FROM A NEWS RELEASE
Artemis Singers ( www.artemissingers.org ), Chicago's lesbian feminist chorus, will present a concert of world and local music by women composers at 8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, at the Irish American Heritage Center, 4626 N. Knox Ave., Chicago.
"Near & Far" tickets in advance are a suggested donation of $15 for adults and $10 for children age 12 and younger. At the door, tickets are a suggested donation of $20 for adults and $10 for children. Visit www.artemissingers.org to purchase tickets online. Tickets may be purchased by mail with a check payable to Artemis Singers, P.O. Box 578296, Chicago, IL 60657.
"Near & Far" will feature many songs about social justice and matriarchal culture. Artemis Singers will showcase choral pieces from South Africa, Japan and Sweden. First Nations (Aboriginal peoples in Canada) music; a Jewish song in the Nigun tradition; and a Belgian anti-apartheid song are on the program.
Artemis Singers will spotlight the work of Chicago composers, too. Artemis member Karen Mooney wrote the chant, "Peace in our Time - Obama @ Nobel." Mooney is a chaplain resident for Rainbow Hospice, Chicago.
Artemis Singers is reprising "A Universal Dream," text by suburban Chicago high school English teacher Meta Hellman and Jenni Brandon; music by Brandon. For this piece about freedom and liberty, Hellman researched Jane Addams and developed lyrics based on Addams' writings and speeches. Composer Brandon utilized Hellman's text and combined it with that of the preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
Commissioned by Sister Singers Network ( www.sistersingers.net), "A Universal Dream," premiered at the network's 10th National Women's Choral Festival hosted by Artemis Singers at Loyola University, Chicago, in 2010. Sister Singers Network is a national cooperative of feminist choruses, ensembles, singers, arrangers and composers dedicated to the women's choral movement.
Artemis Singers will perform two of Paula Walowitz's songs, "Goddesses' Rage," an upbeat chant, and "Mother Earth," a Gaia awareness piece, at the "Near & Far" concert. Walowitz is a psychotherapist in private practice in Chicago.
The chorus also will sing "Gamba Adisa," about Audre Lorde, a self-described "black lesbian feminist mother poet." Joan Szymko, originally from Chicago, wrote "Gamba Adisa."
Chicago's Loraine Edwalds wrote the chant-style song, "Hold This Pool of Water." The piece is about being asked to do impossible things and somehow finding a way to do it. Edwalds has been writing poetry since third grade, writing stories since high school and writing songs since she joined Artemis 22 years ago.
Evanston, Ill.'s Alicia Case is artistic director of Artemis Singers "Near & Far" concert. Skokie, Ill.'s Stephanie Larenas is Artemis Singers' piano accompanist. Laurie Lee Moses of Chicago will be guest accompanist for "Goddesses' Rage."
Founded in 1980, the 22-member Artemis Singers specializes in music written or arranged by women.
Inducted into the City of Chicago's Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame in 2008, Artemis Singers has been a mainstay in lesbian feminist cultural life. Artemis has performed at Lincoln Center in New York City, the State of Illinois Building, Chicago Cultural Center, as well as Sister Singers Network festivals throughout the U.S. Audiences have seen Artemis at the Chicago History Museum, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park (Gay Games), at Women & Children First bookstore and at several universities.
The chorus takes its name from the Greek goddess Artemis, who is a symbol of independence among lesbian feminists.
Artemis membership is open to all women singers. Artemis also provides creative opportunities for women interested in aspects of choral production: songwriting and arranging, performance lighting, choreography, audio, artistic direction, stage management and vocal instruction.
Artemis Singers is on Facebook.
For more information, email info@artemissingers.org or call 773-764-4465.
Fact Sheet
Alicia Case
Evanston, Ill.'s Alicia Case is thrilled to be artistic director for Artemis Singers "Near & Far" concert. The nonprofit Artemis Singers specializes in music written or arranged by women. "For this concert, half of the songs are from outside the United States and half are from Chicago," said Case.
Her favorite song on the program is "Gamba Adisa," by Joan Szymko, who is originally from Chicago. "Gamba Adisa" is about Audre Lorde, a self-described "black lesbian feminist mother poet," and finding strength from within to fulfill one's vision.
Loraine Edwalds
Artemis Singers will present the chant-style song, "Hold This Pool of Water," at the "Near & Far" concert. Chicago's Loraine Edwalds wrote the words and music. Edwalds said, "The song is about being asked to do impossible things and somehow finding a way to do it." Artemis member Midge Stocker arranged the piece for chorus.
Edwalds has been writing poetry since third grade, writing stories since high school and writing songs since she joined Artemis 22 years ago. She is editor, with Stocker, of the book, "The Woman-Centered Economy," published by Third Side Press. Edwalds is author of "Incidents of Giving Way," a book of fiction and poetry.
She loves working with the chorus. "The natural voice is a beautiful, non-processed instrument," said Edwalds. "The power of voices together can be incredibly moving. Music is the universal language. It is a way of appreciating people from around the world. Music shows us that we are dealing with the same kinds of problems."
One of Edwalds' goals is to write a musical. With several songs already completed, she is looking for funding and for a piano player who can score music. Edwalds is on LinkedIn.
Meta Hellman
Artemis Singers is reprising "A Universal Dream," text by Meta Hellman and Jenni Brandon; music by Brandon.
For this piece about freedom and liberty, Hellman researched Jane Addams and developed lyrics based on Addams' writings and speeches. Composer Jenni Brandon utilized Hellman's text and combined it with that of the preamble of the U.S. Constitution.
"A Universal Dream" was commissioned for and first performed July 4, 2010 at the Sister Singers Network festival that Artemis Singers hosted in Chicago. Sister Singers Network ( www.sistersingers.net) is a national cooperative of feminist choruses, ensembles, singers, arrangers and composers dedicated to the women's choral movement.
"Look at what Jane Addams did at Hull House," said Artemis member Hellman, a high school English teacher. "She was always working for the down-trodden. She never stopped. Addams deserves tremendous respect."
Santa Barbara Music Publishing Company will be publishing "A Universal Dream."
Karen Mooney
Chicago's Karen Mooney has written many songs. She has been a member of Artemis Singers for 11 years. A chaplain resident for Rainbow Hospice, Chicago, Mooney wrote music instead of a paper for a project at the seminary from which she recently graduated.
Her inspiration was taking classes in peace and justice. "A lot of papers don't get read," said Mooney, "but music might actually change the world." Artemis Singers will perform Mooney's "Peace in our Time - Obama @ Nobel" at the "Near & Far" concert.
Mooney said, "We have to look at peace in a different way, instead of 'I win, you lose.'
"Peace is not the absence of conflict. It is the presence of conversation, for the good of all," she said.
"Artemis brings to light music written by women," said Mooney. "I am deeply honored to be part of this heritage."
Paula Walowitz, LCPC
Now a psychotherapist in private practice in Chicago, Paula Walowitz in the late 1970s was writing music and learning a lot about women's spirituality and meditation. She said, "I came out of the singer/songwriter tradition, listening to people like James Taylor and Joni Mitchell." Following an underground Goddess Rising conference in California, Walowitz wrote a trilogy of songs, "Goddesses' Rage," "Mother Earth" and "She's Been Waiting."
Artemis Singers will perform two of these compositions, "Goddesses' Rage," an upbeat chant, and "Mother Earth," a Gaia awareness piece, at the "Near & Far" concert.
"Mother Earth" is on the chorus' CD "Artemis Singers: 25 Years," released in 2005. "Goddesses' Rage" has been a part of political movements around the world. "Activists have performed the song in Great Britain, Australia and the U.S.," said Walowitz. "Things were exploding politically in the 1970s and songs were bubbling out of me." She sang at the first National Women's Music Festival in Champaign, Ill., in 1974.
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Walowitz was a member of the music group "Surrender Dorothy," along with Toni Armstrong Jr., Laurie Lee Moses and Jane Kreinberg. Surrender Dorothy performed at Mountain Moving Coffeehouse as well as the bars Opal Station, His 'N Hers and Different Strokes. Laurie Lee Moses will be guest piano accompanist for Artemis Singers' performance of "Goddesses' Rage" at the "Near & Far" concert.
Walowitz sang "She's Been Waiting" with Ubaka Hill at the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival a few years ago. The song also is on Ubaka Hill's "Beyond the Wind" CD, released in 2006, as well as on Tricia Alexander's CD "Grace," from 2002.
"I love Artemis Singers," said Walowitz. "The chorus is carrying the torch for the women's community. You don't see that expression of community - shared leadership and process with a strong lesbian feminist perspective - anywhere else. It has seeped into our culture as a whole, but everywhere else, it's been watered down."
Paula Walowitz's website is www.compassionateclarity.com .
