Peace of Heart Choir Performs 9/11 Concert
by Carrie Wesolowski
all photos by Frank Asencio
Under blue skies, we performed our 9/11 outreach concert last night--once again along The High Line at the Chelsea Market Passage—this time to commemorate the 18th anniversary of 9/11.
We had perhaps one of our largest audiences at this venue ever. I was welcomed by some friends from YAI as I arrived and of course, there were family and friends of choir members. As soon as we started to do a vocal warm-up, our audience started to form. Some stood, others sat, some took photos and videos on their cell phones. They ebbed and flowed, conducive to the configuration of our performance space and beyond. Even the pigeon flew in to take in a bit of our performance. There were thumbs-up from passersby, cheering, singing along and smiles all around…
The choir performs on The High Line park in New York City
Our maestro, René Galván, conducts the choir.
Rene would note the resonance of this setting which provided wonderful acoustics for our concert. We opened with our usual “Siyahamba/Shosholoza” combo. We offered hope and healing to our audience as we sang “Lift Us Up,” “Singing for our Lives,” “Give Us Hope,” “Hard Times,” “One Day,” and of course, our unofficial anthem, “Let There Be Peace on Earth.”
Peace of Heart Choir was formed after 9/11 to bring mutual understanding, peace, and healing. When we sang “Stand by Me,” the lyrics clearly epitomized that resilience and triumphant spirit shown by first responders and by all of us—standing together in the face of loss and tragedy: "I won’t be afraid just as long as you stand by me…"
Near sunset as the choir performs.
Looking out into the audience and sometimes catching a glimpse of the blue skies and the New York City skyline forever changed by that fateful day, we were the embodiment of that triumphant spirit. Our voices soared…
And we were standing together with our audience and with each other…
In Harmony,
Carrie Wesolowski, Alto 1