they came out to their loved ones. The text will be set from stories from members of the collaborating choir, Trans Chorus of LA, which will be shared with the lyricist, Chantal Sellers and composer, Michael Bussewitz-Quarm. The lyrics will cover stories that share a range of experiences, both those experiences that are challenging, and those experiences that are embracing. It will speak of acceptance in one verse, rejection in another verse, possibly homelessness in another, (these are just general examples of the verses and will fluctuate, based on the stories shared with the lyricist and composer).
From these stories, verses will be written. Each choir that sings “HowDid You Feel?” will be creating an aesthetic and empathetic experience for all, as we have all experienced the struggle of acceptance, regardless of gender identity or other characteristics we identify with that make us unique, and beautiful.
Special Testimonial Section There will be a powerful section which will be presented as an option for choirs to include. In this section, trans members will have the opportunity to tell their story while the choir “vamps” softly in the background, interjecting “How did you feel?” intermittently. In accordance with Trans Chorus of LA’s mission, the overall tenor of the commissioned work will be positive. It will embrace and celebrate the beauty of the trans spirit.
Composer and Commissioner hereby agree as follows: Consortium Commissioners of “How Did You Feel?”
a. Consortium commissioners commission Michael Bussewitz-Quarm to write “How Did You Feel?” for their groups, lasting approximately 5-7 minutes.
b. For the consortium commissioners, multiple arrangements for will be made for accessibility and reach to all choirs: including SSAA, TTBB, SAB; 2-Part Mixed; 3-Part Treble; Unison; Song Squad
c. As with the SATB version (1a), instrumentation will be piano and at the discretion of Composer, also include parts for strings and rhythm section.
d. Piece will be determined in collaboration with stories shared by the transgender participants chosen by Trans Chorus of LA.
e. Knoxville Gay Men’s Chorus will have the exclusive rights to perform the work during the 2020 Gala Choruses Festival in Minneapolis. Individual Choirs in this consortium will appear on a separate page listed “Joined by: name of choir, city, state, name of director”, appearing on the page along with Trans Chorus of LA bio, composer bio, and lyricist bio Text will be written by lyricist, Chantal Sellers. All text used in Piece are subject to approval by the Trans Choir of LA.
Statement from Trans Choir of LA: The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles along with composer Michael Bussewitz-Quarm is entering into a music expression of the Trans-narrative experience through song. We are so excited to enter into this because it has not been seen or heard ever before. These Trans identified voices will show the choral world that is all about the voice and not the gender associated to vocal parts in the past. What is also so amazing this work is in alignment with our mission to collectively change the trans-narrative of victimization to VICTORIOUS! The Trans Chorus of Los Angeles is leading the way in the choral world by being visible, bold and proud! We are a chorus of transgender, gender non-conforming/gender non-binary & intersex Individuals using our voices to bring awareness, understanding, power and VICTORY for the Trans Community. We want every Trans-identified individual to hear and appreciate the lyrics of our signature song, “YOU HAVE MORE FRIENDS THAN YOU KNOW!”
DEADLINE TO JOIN is DECEMBER 30th.
TO JOIN, CLICK LINK TO GO TO CONSORTIO PLATFORM PAGE:
https://consortio.io/mbqstudio/rainbow-of-friends-a-trans-ally-project-with-the-trans-chorus-of-los-angeles
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.