Mirinesse Women's Choir envisions an inclusive culture that broadly supports choral arts and promotes the social, emotional and physical benefits of the shared choral experience. We cannot deny, however, that systemic racism and social and economic disparities have prevented a welcoming intention from translating into universal access and opportunity.
As a choir, we have always communicated our thoughts and emotions through singing. While the COVID-19 pandemic prevents us from gathering and singing together in the usual way, we recognize that we still have a voice. This voice acknowledges the places of privilege that we occupy. This voice promises, today and moving forward, to work towards change so that the inclusive culture we envision can become a reality.
Today, with this voice we sing out to the world:
Black Lives Matter. Racism is unacceptable and cannot be tolerated. The institutional legacy of inequity and inequality must end.
Our Board of Directors and our Musical Director have only just begun the conversations and action-planning that should have been happening all along, focusing on how we can vocally be part of the solution rather than silently being part of the problem. We know that breaking down systemic racism in our community will require all of us to take action. We recognize that change will not happen overnight but we are committed to starting the work and continuing the work. We believe that if we all come together we can bring change, and we are motivated and energized by the opportunity.
To start,
We commit to listening to, and learning from, the voices of Black singers and other singers of color.
We commit to supporting Black composers and other composers of color by including their work in our future programs.
We commit to financially supporting young Black girls and other underrepresented young singers in their involvement in the choral arts.
We pledge to donate 15% of our 2019 concert season’s revenue to organizations that employ art and music to fight for social justice and against systemic racism.
We enthusiastically encourage you to support these amazing organizations alongside us.
LANGSTON: Dedicated to cultivating and showcasing Black brilliance in our community (https://www.langstonseattle.org/)
Seattle Music Partners: Cultivates a diverse and vibrant music-making community by providing youth with free music instruction and one-on-one mentoring to eliminate racial and economic barriers to quality music education. (http://www.seattlemusicpartners.org/)
Signed,
Rebecca Rottsolk, Artistic Director, and Mirinesse Board of Directors