Conductor, Erin Guinup

Ensemble Statement: "The Tacoma Refugee Choir is a non-auditioned choir made up of refugees, immigrants, and friends seeking belonging. In its first five years, the choir has welcomed members from 62 countries including Cambodia, Yemen, Honduras, Haiti, Ukraine, and Democratic Republic of Congo and has become an integral part of civic conversations around refugees and immigrants. Founded in 2016, this welcoming community is centered in love and committed to creating spaces for authentic expression, interconnection, and healing through song and music. The pedagogical practices have been adapted to meet the needs of members, many of which originate in countries where sheet music is not part of the music making culture and where tonal quality can include chest-voice dominance. Additionally, there are few songs in the canon that speak to the refugee and immigrant experience. As a result, sheet music is seldom used in favor of an aural tradition approach, choir members create harmonies and shape the performance of a piece rather than being all director-led, and most of our songs are created by choir members to express their stories and hopes. We additionally partner with cultural leaders to amplify their initiatives and strengthen trust within the community and actively develop leadership of members as they learn to literally use their voice to speak up on matters of importance to them. We have also created videos on issues impacting members including the Census and Stop Anti-Asian hate and the war in Ukraine. This diverse community has become a surrogate family for many and a source of hope, purpose and belonging, with one member saying “for the first time in my 20 years in America, I finally feel like I belong” and another from Chad saying, “the choir healed my mistrust.” "