Peace of Heart Choir Performs at
CAMBA Park Slope Women’s Shelter
and the National Museum of the American Indian
By Carrie Wesolowski
Photos by Frank Asencio and Carrie Wesolowski
How does Peace of Heart Choir follow-up its fabulous Winter/Holiday Benefit Concert “Sing Joy?”
By continuing to sing joy at two very special and meaningful performances—one at the CAMBA Park Slope Women’s Shelter and the other at the National Museum of the American Indian.
CAMBA Park Slope Women’s Shelter
The choir performs at CAMBA with a Winter wonderland backdrop.
(Photo: Frank Asencio)
First up on December 12, it was such a wonderful evening performing at the CAMBA Park Slope Women’s Shelter as part of their 23rd Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Housed in the castle-like Park Slope Armory, its military statues, flags, and display cases bear witness to its history as the headquarters for the 14th Regiment of the New York State militia.
The sign, “Park Slope Veterans Center,” is perched atop the ceiling of the lobby, which was decked out in full holiday regalia with icicle lights and mobile snowflakes cascading from the ceiling. Two opulent holiday trees with gold and silver ornaments and white lights flanked each side of a winding wooden staircase, which led upstairs to CAMBA’s 100-bed shelter. Cookies and hot cocoa helped warm up those in attendance from the chilly weather outside.
Holiday lights surround the “Park Slope Veterans Center” sign outside the Park Slope Armory, home to CAMBA.
(Photo: Carrie Wesolowski)
The program—comprising speeches, spoken word, and performances—began with welcomes from the Program Director and the CAMBA CEO, which were followed by spirited dance performances, speeches by local politicians, and gratitude and hope in the form of moving poetry from the shelter’s resident poets.
When the time came for musical performances, the Brooklyn Women’s Chorus sang first. We followed them closing out the musical part of the ceremony.
Against a splendidly magical and quintessentially holiday winter wonderland backdrop, we took our places and sang to a full house. Our multicultural, multi-generational audience—numbering close to 150—included families and babies in strollers.
Our maestro, René, reading our audience, made a last minute repertoire change, and started us off with Siyahamba/Shosholoza. It proved to be a particularly astute decision as the audience loved the beat, the spirit, and the enthusiasm. In tune with the uptempo piece, the audience rocked in their seats, smiling and clapping to the music.
Our voices soared, buoyed by the space’s lovely acoustics, as we continued with African Noel and concluded with a heartfelt Let There Be Peace on Earth.
After we took our bows to enthusiastic applause, some audience members regaled us with thank yous. As we walked back through the crowd, others mentioned that we sounded beautiful.
“Thank you for performing at our ceremony! It was a pleasure having you guys and hope to collaborate in the future again.”
After our performance, some of us walked outside to witness the culmination of the ceremony—the tree lighting itself.
The countdown started: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…and voilà, the multi-colored lights on the tree lit up the arch of the building with a bright splash of color.
The “Doughboy” statue outside CAMBA bears witness to the building’s past.
(Photo: Carrie Wesolowski)
White lights outlined the top and sides of the building. At the building’s front, the bronze sculpture of the World War I “Doughboy”—a memorial to soldiers lost—bore witness to its past even as we and others, together, on this day, bore witness to its transformation to a women’s shelter.
One of the shelter residents reflected that idea of transformation in her moving poem “Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.” She shared who she was in the past and described her evolution from that person to one who has respect for her life and hope for a bright future. Her life’s journey seemed to embody the CAMBA motto, ”Where you can.”
After the performance, the choir received the following message from Daisy Tan, Recreation Coordinator at CAMBA Park Slope Women's Shelter:
“Thank you for performing at our ceremony! It was a pleasure having you guys and hope to collaborate in the future again.”
The feeling was mutual. What a blessing to perform for CAMBA, and we look forward to singing for them again!
National Museum of the American Indian
The choir performs in the rotunda of the National Museum of the American Indian in New York City.
(Photo: Frank Asencio)
Our last performance of the month was a very special performance on December 19th at the National Museum of the American Indian.
We performed just outside the museum in the inner circle of the magnificent elliptical rotunda of the Alexander Hamilton US Customs House. The domed rotunda features murals on the ceiling that depict explorers and trace the course of a ship.
Singing in a National Historic Landmark—one of the most majestic Beaux Arts buildings in New York—it’s easy to understand how the space lends itself to lovely acoustics, something our maestro, René, noted as we prepared to sing.
As we rehearsed, our audience began to gather, as a small group formed sitting in the small sofas that lined the center of the rotunda. A family gathered front and center with two children sitting on the floor in front.
Our program began with odes to Native American heritage and culture: a performance piece featuring an ocean drum, a buffalo drum, and an indigenous land acknowledgment.
We continued with the sounds of a Native American flute and guitar, which filled the room with a sweet reverence and an expansive calm.
Our voices soared as the choir opened with Cherokee Morning Song, performed as a round. Morning Song is sung in ancient Teehahnahmah and features Amazing Grace in Cherokee.
We continued with our usual opening of Siyahamba/Shosholoza.
There were sing-along songs too: One Foot/Lead with Love; Oh, I Woke Up This Morning; Singing for our Lives; and Lift Us Up.
We also performed several songs from this season’s repertoire—the lovely N’ia Gaire Que Auvit, sung in ancient French, the up tempo African Noel, and the classic Over the Rainbow/Wonderful World.
32 choir members performed a full set of more than a dozen songs.
(Photo: Frank Asencio)
As we sang, audience members continued to gather and watch on the outskirts of the rotunda with one young woman smiling from ear to ear as we sang.
After we performed our last two songs—One Day and Let There Be Peace on Earth—and took our bows, it felt as if we had just completed another Benefit Concert. Thirty-two choir members had performed 13 songs in addition to several selections tailored to our setting.
According to Cass Gilbert, the architect of the National Museum of the American Indian, a public building should reveal the “imponderable elements of life and character.” The space in which we performed does just that and our music seemed the perfect complement to Gilbert’s sentiment. There seemed to be a clarity, tranquility, and strength to our performance that was revelatory and true to the space.
Happy New Year!
We are looking forward to another year of making beautiful music together!!
In Harmony,
Carrie Wesolowski, Alto 1