Global Voices Choir is an informal way to practice English, make new friends and enjoy music from around the world. No experience with singing or English is required.

Preschoolers are welcome!

Thursday, 12:00 to 1:00 PM
11713 - 82 Street

For more information, please call Judy Sillito at 780-423-9676

Global Voices Choir

In 2006, people from two civil society organizations, ASSIST Community Services Centre and Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers (EMCN), came together to form the Brown Bag Community Choir. Since then, the choir has met weekly, with participants being largely drawn from staff and people involved with services at EMCN and ASSIST, as well as the Vietnamese Canadian Friendship Society. Countries of origin represented by choir members include China, Sudan, Japan, Mongolia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Iran, El Salvador, Mexico, India, Congo, Pakistan, Switzerland, Korea, Russia and Canada. The choir is not only multi-cultural but multi-dimensional. People are not only of different cultural backgrounds, but have diverse ages and socioeconomic status.

The vision of the choir is to support literacy through folk songs from around the world and to celebrate immigrant stories through song. In 2007, a collaborative project was undertaken to showcase stories of immigrants through mixing the media of poetry and music. The choir was featured at the Winspear in 2007 at the Cultural Capital Gala, and has since gained notoriety in the wider Edmonton comminty. With this notoriety also came a change in name to Global Voices Choir. The choir is currently under the direction of Elaine Mann with support from Judy Silito and Suzanne Gross.

Supported by Edmonton Community Adult Learning Association.