VocalEssence, Joe Davis and The New Renaissance honor Black History Month WITNESS: Reawakening Love, celebrating joy

Stories of struggle, resilience and celebration come to musical life through an exhilarating collaboration between VocalEssence and Minneapolisbased artist Joe Davis and The New Renaissance, an artistic production company that cultivates immersive experiences at the nexus of poetry, music and theater.

WITNESS:

Reawakening Love will be a powerful collaboration of these two artistic forces—one that will surround audiences with joy and harmony February 26 at 4 p.m. at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis and at an additional performance specifically for students.

The concert will stitch together stories from West African traditions, including the concept of Ubuntu, a West African concept that means “I am because we are.” The work will apply the philosophy of Ubuntu to the words and music the audience will hear, covering styles as wide ranging as soul, funk, jazz, gospel, hip-hop, and new choral octavos. And to further embody this sense of community, the audience will become part of the creation —each attendee receiving a piece of fabric to embellish, which will later be sewn into quilts to be unveiled at the 2024 Witness performance.

“Joe Davis is a frequent and brilliant collaborator with VocalEssence, possessing the perfect mixture of musical sensibilities, writing and performing skills to tell a story through words, movement, and music. We are excited to see how we can incorporate different musical textures from a funk band and solo singers, to a small and full choir,” says G. Phillip Shoultz, III, associate artistic director, VocalEssence. “We were seeking another way to engage with struggles in our community, particularly the Black experience — how to first define, and then reawaken love. We all must have our own vision for what it means to be loving, and how it begins with us. This concert marks the first year of a two-year artistic foray into love— in next year’s concert we will lead with love.”

“In 1991, VocalEssence created WITNESS to celebrate the artistic contributions of African Americans to the fine arts and to our common cultural heritage,” says Philip Brunelle, VocalEssence artistic director and founder. “We proudly continue this tradition with the newest WITNESS installment, ‘Reawakening Love.’ The music calls for the revival of love, the rebirth of peace, and the emergence of a community where violence ceases.”

“There is a synergy condition.

African Memory Loss Project ACER shows concern for immigrants who need dementia care and resources. It partners with families and the University of Minnesota’s LongTerm Care Projects (FLTC) for a better understanding of the

BikeMN ACER partners with BikeMN to offer community members an “adult learn-to-ride bicycle program.” Blacks and women mainly can look forward to this bicycle riding experience scheduled for the summer of 2023.

Housing Justice ACER’s belief is in “Empowering renters to between the public concert and the school concert—the two are closely related,” adds Shoultz. “Joe Davis’s book of poetry is the centerpiece—the schools have been reading them, and the teaching artists will create the workshops using those poems. The aim is to help kids understand what love is and how to talk about love, through creating music and performance together.”

“I’ve worked with VocalEssence Singers of this Age in the past, and truly enjoy this group’s energy and creativity—the way each singer is so invested in creating advocate for their right to safe and stable housing.” It organizes for residents living in apartments or townhomes to discuss the issues they face in their places of residence. Nonetheless, in matters of housing justice, ACER helps the residents take solid action till their demands are accomplished.

However, Minnesota African families are living in fear of eviction, as earlier discussed in the introductory community,” says Joe Davis. “I’m excited to partner together, and I appreciate so much the way GPS and VocalEssence bring people into a space together to engage on difficult topics. This will be a remarkable opportunity to use our gifts to influence change together.”

WITNESS:

Reawakening Love is from 4:00-6:30 pm on February 26, 2023, at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. Tickets, priced between $25 and $45, are available online now. For season tickets, details about the season, individual tickets and other information, please visit vocalessence.org.

Joe Davis, founder and director of The New part. Some individuals struggle with payment of the cost of housing while others face different rental issues.

However, how does ACER plan to bring housing justice to people of color in Brooklyn Park? With tenants and community partners, ACER works tirelessly to “advance policies that guarantee Just Housing for all community members.”

Also, the organization says, “With a $17.5 billion

WITNESS: Reawakening Love

Renaissance, is a nationally touring artist, educator, and speaker. His work employs poetry, music, theater, and dance to shape culture. Davis is also the frontman of emerging soul funk band The Poetic Diaspora, and co-creator of JUSTmove, racial justice education through art. He has keynoted, facilitated conversations, and served as a teaching artist at hundreds of high schools and universities across the country including most recently as Artist-inResidence at Luther Seminary where he earned a Master’s degree in Theology of the Arts.

VocalEssence, the choral organization Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones says “sings magnificently,” provides surplus, we have the resources to prevent eviction and keep families stably house.” How heartwarming this is, knowing there is a community organization giving immigrants a voice. Nonetheless, ACER offers some housing resources such as water and energy for free to the communities.

The Whole Idea ACER is a community organization giving the

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opportunities that draw upon the power of singing together to nurture community, inspire creativity, affirm the value of all persons, and expand the impact of choral music. VocalEssence was founded in 1969 and through its performance series has debuted more than 300 commissions and world premieres. VocalEssence Learning & Engagement programs help people of all ages bridge, create, and learn across cultures by connecting them with renowned choral experts to provide exceptional role models, grow community self-esteem, self-expression, and engagement. For more information, visit www. vocalessence.org.

communities of color in Minnesota a voice. It partners with different projects and programs to ensure the measures in place benefit the immigrants. Notably, as much as the issues ACER is currently working on (economic development, health equity, civic engagement, and housing justice) will revolve with time, they are confident that how they work will not change.

“The type of issues ACER works on will evolve, but the way ACER works will not.”