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A time of adjustment

A conversation with Harriette Chandler

VEER MUDAMBI

State Sen. Harriette Chandler has seen a lot in her 26 years representing the 1st Worcester district in the state Legislature, but she’s never seen anything like what she’s seen this year, and it’s taken a lot of adjustment.

“COVID has introduced us to the world of Zoom. I never used it before and now I can’t live without it,” said Chandler, who is serving her 10th term, and is currently running unopposed for re-election. Where once her entire staff worked essentially in one room, now they not only are in separate rooms but separate houses and towns, keeping in touch with weekly Zoom meetings.

The new way of conducting business on Beacon Hill also took a sizable adjustment period. The informal lines of communication that legislators have come to rely on — quick conversations in the hallways, whispered comments during meetings or impromptu coffees — are not coming back anytime soon. “It’s been difficult,” Chandler admitted, “but we’ve all adjusted very well.”

The acclimation was borne of necessity, as every senator and representative has three major issues to contend with — the COVID crisis itself, the ongoing budget discussions, and whenever they get a spare moment, any work they were doing before the crisis. The three intersect more often than not, as COVID has exposed many existing problems such as in housing and healthcare, two issues that Chandler has been fighting for over much of her career.

Housing, transportation and healthcare, especially women’s, are among her primary goals during her current term as well as her upcoming 11th term. “We’ve discovered that pro-women public policy will not be passed unless we do it ourselves,” Chandler said, citing her first piece of legislation as a senator that allowed women to stay in the hospital for 48 hours after having a baby.

Amid the COVID-related debates, the question of police brutality and racial justice erupted this past summer, and every lawmaker has had to take a stand — Chandler is no exception. “(Constituents) asked me to fight for change and I have to listen to that.” While she does not support defunding the police, she is part of the call for accountability. “(Police) carry a gun, they can kill people.” The power to take life is a unique position in society that requires police be held to a proportionally higher standard, Chandler said. With this in mind, in July she voted in support of a bill that furthered this goal through judicial reform.

Fighting for equity is nothing new to Chandler — as a woman in politics she has been in an uphill battle her whole career — though the path has gradually become less steep. She recalled how when she started out in politics, a woman couldn’t get a bank account unless her husband co-signed it. While society has come a long way since then, there is more to be done as women still face many barriers to entry in politics. “We need to see more Black and brown women running, women are 51% of the population and we should be heard,” she emphasized. “Men can graduate high school and college and decide to just run,” but for women, the glass ceiling is still very much a fixture as far as she is concerned. Breaking it can be a daunting task, so much so “that (women) say ‘maybe not now’ — I didn’t run for a long time because I said ‘maybe not now’ but it is now.”

Senator Harriette Chandler listens in February as commuters explain the effects the Worcester transitional services office moving out of downtown has on their lives.

Unity Radio’s Manny Alvarado to be honored by Amplify Latinx SUBMITTED PHOTO

VEER MUDAMBI

Lifelong Worcester resident Manny Alvarado will be recognized as a “2020 Amplifier” Oct. 15 at this year’s Latineando, an annual event hosted by the group Amplify Latinx. The organization works to advocate for Latinx communities across Massachusetts, and the Latineando, which will be held virtually this year, honors leaders who have made exceptional contributions.

Alvarado never expected to be one of the honorees, but over the last year his work with Unity Radio has helped Worcester’s Latinx voices be heard, acting as a literal amplifier. His “Unity in the Community — On Location” radio specials focused on events not covered by the traditional local media, but which were important to neighborhood residents.

“People really appreciated that I showed up and drew attention to all the good happening in the community,” said Alvarado, and before long, he found that people were counting on his being there with his iPad and microphone. These neighborhoods, especially the poorer ones, had previously gone unnoticed, or when they were in the news, it was often in the context of a crime story. “Unity in the Community” provided a voice with which to challenge that narrative.

If he was asked a few years ago what he would be doing, Alvarado would have been unlikely to respond “radio.” When a friend brought him behind the scenes of Unity Radio, he met Executive Producer Ernie Floyd. Alvarado impressed Floyd, who invited him aboard as a producer. His first order of business was to make sure the show lineup reflected the diversity of its audience — hence “Unity in the Community” taking a broad scope to include all of Worcester. However, he holds Latin American heritage close to his heart and felt a responsibility “to make sure we are heard using the platform that I had.”

Born in Worcester, Alvarado spent his childhood in Great Brook Valley, living in a mix of state and federal subsidized income housing. He remembers a great deal of turmoil in the community, especially with the police, during the ’80s and ’90s. His mother was an activist who “wanted to make a difference” for underserved communities and was a huge influence on Alvarado.

Alvarado’s goal is to bring awareness and education to the community by bringing kids off the street, by mentoring young men, helping them get a GED and put together resumes. “We want to encourage our youth, mentoring, motivating and making sure they have the tools to succeed,” he said.

While recent incidents of violence from law enforcement have shocked the country, Alvarado is familiar with police brutality. As a child, he remembers seeing people being beaten by the police, and as a young man, he says he was racially harassed in college and pulled over by the police for no discernible reason.

The result was an underlying fear of the police and he worries that the Latinx youth he works with will be in the line of fire. He tries to remind his mentees that “white supremacy isn’t as much about the color of your skin as it is your background, name culture.”

The current social tensions and atmosphere have definitely “motivated and inspired” Alvarado. He knows

from his life experiences that fostering bonds between people of different backgrounds will encourage them to fight for each other as well as fight for change, so he sees his work as investing people in each other. “Whatever happens to one side will matter to the other side and we’re only here for less than a 100 years, which is a blink of an eye in the lifetime of the Earth so we have to come together, not spend it being hateful.”

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Nashville native lends a powerful voice to Worcester’s classical music scene

RICHARD DUCKETT

Worcester to Nashville is usually the journey you hear about from aspiring singers, especially if they’re going country. Christon Carney, however, has done it the other way. Originally from Nashville, he is now making his mark on the Worcester cultural scene as a singer, artist, teacher and advocate.

Being a classical tenor and opera singer led him to these parts. “I grew up being exposed to a lot of gospel music. Classical music came into my life around middle school, and I’ve loved it ever since,” Carney said.

Graeme McCullough, organist and director of music at All Saints Church, is glad that Carney is here and now the lead tenor of the All Saints Choir.

“He is generous, kind and empathetic. And, oh my, what a voice!” McCullough said.

After graduating from Lipscomb University in Nashville, Carney went to the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he earned a master’s degree in vocal performance, with emphasis on vocal pedagogy. Afterward, “I decided I wanted to stay around.” But simply put, “I couldn’t afford Boston.”

Boston’s loss was Worcester’s gain.

“I’ve enjoyed it here ever since,” Carney said. “I love Nashville. It will always be my home-home. I call Worcester my home away from home.”

He’s become involved with much that’s been happening here culturally and socially, and was photographed by the Telegram & Gazette leaping across one of the “T” letters while participating in the painting of the Black Lives Matter mural outside the DCU Center in July.

“I thought it was a great opportunity,” he said of the mural event and the way it had come together. “I’m also a visual artist. It was a great opportunity to be involved with other artists. I thought it was a beautiful time.”

Asked if he finds Worcester welcoming, Carney said, “I do but I think it depends on where you are in the city and who you’re talking to. I’ve been grateful, but the city isn’t perfect. There are some hurdles to jump through, but I’m willing to work to make the community accessible to even more people.”

Back in his “home-home,” Carney said, “Nashville has just been blown up so much. It’s not even ‘there’ anymore. It’s become so gentrified it just doesn’t feel like it used to.”

However, “A lot of things I saw in Nashville before it become a tourist destination I’m seeing in Worcester. I definitely see a strong arts community and an opportunity for musicians to come together and be heard when they normally wouldn’t be.”

Carney said one of the reasons he wanted to attend the New England Conservatory of Music was because Coretta Scott King had been a student there when she met her future husband, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. She was a singer who often incorporated music into her civil rights work.

“I wanted to be in the same halls and study in the same building that she did,” Carney said.

Meanwhile, Carney’s voice was getting recognized. He has received numerous grants and scholarships and won competitions including the Orpheus Vocal Competition, Altech Vocal Competition and Harlem Opera Theater Competition. Carney has performed with the Nashville Opera, the New England Conservatory Opera program, the Nashville Symphony, Nashville Opera, Rhode Island Civic Orchestra and Chorale, and premiered several independent operas and orchestral works in principal roles across the country. He performs regularly with Boston Lyric Opera.

“Chris joined the All Saints Choir in 2018, although we had previously worked together on one of the choir’s regular trips to sing in Boston,” McCullough said. “It was obvious from the start that he has a rare talent. Chris is a tremendously charismatic singer who sings with great understanding. His ability to communicate the meaning of the text is found in only the best singers. People don’t always realize that singers — and this is as true for choirs as it is for soloists — perhaps spend at least half of their practice time dealing with the text; how to express sadness, joy, hope,

consolation etc. by the subtle stresses on certain words and syllables. Chris has an intuitive grasp of this, and I think this shines through in his personality.”

Carney has also worked with Mark Mummert, cantor at Trinity Lutheran Church.

Recently, Carney performed a 15-minute video concert for the Music at Trinity series singing four poems by Langston Hughes set to music by Jean Berger in 1951. Each song explores the themes of love — both realized and not. Mummert accompanied on the piano.

“Christon’s offering of Four Songs with poetry by Langston Hughes and music by Jean Berger was the perfect way for Music at Trinity to begin our season in this time of the coronavirus pandemic,” Mummert said. “In the video concert, available on YouTube, Christon sang with great expression these seldom performed works. Christon’s deep love for American songs, but also song literature from marginalized composers and poets, was a perfect fit for our series at this time. Christon has helped us continue our desire to present both repertoire from the best of our inheritance and repertoire that is fresh and new, challenging us to hear and see the world differently because of the art.”

Carney also teaches voice at Pakachoag Music School of Greater Worcester and has been executive development assistant at Mechanics Hall.

A video of Carney portraying Frederick Douglass on the Great Hall stage (where the abolitionist actually spoke) was played at the recent annual meeting of the Worcester County Mechanics Association (which owns and operates Mechanics Hall).

Kathleen L. Gagne, executive director of Mechanics Hall, also spoke very highly of Carney, but noted that he is “regrettably, furloughed at this time.” Because of the pandemic, Mechanics Hall is currently closed for in-person live public events.

Carney said he is looking forward to returning to work there when circumstances allow.

“I would love to. I’ve not only fallen in love with Worcester, I’ve fallen in love with Mechanics Hall. I wanted to be part of something bigger than myself and Mechanics Hall seemed a perfect fit,” he said.

“Mechanics Hall — it’s incredible the performers that have come through there.”

COVID-19 has similarly affected the performance world that Carney sings in.

“No one’s sure what’s to come. It’s very hard to feel that your career will be sustainable, but it’s brought a lot of musicians together,” Carney said.

“I definitely have a lot of aspirations. Opera is going to be number one, but having an opera career is something that not a lot of people can sustain so I want to pursue opera while being an arts advocate, administrator and teacher. It’s becoming more common that teachers are still performers.”

Carney said he is networking with other classical musicians, organizations and choruses in Worcester and started a small Facebook group.

“I’m trying to get involved in some community outreach with music — especially classical music. I’m hoping to make the music more accessible to young people and get people involved from other nationalities who haven’t been exposed to the music,” he said.

“Just in my time here so far I’ve witnessed a lot of potential. I’m hoping 2021 will be year for promoting performances.” MCU CHECKING...

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