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Rarely does a music project encompass so many moving elements than the soon-to-be-released album, ‘Always by your side\u2019. Bringing together a diverse collection of songwriters, who took the time, energy, and compassion to hear the difficult traumatic stories of five courageous women, each of whom dared to rise and share their healing journey, serving as the basis for this important set of songs and performances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Friday, March 08, 2024, Chorus of Courage<\/span><\/a>, will present the emotionally charged and deeply moving stories and song, in concert at the National Arts in Ottawa. Tickets: https:\/\/nac-cna.ca\/en\/event\/35470<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cindy Doire, a registered psychotherapist, trauma-informed yoga teacher, somatic coach, gifted bilingual songwriter, and visionary creator of the project, explains. \u201cI think the impetus (for the project) is definitely creating a space where these stories can exist, that they can be held and heard. There is a retreat that we created initially to create that sense of trust amongst the songwriters, and storytellers and we had different facilitators, so we are intentionally engaging with these stories. In the healing process, we had to also choose the storytellers\u2014the survivors, ensuring that a lot of healing has to be done before we get to this place. And there were still layers, so many blind spots, it\u2019s not how to avoid triggers but how we move through them. So, we really tried to create a space where we are welcoming the entire spectrum of emotion, and together as a collective, can we try to make meaning from these experiences? Can we sit in the dark together with this and try to articulate ways through music\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n In June 2023, songwriters Alysha Brilla, Joni NehRita, Marcia Chum-Gibbons, Lisa Iwanycki, and Cindy Doire gathered in retreat at Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve with five invited survivors of sexual abuse and trauma- Heather, Denyse, Jaene, Lita, Michelle (last names withheld for privacy). <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAll of our survivors, all of our artists, all of our support people, we cover a range of gender identities and experiences and styles\u201d, points out Heather, a participant survivor from Huntsville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Coordinating with Muskoka and Parry Sound Sexual Assault Services and Timmins and Area Women and Crisis, survivors were selected who had the earned capacity not only to share their experiences but also the courage to participate in the publicity and further promotion of the project. These women who had endured unspeakable trauma specifically needed to be grounded in their own mental health and hard-won self-assurance to step forward to begin a process of acknowledgment for other women facing similar circumstances, inspiring them to find a healing power within themselves, in the steadfast recognition that they are not alone or forgotten. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Doire clarifies, \u201cWhat we really want to do with this album and this whole collective is we want to reach other survivors. These experiences are lived in isolation and this is a huge problem, you feel so alone and it distorts your entire reality and I think when you hear a song that maybe holds an aspect of your story you feel seen, you feel validated\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n From the initial songs crafted during the retreat, all written by female songwriters, Doire reached out to \u201csongwriting allies\u201d to fashion a call-and-response scenario whereas the songwriting\/storytellers’ call would be responded to by male counterparts as a continuum or ripple from the initial heartfelt understanding derived during the retreat. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is advocacy at the ground level\u201d, reveals Heather. \u201cIt\u2019s more than a music album, it\u2019s about amplifying survivor\u2019s voices, reaching out to survivors, and showing that collaboration and engagement can happen with our allies.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With songs and responses composed, the team now includes five male songwriters\u2014Brad Barr (the Barr brothers), Alex Millaire (Moonfruits), Mike Celia, Julian Taylor, and GR Gritt assembled at The Bathouse Recording Studio in Kingston. Produced by Sarah MacDougall with a host of session players, the songs were recorded and prepared for final release on Dare to Defy Records.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Denyse, a survivor from Huntsville, movingly describes the process of the song crafting and recording, \u201cWho am I\u201d, \u2018The Call\u2019 written by Marcia Chum-Gibbons, and \u2018The Response\u2019 Sweet Little Hummingbird written by Julian Taylor, \u201cit was wonderful because the shame, always comes into this, and when I was talking to her (songwriter Marcia Chum-Gibbons), I didn\u2019t see disgust; she looked at me like I was strong, and I started to feel strong, seeing myself through her eyes\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When Denyse heard the first single released from the album, \u2018Sweet Little Hummingbird\u2019, played to her from Taylor through a phone call, at the side of the road, \u201cthere\u2019s a part in the song where he sings, it was never your fault, I just started sobbing, I guess I just never realized that I need to hear that and hear it from a man\u201d. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Dear little hummingbird<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sweet little hummingbird<\/p>\n\n\n\n You are a lantern in this dim world<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\u2019ve been through things that I cannot fathom<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was never your fault, what happened<\/p>\n\n\n\n You carried unbearable pain that was never yours to burden\u201d – \u00a9Julian Taylor 2023<\/p>\n\n\n\n