The Inclusive Voice

The Inclusive Voice Dear Friend "It’s a New Decade, It’s time for Newness and we refuse the negative energy, we refuse the old systems... We went to be respected and safe in our diversity. We want to be shifting to realness and inclusivity... We are Unstoppable.... Music is that on language we can all speak, it don't matter where we're from, we all understand it. " - Alicia Keys, The Grammys This week I have had some very moving experiences singing Jewish songs with my choirs to mark #HolocaustMemorialDay.  One member of my Carers Choir shared the immensely courageous, moving story of their grandparents and parents perilous escape from Austria to England where they had to Anglicise their surname to avoid Anti-Semitism. All divisive, destructive forms of extreme identity politics, such as fascism & Nazism, fabricate and manipulate people's sense of their cultural, religious or national identity and induce fear that they are under threat from the 'other' - eg immigrants are stealing 'our' jobs.  The dominant identity is given voice through the megaphones of media, whilst the voices of the 'other' are violently excluded, oppressed, smothered and silenced.  Whilst we face a frightening rise in fascism, there is I believe, an unstoppable movement towards an Inclusive Voice which celebrates our differences and shared humanity, enriching our understanding and connection with each other.  It is to this global symphony that I wish to lend my voice in this month's blog. Understanding The Human Family Tree At the deepest level, all living things that have ever been looked at have the same DNA code. And many of the same genes. - Richard Dawkin To eliminate genocide, holocausts, persecution, war, tribal violence - we need to fully understand and embody our interconnectedness.  Tracking both our personal and collective genealogy, DNA and ancestry demonstrates that we are all from everywhere.   The origin in Africa and subsequent movement of people around the globe makes us all immigrants.  As such we are all part of one big tree of humanity with global roots.  Not only are we intimately related to people of all cultures, tribes and creeds - but also to all life itself, sharing masses of genetic material with other species aswell as our precious life and environment on this planet.  Reclaiming Hidden Voices Moving from silence into speech is for the oppressed, the colonized, the exploited, and those who stand and struggle side by side a gesture of defiance that heals, that makes new life and new growth possible. It is that act of speech, of 'talking back,' that is no mere gesture of empty words, that is the expression of our movement from object to subject—the liberated voice - Bell Hooks Reclaiming, liberating, including and celebrating the stories and voices who have been oppressed by the dominant white patriarchal history, dogma and identity is an essential part of restoring social justice and creating an inclusive society. If we have any kind of social privilege, we need to be both investigating and dismantling our own conditioning in order to be a good ally to those who have experienced oppression. (White readers - do check out Me And White Supremacy by Layla F Saad.)  The arts can be a powerful medium for giving voice and visibility to those who have been unheard and unseen  - to give just one example, Amie's Freedom Choir, is a safe space for women who have been trafficked to find and explore their voices together. The Love of Humanity That idea of peace and love toward humanity shouldn't be nationalistic or denominational. It should be a chief concern for all mankind. - Mos Def The wisdom of the love of humanity - as taught throughout the ages by artists, sages, educators and wise ones such as MLK and Mandela - teaches us that we are all one family. This is embodied through cultivating empathy, compassion, warmth, friendship, connection and love. Reconciliation, dialogue and creative encounter through the arts can help bring people of differing views and backgrounds together. I was recently inspired by the leadership of Hilke Wagner who in response to far right hate, created a series of dialogue events called We Need to Talk at the the Dresden Albertinum Museum: 'I found it important to establish this feeling of personal relationship. We had participants from across the social and political spectrum, with a range of attitudes. And we learned a lot from each other.' Stories such as these give me hope that we can and are building bridges across perceived divisions of identity and sing the songs that help us remember our shared humanity. Wishing you a lovely, loving February

New Year, New Decade, New Voice!

New Year, New Decade New Voice! Dear Katie Happy New Singing Year! As we enter another year and another decade, Here's 3 Joyful Ways to Renew and Claim Your Voice in 2020 Find Your Unique Song You gotta make your own kind of music Sing your own special song Make your own kind of music Even if nobody else sings along Make Your Own Kind of Music - Mama Cass Elliott It takes courage to sing, there is no getting around that. We have to be willing to expose, express and voice our creative truth and that is exposing and vulnerable making.  Yet to live with that truth unexpressed is far more painful and can cause disease, disconnection and disintegration.   Singing is a form of coming home and sometimes it may take a while to find our way through the layers of conditioning.   We can make it safe, easy and graceful and find supportive friends who will help us along the way.  We can also enjoy the unfettered joy of singing solo in the car/ bath/ shower - gifting ourselves moments to sing by and to ourselves creates a resource within us which then becomes translatable into shared or public settings.  The technical term for hanging out with ourselves musically is practice and the more we do it the stronger we get.  We learn to ride the tides of our breath, body, feeling, thoughts and claim our own uniqueness through the waves of the song that sings through us. Inspiration is Everywhere Let the rain kiss you. Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. Let the rain sing you a lullaby. - April Rain Song, Langston Hughes Everything around us has a song. The drumming rain on a roof, the whirr of the fridge, the undertone of a train, the waft of bird song, the thump of a drive-by car stereo.  Everything in our world vibrates with sound and everything within us does too - our heartbeat, our cells are all humming with life.  This means we are never alone or lost when it comes to music - all we need do is tap into our inner and outer soundscape and the soundtrack emerges.  There are so many tools to help us sing - from innumerable online articles, blogs and youtube tutorials (shout out to Wendy's Warm Ups) to real life helpful people such as singing teachers and choirs.  The sources of inspiration are inexhaustible, and when we allow ourself to breath in and receive musical inspiration, it naturally follows that something lovely will be exhaled and expressed. Singing is Huge! Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness, And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream. And that that which sings and contemplates in you is still dwelling within the bounds of that first moment which scattered the stars into space. - On Time - Khalil Gibran Singing is a huge Tardis - it can take you anywhere. At choir, we sing songs from all decades, eras, genres, moods which transport us into realms of memory, insight, feeling, thought and connection personally and collectively. The epic creative vehicle of song is so much greater than our small selves - it can carry, absorb and integrate our fears, doubts, worries, tensions and stresses.  As we sing, we grow into bigger, more expansive, more loving, generous people who can make a contribution to the world. The song that is waiting inside us will be unique to us and call us into action - whether that is singing our baby to sleep or showing up at a protest hearts on fire and voices blazing. So my 3 questions to you for your voice this year are What am I longing to sing, create or express in 2020? What sources of inspiration can I allow myself to receive? What dream/ vision/ longing is my song calling me to be/ do/ serve? Wishing you a courageous heartfelt adventure of song this new year and new decade! Sparkly New Year Singing Wishes