Program areas at Refugee Choir Project
Community building: trc builds a welcoming and inclusive community through regular gatherings like our tuesday Choir rehearsals and our new wednesday night singing group. People of many cultures, backgrounds, and ages gather at Choir practices, make friends, assist with needs, and support each other by sharing challenges and triumphs that renew a sense of love, hope, and belonging. These gatherings serve as a critical resource for respite among many members while also elevating the quality of the Choir's performances. Three of our members recently joined the city of tacoma's commission for Refugee and immigrant affairs after finding their voice in the Choir.
Inspiring content: music videos and original songs bring to life the core concepts of hope, love, and belonging that trc promotes. Producing content also helps our Choir members experience a professional-level recording process and ultimately see their work broadcast widely in high quality formats. By using digital media platforms, trc can also collaborate with and support local filmmakers and recording artists while expanding access to our music. In 2022, trc invited hundreds of community members to help film footage for new music videos that will be produced and released in 2023.
Public events: events provide an important creative focal point for trc members and help to connect trc directly with the community. We hosted two major performances in 2022: the "heart of tacoma" festival, an outdoor festival that featured numerous community arts groups showcasing music, dance, and other types of performance, in addition to a trc performance. In december, we held our second annual "let there be peace on earth" concert. For that concert, we partnered with latinx unidos of the south sound to offer a multicultural event that celebrated the themes of home, refuge, and connection. Also in december, we received an invitation to sing at the wa governor's state of the state address in january 2023.