In September, we launched our 20th season by returning to our “birthplace” on Bleecker Street in the Winchester Park / St Jamestown neighbourhood in Toronto to host a celebration featuring a special performance by The Epic Choir.
The Epic Choir, one of our newest projects, is a Toronto-based choir proudly composed of trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, and genderqueer singers. The Epic Choir was formed as part of the 2023 iteration of two-time Dora Award nominated Trace, co-created by Tristan R. Whiston and Moynan King.
Today, November 20, is the 25th anniversary of Trans Day of Remembrance, a day where we mourn and honour the lives lost due to violence towards trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, and genderqueer people.
On November 13, The Epic Choir performed at the launch of Seneca College’s Trans Week of Awareness. Here is an excerpt from words shared at that event by choir director and RDA artistic co-director Tristan R. Whiston:
“Those who wish to sing always find a song”
– Swedish Proverb
Why do we sing?
We sing to express. To cope. We sing in solidarity. In protest. We sing for our suppers.
Studies have shown that singing for 30 minutes with other people releases a considerable amount of oxytocin into one’s system. Oxytocin – known as the “love hormone” – is a bonding chemical. A recent global study suggests that singing in large groups may have evolved separately from speech as a way to “encourage social cohesion, for community engagement or preparation for conflict…”
“If you sing alone in your shrine, the vibrations return to you as a reaction. But in community singing, what you have is not a reaction but a wave of vibrations. They enter into the atmosphere and purify the polluted air.”
– Sathya Sai Baba
As we mark Trans Day of Remembrance, a day to honour the lives lost this year due to violence directed towards trans and non-binary people, we acknowledge the increased backlash against trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit and genderqueer folks, a backlash especially focused on young trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit and gender-queer people, their health providers and educators. A backlash fueled as political campaigns around the world, including here in Canada, build platforms that specifically target transgender rights, paving the way for a permissible climate of hate.
So, yes, let’s sing together. Let’s create as much “love hormone” as we can. Let’s sing for “social cohesion”, for “community engagement.” Let’s sing in “preparation for conflict”, sing so hard-won gains don’t just disappear, and yes, let’s sing for those waves of vibrations to “purify the polluted air.” Let’s sing for remembrance of those who have gone before, for all of us who are still here and for all who are still to come.
– Tristan R. Whiston, Artistic Co-Director
***