Karen shares stories of how gospel choirs can transform secular audiences and discusses her role with Choral Canada, Canada's largest choral organization, and how it's evolving to keep up pace with the times. Plus, she has a few ChoirFolk Jukebox picks that will get you on your feet!

Additional Links:

Karen Burke's Website

Toronto Mass Choir Official Site and YouTube Channel

ChoirFolk Jukebox Playlist Season Two:

Apple Music

Spotify

Yes, it's a thing! Canadian gospel has been uplifting and moving folks north of the border for decades with its own unique style. Choir director extraordinaire Karen Burke and host Clayton Dyck explore its origins, her family's rich musical legacy, and how her Toronto Mass Choir gets audiences moved, and gets them moving!

We're back! Host Clayton Dyck invites new guests to explore what makes community choirs tick and how singing together fosters joy, wellness and healthy communities worldwide. Season Two premieres September 23!

A lot has changed for Sarina and the city of Minneapolis in these past few months. Our previous guest returns to share an update on how the city's Singing Resistance movement stepped up during its recent ICE crisis, and how it went viral across the continent (including a Brandi Carlile concert!).

Additional Links:

Singing Resistance National Instagram Page

Singing Resistance Groups in North America

Singing Resistance Songbook

Weekend of Action Toolkit

ChoirFolk Jukebox:

Apple Music

Spotify

Dawn shares her approach to musical actvism, her longstanding love and concern for the Cuban musical community and how songwriting brings healing to parents in The Lullaby Project. Plus ChoirFolk jukebox picks from a real life radio host!

Additional links:

Official Dawn Pemberton site

Roots 'N' Wings Choir

Instruments of Change site

The Lullaby Project

ChoirFolk Jukebox:

Apple Music

Spotify

In the final episode of Season One (maybe...), Clayton greets the Dawn! Dawn Pemberton, that it, soulful staple of the Vancouver music scene. She and Clayton explore her musical evolution from a Kiss air band to choral leader and educator, and what makes her all-female choir Roots 'N' Wings unique.

Moira shares the evolution of her musical career, from a four-year-old songwriter to a mid-career "creative". She gives shout-outs to musician friends who she's loved to work with, who inspire her, and who she loves to listen to these days (including ChoirFolk jukebox picks, of course). And how sometimes meeting your heroes can be a good thing…

Songs featured on this episode:

Sing About It

Haiku - just released Feb 20 on Bandcamp and Youtube!

Refugee

Bellow

Bonuses!

Here's a video Moira just released post-interview for Keep On Going, written in solidarity with the Minnesota song resistance, and free for any music communities to sing!

For choral groups that love to "Bellow", here's a great choral arrangement of the song by Carrie Tennant.

Moira's ChoirFolk Jukebox picks can be found here:

Apple Music

Spotify

Moira's musical collaborators, friends and inspirations (and there are a lot!):

Laurie Anderson

Sarah Kirkland Snider

Sharon Nova

Tune-Yards

Sarina Partridge

Mamuse

Gaia Music Collective

Kate Smith

Kathy Bullock

What better place for self-described "creative weirdos" but the choir community! Internationally loved song leader, singer, and songwriter Moira Smiley shares how she elevates choirs and how they, in kind elevate her. She also shares two new "song babies" and the wisdom of knowing when to keep things simple.

Songs featured on this episode:

Bellow

We Are Timeless

Lay Me Down

New release "Haiku" now available on Bandcamp and Youtube - listen to a preview in Part Two!

What kind of a dog would a bass be? Clayton and his fellow basses discuss the important non-musical roles basses play in their choir, what's moved them lately in choir and how City Soul helps them through the rest of their lives.

They also share their ChoirFolk Jukebox picks!

Apple Music

Spotify

Let's see how low ChoirFolk can go... Clayton is joined by fellow City Soul basses Alan Pinvidic, Jon Scop and Bazil Graham share memories of being a young male singer, what makes a great bass choir community, and importantly, the "secret sauce" of a great bass sectional.