The Chorus
Who We Are
When we really examine kindness, we find it is a deep and abiding understanding
of how connected we all are.
of how connected we all are.
- Sharon Salzberg
What is powerful about a Resonance concert, writes one listener, is “the incredible sound, and that 100-plus voices are able to sing so that every word is heard. But then it is also about the joy in the faces of so many different women, and the confidence and beauty they exude as they sing. They are comfortable in their skins."
Resonance is 125 women who range in age from 20s to 80s. Most of us live in Boulder County, with contingents traveling from Estes Park, Fort Collins, Denver, and mountain communities.
Offering for the Fifth Anniversary of Resonance Women’s Chorus (2008)
We are a sound that was heard into existence.
An auditory vision predicated on an impossible premise.
Bring women together.
Women with hearts of singers.
Women who can’t sing.
Women who have sung since childhood.
Bring these women together
to share their songs
to share their stories.
Let life happen.
Allow the sound to mature in richness and texture with time
together.
A woman’s 60th birthday.
Her 65th birthday.
A baby’s birth.
That baby's brother’s birth.
None of us has died yet.
But our children have.
Bring us together
allow us to be women.
Watch as grief stands next to celebration which is one row behind
remorse and across the
stage from wisdom.
Creating a sound that accommodates the entire human experience.
We care creatively
with song and art.
As aging women.
As Elders.
As Peace Prize participant and professionals.
We adore each other.
And I don't wonder if I belong anymore.
I don’t search for home.
I have found what needs to be shared.
An admiration for impossible dreams.
Visions from wild imaginings.
Peace is possible.
Joy is available.
Listen for it.
- Sarah Wise, Resonance singer
An auditory vision predicated on an impossible premise.
Bring women together.
Women with hearts of singers.
Women who can’t sing.
Women who have sung since childhood.
Bring these women together
to share their songs
to share their stories.
Let life happen.
Allow the sound to mature in richness and texture with time
together.
A woman’s 60th birthday.
Her 65th birthday.
A baby’s birth.
That baby's brother’s birth.
None of us has died yet.
But our children have.
Bring us together
allow us to be women.
Watch as grief stands next to celebration which is one row behind
remorse and across the
stage from wisdom.
Creating a sound that accommodates the entire human experience.
We care creatively
with song and art.
As aging women.
As Elders.
As Peace Prize participant and professionals.
We adore each other.
And I don't wonder if I belong anymore.
I don’t search for home.
I have found what needs to be shared.
An admiration for impossible dreams.
Visions from wild imaginings.
Peace is possible.
Joy is available.
Listen for it.
- Sarah Wise, Resonance singer
Sarah says in the poem above that "none of us has died yet." Years have passed since this poem was written...and some of us have died. We honor and cherish the memories of: Janis Bohan, our second Organizing Maven, and singers Ro Bolen, Shirley Guenthner, Naomi Harris, Mary Schneider, Marian Birdow, Audrey LaFerlita, and Bev Todd.
Photo credit Jack Greene Photography