Giving Voice to Grief Series, Holding Joy and Sorrow

Join Lakewood Artist in Residence, Sarah M. Greer for "Giving Voice to Grief," an immersive sound and healing experience aligned with the changing seasons. Each one-hour singing session is bookended by a half hour at the beginning and end to transition in and out of the singing ceremony. Participants can arrive at 1:30 to help assemble the communal grounding space (altar) as a sound bath artist plays. All are invited (but not required) to bring a small item – i.e. a photo, book, plant, flower, name on a piece of paper, etc.) to add.

Once the space is made, the group will spend about an hour (2-3pm) singing and holding grief through music and songs. Sarah has a long practice of leading people in spontaneous song-making (Songtaneous) to meet the needs of the moment.

At the session’s close, participants are invited to help disassemble the communal space. In this way, participants who choose can practice allowing beauty and connections to form, holding them for a time and then releasing them.

This inspiring practice allows grievers to build community and learn to heal through song – together. Previous vocal or music experience is NOT required. Sarah says, “This is not about how well you sing – this is about being in community with other grieving bodies as they literally vibrate around you. This is singing and sounding for every body.”

About Artist in Residence: Sarah M. Greer

Based in the Twin Cities on Dakota homelands, vocalist Sarah M. Greer (www.sarahmgreer.com) has invented music on local and international stages. An avid singer and song carrier, she developed Giving Voice to Grief to help communities in the Twin Cities come together to hold and transmute our grief over local and global events. Sarah has led her song circle, Songtaneous, since 2006 and teaches singing at Minneapolis College as well as to private students. They are passionate, almost evangelical, about every person’s right to sing and about the power of singing to change the world.

About their project: Giving Voice to Grief

In Giving Voice to Grief, Sarah will host four seasonal singing workshops in Lakewood’s historic chapel, inviting the audience to sing through emotions of grief and loss. Each of the four events will have a different theme.

Location: Lakewood Memorial Chapel

This event takes place in the beautiful and historic Lakewood Memorial Chapel. This stunning building was built in 1910 by architect Harry Wild Jones and is modeled after the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul. It is one of the only examples of Byzantine style chapels in the US, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Click here for more information on the Lakewood Memorial Chapel.

About the Lakewood Heritage Foundation

The Lakewood Heritage Foundation is a proud sponsor of the Lakewood Artist in Residence program. The Lakewood Heritage Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization created to sustain Lakewood as a local treasure by supporting educational programming and the preservation and restoration of Lakewood’s landscape, art, architecture and public spaces—for the benefit of all.

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