Peace of Heart Choir Closes Out the New York City Poetry Festival
By Carrie Wesolowski
Photos by: Frank Asencio and Carrie Wesolowski
We were Singin' in the Rain.....
Kind of like that old Gene Kelly tune but not exactly.....
Our accommodations were The Brinkley--well, that's what the banner read atop one of the three tents that mostly sheltered us from the rain as we did a 30-minute set to close out the New York City Poetry Festival on Governors Island on Sunday.
The small stage would not be big enough for us so three tents were furiously constructed by three young men and grouped together so we could have shelter and a makeshift stage while escaping the rain.
And so we braved the elements standing firm in soggy and muddy grass in the island’s tree-lined historic district of Colonels Row amidst the former officers barracks from which it derives it name characterized by stately 19th century brick and wood-framed homes.
We had rehearsed in the underpass shielded from the rain and our maestro and, I may add a New York City Poetry Festival featured poet, René had considered that as an alternative but ultimately, we held firm right in the middle of all of the action of the poetry festival which included live theater, site-specific artwork, poets reading their work, a beer garden tent, etc..
One of six Tree Chuangs by Artist Xinan Ran
Photo Credit: Carrie Wesolowski
As we sang several of our songs, I thought of how perfectly our songs fit in with our backdrop, particularly one of the six Tree Chuangs, site-specific textile sculptures I noticed when I entered Nolan Park designed by artist Xinan Ran and built by youth and Beam Center staff at Beam Camp City on Governors Island—a cylindrical textile ritual apparatus commonly used in Buddhism--the one that prominently featured words in black lettering such as "respect" and the phrase "Amor y Paz." We were at home as we performed Amani which means peace, Paz Y Libertad, Lead With Love featuring soloists Carrie and Nancy, Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World featuring soloist Gwyn, One Day with vocalists Amanda and Gary and our unofficial anthem Let There Be Peace On Earth featuring soloist Lis which several audience members sang along to. The rain seemed to increase in intensity as our musical performance progressed and by the time we reached the end of Let There Be Peace on Earth, that pitter patter of the intermittent rain had become steady and harder and yet the sounds of the rain could not drown out our voices or dampen our enthusiasm.
Soprano section singin’ in the rain.
Photo Credit: Frank Asencio
We took our bows--spaced out yet huddled under the three white tents. Our stay at The Brinkley was over, courtesy of Wilkes University--one of the events sponsors--and we emerged back into the elements. And there was a lull in the rain as we made our way back to the ferry. The island is only accessible by ferry so this was just the beginning of our journey home.
The weather gods had not been nearly as kind to us as they had at other recent Peace of Heart Choir concerts. But we overcame and rose to the challenge. I could feel that so strongly as we just stood there masked underneath the tents, the rain pouring down, singing a song of social justice, standing united Singing For Our Lives.
The event was after all "Rain or Shine," and despite the rain; we did shine.
In Harmony,
Carrie Wesolowski, Alto 1