songbreak
a qtbipoc-affirming community singing gathering
co-lead by tova feldmanstern and eileen hazel
last Friday of each month from 2-3pm
outdoors in el cerrito, ca
ten minute walk from del norte bart station, easy free parking
$10-20 suggested donation, no one turned away
short staircase (two or three steps)
email: [email protected] for address
why songbreak?
sometimes i need a break
occasionally i break into song
often i am heartbroken
and a song is there
doing whatever it does
sunlight breaks over the horizon
or doesn’t
(see entry for clouds, for smoke)
sometimes i’d prefer it didn’t
(see entry for heartbreak)
and there it is
with its fire
eliciting birdsong
what is community singing?
- community singing is a technology for belonging: when we make music together, our sense of separation wanes and belonging takes its rightful place.
- community singing is a radical tool: when we use our voices to make a ruckus rhapsody in service of the collective and/or we choose to be quiet in reverence, protest, or for soothing, we cannot be silenced.
- community singing heals: when we take part in a collective practice of embodiment, acceptance and care, we (re)build wholeness in our community.
- song is a technology of belonging: when we feel a sense of belonging to each other, we often want to sing together: ceremony, celebration, lullaby, concert, karaoke, protest... not to mention how, alone in the shower or car, when we feel like we belong more wholly to ourselves, we suddenly become birds.
- song is a basic survival skill: like our avian ancestors and relatives, we sing to communicate further and more deeply than words allow. across time and space, rhythm, lyric, melody, harmony and silence connect us. will you bring yours?
what songs will be sung?
- short songs that are easy to learn by ear
- songs written to help us connect (like these or these)
- songs with harmony, layering
- songs you bring :-)
where does my donation go if i choose to make one?
- it helps support the artists whose songs we sing
- it helps support the work of the sogorea te' land trust, working to return land and rights to those whose land we sing upon
- it helps support local non-profits offering music education in communities of color, including Beats, Rhymes and Life, Destiny Arts and Contra Costa College Music Dept.
