by Louise Ziegler

Calliope celebrates the diversity of women and supports change toward freedom, justice and equality. The music we sing, who we sing it with, and who we sing for are chosen with these goals in mind. As a chorus, we continue to learn how to make this kind of change possible. We are committed to providing opportunities for our audiences to learn as well. Using our music, we strive to soothe hearts and stir spirits to provide strength along the way. Calliope concerts are often organized around a theme. Some past subjects have included peace, domestic violence, the survival of Native Americans after Columbus, ecofeminism, women in prison, and the wisdom and hope of generations. We frequently commission music reflecting our concert themes, supporting women composers and arrangers.

Visual arts can also form a part of a Calliope concert experience, and enhance the theme. We collaborated with photographer Gayla Ellis to celebrate Native peoples, and displayed the paintings of a chorus member celebrating nature. Calliope enjoys performing at community events. We have sung at GLBT Pride celebrations, Take Back the Night, benefits and celebrations for groups such as the Women's Cancer Resource Center, Chrysalis, and the YWCA among others.

Calliope has offered music at community gatherings such as a large rally against the Gulf War and the funeral of Brian Coyle, Minneapolis's first openly gay city council member. Calliope's collaborators reflect a wide range of musical styles, cultures and life experiences. We have worked with the Four Directions women's drum group, from Native American traditions. Women's Drumheart and Colleen Haas shared Brazilian samba styles with us. Last season, we performed a joint concert with Shades of Voices, the women's chorus at the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Shakopee. Because the women from Shades of Voices could not attend our concert in the community, we performed a joint concert at the prison, and included video footage of their set and our joint numbers in our concert.

We periodically have invited singers from the community to join us for portions of our concert. Past occasions for community choruses have included an "Inviting Community" concert with guest conductor Kim Hines, an intergenerational chorus (including the Rainbow Family Children's Choir) for the "Generations" concert, and anniversary concerts where past members are invited to join us on stage. When we collaborate with community organizations, we often provide tickets for their group members to attend the performance.

Calliope invites speakers to rehearsals to help us learn about the concert themes. Recently, we've heard about one of our member's experiences leading a women's support group in prison, about groups working with queer youth, about old lesbians organizing together, and families and friends of lesbians and gays. When singing songs from other cultures, we try to find speakers who can inform us about the language and context of the song. We also provide opportunities for community and audience members to learn about the concert themes and to take action. We've sponsored resource fairs at our concerts (tables in the lobby for ecofeminist groups); speakers (Sister Rita Steinhagen speaking about prison reform); separate community forums (a video showing on women, cancer and the environment, and a presentation on environmentally safe cleaning products); and a book drive for the Women's Prison Book Project. We also sponsor at least one training series per year for chorus members on topics related to oppression. In recent years, facilitators have helped us learn about transgender issues, ableism, and classism.

Learning how we can continue to improve our accessibility to all is an ongoing process that we are committed to as a group. All Calliope concerts and rehearsals are held in space that is wheelchair accessible for both audience members and performers. Calliope concerts are ASL interpreted for deaf audience members. Calliope rehearsals and concerts are held in smoke-free and scent-free spaces. Music and other Calliope materials are provided in Braille, on tape, or by email to blind members. Soothing hearts, stirring spirits and inspiring people to work towards a better world are all important and dynamic parts of Calliope's mission.