Concert Reflection: We Dissent
All images in this post are by Rachel Hadiashar
On October 1, we kicked off our 14th season with “We Dissent,” a program featuring the treble voices of Resonance Ensemble with music inspired from recent court decisions. The choir revisited works from our 2019 concert “Women Singing Women” and brought new music to the program, creating a space that explored human rights and what it means when our right to choose gets taken away.
Please enjoy highlights from this special program.
“‘We Dissent’ was one of the most moving performances I’ve ever attended.”
From the top
Cecille Elliott opened the show playing guitar and singing, “This is the sound of one voice…”
(“One Voice,” by the Wailin’ Jennys)
Amy Stuart Hunn (left) joins Cecille on stage to add her voice.
Cecily Kiester (far left) arrives to complete the trio.
This is the sound of all of us.
Composer Stacey Philipps in the audience
We were thrilled to have composer Stacey Philipps join us for a performance of her powerful work, “Witch Trial,” featuring Emma Lynn Abrams as soloist.
Composer Mari Esabel Valverde in our hearts
When the Dust Settles by composer Mari Esabel Valverde (who visited Resonance in Portland just this past spring) offered a lush and celebratory work that featured the full range of the ensemble’s altos and sopranos, supported by a gorgeous piano accompaniment.
Poignant solo moments
Mezzo Sarah Beaty received rousing applause for her performance of “Three Words” from Laura Kaminsky’s opera As One. She was accompanied by pianist Hannah Brewer, who performed on several other pieces with Resonance Ensemble for this concert.
Soloist Sarah Beaty
Pianist Hannah Brewer
Remembering those we’ve lost
The first half closed with Ysaye Barnwell’s Wanting Memories, a song about yearning for those who have died and the wisdom they imparted. Accompanied by pictures of women who were lost over the last two years —including Resonance supporters Marilyn Crilley and Dinah Dodds — this moving tribute left a good portion of our audience (and staff, and volunteers, and performers…) in tears.
Resonance performs Wanting Memories by Ysaye Barnwell, with some singers singing in the balcony.
Personal testimony
Many of the performers, including Artistic Director Katherine FitzGibbon, shared vulnerable stories of pregnancy decisions, celebrating and defending bodily autonomy, and speaking truth to power.
Soprano Maria Karlin shared her struggles with depression and anxiety and then powered into her mind-blowing arrangement of Suzanne Vega’s Blood Makes Noise.
Performer Emma Lynn Abrams shared context on Stacey Philipps’ work, Witch Trial - including how some of the same stigmas towards self-sufficient women still exist today.
The reprisal of “LISTEN”
The featured reprisal of the 2019 Resonance Ensemble’s commission, LISTEN , was once again an audience favorite. Written by Melissa Dunphy, the work sets excerpts from the testimonies of Anita Hill and Christine Blasey Ford, both of whom shared accounts of sexual harassment and assault by two of the justices who later supported the Dobbs decision to overturn Roe v. Wade earlier this year. It provided yet another sobering reminder of the rights we are still fighting for today—and the persecution many face by speaking their truth.
The work continues, keeping hope alive
Jocelyn Hagen’s inspiring piece Starting Now, was the perfect way to end the day.
It reminded us that together, we continue to create a world where equality, agency, and bodily autonomy exist for everyone. We can only hope that the power of art will bring us closer to creating that world.
Open your eyes.
Feel your strength.
Bless the past.
Greet the future.
Join hands.
Right here.
Starting now.
THANK YOU!
It was a weekend filled with music and connection. Thank you to the performing artists who gave their hearts to this concert, to the composers who gave us the music, and to the supporters who came. Without all of you, we wouldn’t be here.
THE REAP INITIATIVE IN ACTION
Thanks to your support of the REAP initiative, we will soon be premiering the full concert. Join our mailing list and subscribe to our YouTube channel and stay tuned for more details.
A big THANK YOU to Alan Niven, who professionally recorded Sunday’s performance.
