One theme for our Winter & Spring Concerts this season will be community singing. "Singing communities" may take many forms, both formal and informal, from the more than three hundred choristers of the FCCC to innumerable impromptu configurations of voices. Rollo Dilworth, our guest composer/pianist at last season's Spring Concert, recently wrote in an article entitled Creating Singing Communities in the publication The Voice, "Regardless of the term used to label a group of people making vocal music ... it is the communal nature of singing that creates the common bond." Our veteran choristers often talk about the special feeling they get when they sing in the FCCC.

Informal community singing "is not about how you sound, it is what you bring, knowing that singing together is a powerful thing and expecting that whatever you need to happen can be made to happen." These words from Ysaye Maria Barnwell, the composer of Wanting Memories, give us permission to sing our hearts out, even if the result is not very polished. A wonderful aspect of a large-group sing-along is that there is safety in numbers.

Informal singing can also be quite profound, as attested to by two established song-leaders. Bernice Johnson Reagon states, "When we sing we announce our existence." FCCC's great friend and most frequent guest artist, Nick Page says, "The ability to make and appreciate music is innate behavior coded into our genes. To be musical is to be human. Music teaches beauty. Creating beauty is an act of compassion. When we make music, we are making the world a more beautiful place. Music strengthens our cultural bonds with the past and future. Music helps to define who we are culturally. Music strengthens our cultural bonds with each other."

These writers all testify to the power of music. If these words inspire you - if you would like to experience this musical community bonding - I am pleased to invite all members of our community to join us for a special project as part of the FCCC Winter Concert. Read on...