Everyone can participate in making music together during the special March 2019 event: young and old, people of diverse abilities and backgrounds, people who love to sing and people who don’t think they can sing at all.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: In celebration of LiveConnections’ 10th anniversary season, the organization is dreaming big about accessibility and inclusion in Philadelphia. They’re creating a multimedia music extravaganza where everyone can participate in making music together. The Community Sing, which will take place on Sunday, March 10, 2019 at 3PM at Temple Performing Arts Center (1837 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA), is the culmination to two years of LiveConnections’ “A Song Everyone Can Sing” initiative.

At the Community Sing, renowned a cappella ensemble VOCES8 and local partner choirs will present the world premiere of a multi-faceted new choral work. This piece invites people with diverse abilities to participate through singing, movement, visuals and technology. Composer Jay Fluellen is writing the music, movement artist Shavon Norris is creating ways for bodies to participate, poet Daniel Simpson is collaboratively generating text with school and community choirs, and Drexel University’s ExCITe Center is using technology to visualize both sound and movement.

VOCES8 will also perform a selection of their repertoire spanning jazz, pop, folk and classical genres, and showcase their innovative “VOCES8 Method” which ties rhythm and sound to neurological development. The whole audience will be invited to join in the music-making, celebrating human ability and the joy of singing together.

Key partner choirs include Germantown Recovery Community, Northeast High School, Our Lady of Confidence Day School and Overbrook School for the Blind. These partners have collaborated with LiveConnections’ artists throughout the 2018-2019 season in generative workshops that have helped shape the final piece.

LiveConnections aims to create a welcoming concert experience for all guests. TPAC is ADA accessible, with an elevator and handicap accessible restrooms. The concert will be seated, with ample space for people using wheelchairs or mobility devices. The concert will not contain sudden loud noises or flashing lights. ASL interpretation, audio description and large print programs will be available.

Tickets to the event are only $1. However, advance registration is required at LiveConnections.org. Individuals and choirs are encouraged to join the event.

SERVICE DETAILS
LiveConnections Presents
A Song Everyone Can Sing: A Community Sing Featuring VOCES8
Sunday, March 10, 2019
3PM
Temple University Performing Arts Center, 1837 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia
Tickets: $1
Registration at LiveConnections.org

ABOUT VOCES8: “The singing of VOCES8 is impeccable in its quality of tone and balance. They bring a new dimension to the word ‘ensemble’ with meticulous timing and tuning” (Gramophone Magazine). The British vocal ensemble VOCES8 is proud to inspire people through music and share the joy of singing. Touring globally, the group performs an extensive repertory both in its a cappella concerts and in collaborations with leading orchestras, conductors and soloists. Versatility and a celebration of diverse musical expression are central to the ensemble’s performance and education ethos. Learn more at www.voces8.com.

ABOUT JAY FLUELLEN: Jay Fluellen, composer, is a Philadelphia-born musician known as a composer, college professor, educator, accompanist, pianist, singer, and organist/choir director. He is currently a teacher with the School District of Philadelphia at Northeast High School and an organist and choir director at the historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas. Performances: on January 14th, 2017, Fluellen accompanied Valerie Gay in three original compositions and three arrangements of music by Hannibal Lokumbe, on March 8th, 2017 his choral composition “O Send Out Thy Light” was performed by Philadelphia All City Choir at the Kimmel Center under the direction of Dorina Morrow, on March 19th, 2017 his Jazz Magnificat and Nunc Dimmitis was performed by the Philadelphia Cathedral Singers under the direction of Thomas Lloyd, and on April 8th, 2017 his commissioned work for the Germantown Poetry Project, Jan Krzywicki conductor, Linda Reichert artistic director, received its premiere, on November 8th, 2017 his commissioned music for the production Walk In My Shoes, Teya Sepunick; director, received its premiere.

ABOUT SHAVON NORRIS: Shavon Norris, movement artist, is an artist, educator and facilitator. As a dance maker, Norris’ work has been presented at Manhattanville College, The Philadelphia Live Arts and Fringe Festival, Temple University, The National Constitution Center, Art Sanctuary, Chester Eastside Ministries, the CEC, and at Joyce Soho.

ABOUT DANIEL SIMPSON: In 2017, Daniel Simpson and his wife, Ona Gritz, collaborated on two books. Finishing Line Press published a volume of their work entitled Border Songs: A Conversation in Poems last September. This January, Diode Editions released More Challenges for the Delusional: Peter Murphy’s Prompts and the Writing They Inspired, an anthology of prose and poetry, which Dan and Ona co-edited. Daniel Simpson’s collection of poems, School for the Blind, was published in 2014 by Poets Wear Prada. His work has appeared in Prairie Schooner, The Cortland Review, Beauty Is A Verb: The New Poetry of Disability, The New York Times, and elsewhere. The recipient of a Fellowship in Literature from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, he served, along with Ona Gritz, as Poetry Editor for Referential Magazine, an online literary journal, from 2013 to 2016. His blog, Inside the Invisible, can be found at www.insidetheinvisible.wordpress.com.

ABOUT DREXEL UNIVERSITY’S EXCITE CENTER: Drexel University’s ExCITe Center employs a novel multidisciplinary approach, bringing together design, technology, and entrepreneurship. Their mission is to inspire transdisciplinary research and discovery, connecting technology and communities. Learn more at drexel.edu/excite/.

ABOUT LIVECONNECTIONS: LiveConnections’ mission is to inspire learning and build community through collaborative music-making. LiveConnections is a nonprofit organization specializing in music education, arts accessibility and collaborative concerts. Since our founding in 2008, we have reached more than 38,000 participants through our educational Bridge Sessions and in-school residencies, and we have presented more than 45 concerts through our critically acclaimed LiveConnections Presents concert series. LiveConnections believes live music is an essential part of the human experience: it fosters joy and is one of the most powerful ways to build bridges between people. LiveConnections collaborates with artists from diverse music traditions to create our unique programming. We create opportunities for audiences with limited arts access — such as youth from Philadelphia public schools and people with disabilities — to be active participants in music-making. The music we create intersects with significant social issues, amplifying marginalized voices and encouraging creative responses to our world.