"Rise Up" | One-Day Choir

WHAT IS A ONE-DAY CHOIR?

Gaia Music Collective's One-Day Choir series is an opportunity to sing in a choir for one day only. A celebration of song and the connective power of singing in harmony. An opportunity to build community, make some new friends, and raise our powerfully diverse voices as one.

No auditions. No commitment. No judgment or need for perfection.

Just the joy of creating something bigger than ourselves with a room full of beautiful humans!

For each choir, we pick a piece of music to rehearse and sing our hearts out to. In our time together, we'll:

• Play some fun singing games, warmups, & connection games
• Work through the piece section by section
• Break down the lyrics & emotions at play in the song
• Shape some key musical moments
• & Record some casual rehearsal videos of the piece - for our own memories, and maybe even to share with the greater Gaia community!

Whether you're a vocal ensemble veteran or have never sung in a group before, you are welcome here - all experience levels are valued in Gaia Music Collective!

OUR SONG THIS TIME AROUND

“All we need is hope, and for that we have each other…” The lyrics of this gorgeous Andra Day song truly speak for themselves. This song is a timeless anthem, singing of a commitment to braving life’s hardships in order to show up and support one another. That’s what community’s really about, and that’s what we’ll be singing & sharing about in this One-Day Choir. Singing a version arranged by Gaia’s founder Matt Goldstein, we will raise our voices high, singing: 

I'll rise up, I’ll rise like the day

I'll rise up, I’ll rise unafraid

I'll rise up, and I'll do it a thousand times again

And I'll rise up, high like the waves

I'll rise up, in spite of the ache

I'll rise up, and I'll do it a thousand times again

If you’ve never heard the song before, it’s well worth a listen. Check it out here:

PARTICIPATE IN A STUDY ON THE BENEFITS OF COMMUNAL SINGING

For this choir, we’re excited to be partnering with Energia’s Centers for Collective Healing, a research institute that exists in partnership with Howard University that is researching social neuroscience approaches to community health and group therapy. 

Here’s what they have to say:

“As polarization, violence, and cross-border tensions continue to rise around the globe, it is imperative that we find ways to diffuse conflict and work towards addressing large existential threats that threaten humanity and all of life on Earth.

The power of the human race is contained in its capacity for large scale group coordination — when humans are properly synchronized they are able to solve seemingly impossible challenges. The study of group dynamics is relatively new as is the field of computational social science. The Center for Collective Healing, a decentralized research institute with hubs at Yale and Howard University is leading this burgeoning scientific field and is currently studying group practices such as singing, dance, psychedelic assisted therapy, drum circles, and multimodal languages, to better understand what "tools" we have to help humans solve our biggest challenges.

We are excited to be working with the Gaia Choir to better understand the effects of the choir on participants and hope that this first study will lead to many more investigations of the power of group singing on human coordination.”

https://www.energia.co/ecch

LEARNING THE MUSIC

Sheet music and vocal recordings of each part will be available as learning resources at least a week before the event, to accommodate multiple ways of learning. These resources will either be included in your order confirmation or sent out in an email!

The intention is for us to come into the gathering having already familiarized ourselves with the parts, so that we can spend our time together really diving into the joys of connection and expression in the music rather than simply teaching parts one by one. That being said, we’re just doing this for ourselves, so there’s no need to stress over it (and definitely no need to memorize it or get it “perfect”, ever)! It’s also often easier to sing in person, when the rest of our part-buddies are singing the part with us. The community is here to support! Our primary intention here is simply to have fun and make some great music.

(If this style of learning isn't your cup of tea, we have other group singing events where you don't need to prepare at all! Check out our CircleSinging gatherings and House Shows.)

LED & FACILITATED BY:

This session will be facilitated by our amazing Founder and Lead Facilitator, Matt Goldstein.

Matt Goldstein (he/him) is an award-winning arranger, facilitator, improviser, songwriter, and educator who is known for his emotive vocal arrangements, soulful singing, heart-forward facilitation, and visionary leadership. After making waves in the a cappella scene as music director of The Vassar Devils and Hyannis Sound, he went on to found Gaia Music Collective, a collaborative music community that is achieving international recognition for its work in creating kind, connective, accessible spaces for musical play & expression. He currently serves as Gaia’s Co-Director and Lead Facilitator, while also performing as an improviser & singer-songwriter, directing at A Cappella Academy, leading Rock Voices (a community pop-rock choir), and teaching vocal improv intensives through Flow Labs.

PHYSICAL ACCESSIBILITY:

• 2 story walk down to the basement with handrails.
• Narrow doors & walkways.
• Limited seating available (metal folding chairs)
• Uneven walkways outside.
• Bathroom is not wheelchair accessible (narrow stall, low toilet).

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LOW-PRESSURE PARTICIPATION

Gaia Music Collective events are participatory, but low-pressure. You'll be invited to sing along and make music with us, but we encourage you to draw your own boundaries and engage at your own pace - we pride ourselves in creating a judgment-free community where you can express yourself however feels right!

LATE ARRIVALS

We ask that you arrive no later than 30 minutes after start time, after which we close the doors (lovingly) in order to preserve the intimacy and trust of the musical container we’re building. Thank you for understanding!

CANCELLATION POLICY

Tickets are refundable up to 24 hours before the event, after which we are no longer able to offer refunds. This policy helps us keep these events financially sustainable for both our community & our team. If you RSVP but are no longer able to come, please let us know so that we may offer your spot to someone else! We want as many people to be able to experience these gatherings as possible, and since capacity is limited, each spot is precious.

For more info, contact us at [email protected].

MEDIA CONSENT

Because we want to share what we’re up to with people who can’t join us in person, there may be photographers and videographers present — by attending, you consent to being a part of that media, some of which may be posted online! If you have any questions or concerns, please email us at [email protected].

NO ONE TURNED AWAY FOR LACK OF FUNDS

Gaia is funded by sliding scale ticket donations, with a “no one turned away for lack of funds” policy. It is of the utmost importance to us that these events remain affordable and accessible - we never want money to be a barrier to making music together. If a ticket scale is financially prohibitive to you, feel free to donate outside of the scale at whatever amount is sustainable for you, or to email us at [email protected] for volunteer opportunities or assistance!

OUR MISSION

Gaia Music Collective is an NYC-based creative community seeking to foster a more connected world through collective music-making. Founded in June of 2021 in a living room in Brooklyn, this project was born out of a desire to create accessible, inclusive, playful spaces for people to explore connection, expression, healing, & release through collaborative song - spaces where folks feel empowered to make music free of judgment or expectation, and to make new friends as our full, beautiful, authentic selves.

We believe that communal music-making is a fundamental human practice, and this project seeks to build spaces for folks to nurture their relationship to music, whether they're shower singers, professional musicians, or anything in between.

All are welcome in this community. Gaia seeks to foster spaces of belonging for humans of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, classes, religions, abilities, national origins, languages, and musical experiences. All we ask is that you bring an open mind, a desire to connect, and a willingness to leave judgment of self & others at the door.

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Host or Publisher Gaia Music Collective