About the Concert

Poetry and music go hand-in-hand. WomenSing is excited to announce that in honor of this year’s International Women’s Day, our chorus will be joining forces with four amazing literary artists. This event will include motivating and empowering women’s choral works, and readings by each spoken word artist / slam poet will be interspersed throughout the performance. After the performance portion, this event will continue and become an interactive experience we are calling, “In Her Own Voice.” Audience and singers may participate by contributing words and ideas that the poets will utilize and mold into powerful, improvised poetry. This promises to be a one-of-a-kind participatory experience.

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WomenSing’s music will highlight the coming of age poetry of Black writer, Lucille Clifton. Clifton’s poetry has been set to choral compositions by Gwyneth Walker, a prolific American composer beloved for her energetic, beautiful, reverent and, at times, playful music. These endearing pieces depict sisterhood and forge empowerment. The wielding of words is alive every day for our accomplished spoken word artists. Nazelah Jamison is a Bay Area-based performance poet, author, actor, vocalist and emcee and host of the Nomadic Press Virtual Open Mic every Friday on Zoom. Mireya S. Vela is a Mexican-American creative non-fiction writer, storyteller and artist in Los Angeles who tackles issues of inequity through her work. Brennan DeFrisco has been a National Poetry Slam finalist, and Grand Slam Champion of the 2017 Oakland Poetry Slam. He is a poet, teaching artist, editor and program coordinator serving K-12 classrooms and incarcerated youth. Allie Marini is a cross-genre Southern author of eleven poetry collections, fiction and essays, and a 2017 member of the Oakland National Slam team.

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Join WomenSing for Wielding the Word - one performance only - February 25, 2023, as we champion equity for all.