LC Choirs speak on social struggles through global concert repertoire

From a hymn of prayer to Ukraine to African American spiritual, Concert Choir and Chamber Singers conveyed the struggles of marginalized groups in song—while also sending a message of hope.

On May 15, 2022, Loomis Chaffee's Concert Choir and Chamber Singers held their Spring showcase in Hubbard Hall. The cozy auditorium was about less than half full, but there were many more who were viewing the livestream online, some from continents away. Chamber Singers—a smaller group of singers out of the full Concert Choir—took their positions on the risers, and broke the waiting silence with a message critical to that very present.

The opening song, titled in English "Prayer for Ukraine," is a Ukrainian hymn and has been an unofficial anthem for Ukrainians through centuries. At the time of its publication in the 19th century, the hymn was a symbol of hope for Ukraine's democracy; in 2022, the message resonates stronger than ever. For decades, "Prayer for Ukraine" gathered together Ukrainians with the message of protecting their shared nation; as those same lyrics became heard in Hubbard, the hymn took on a new role of gathering people from all over to protect the nation together.

When Concert Choir took to the stage next, the powerful and melodic messages continued. Although still at beginner's level, Loomis's determined take on Chicago gospel music filled the concert hall as the chorus, including several soloists, sang "A City Called Heaven" by Gospel legend Mahalia Jackson. Opening with "I am a poor pilgrim of sorrow" and hammering home that "I'm trying to make heaven my home," the song reflects the distressed lives of black Americans in the mid 1900s, at the cusp of the Civil Rights movement. The performance carried a raw emotion not common to see in the ensemble, thanks to conductor Susan Chrzanowski's emphasis on feeling and vulnerability.

As it progressed, the choral concert took an increasingly positive turn. The popular Hebrew song "BaShana HaBa'ah" expressed hope and determination for a good rest of the Jewish year 5782 and coming 5783—a message made more important as Israeli society grows more disparate. The next performance of black freedom song "Woke Up This Mornin' With My Mind Stayed on Freedom" had an empowering purpose made more genuine as Ms. Chrzanowski encouraged the ensemble to think of what issue is personal to them that make each of them wake up to fight for.

After a concert that ranged the cultures of the world with its repertoire, including not only Ukrainian and Hebrew but traditional Japanese, Tagalog, and Venezuelan songs, the Loomis Concert Choir closed out with the nation's very own: "The Climb," by Miley Cyrus. From the very opening to the end, they sang in purposeful advocacy, reminding the audience and each other to keep believing in what they fight for.