Performing Arts

Celebrate Womansong’s 30th Anniversary at DWT

Debbie Nordeen, artistic director. Photo by Diane Hammar

By Natasha Anderson

Womansong, Asheville’s largest and longest-running women’s community chorus, presents Still We Rise on Saturday, October 7, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 8, at 3 p.m. at Diana Wortham Theatre. The concert, named after a beloved Maya Angelou poem, is a celebration of the chorus’ 30th anniversary and of the many ways music enriches lives. The program features songs of empowerment including Annie Lennox’s Sing, Lady Gaga’s Born This Way, and Going Home, a version of the largo from Dvorak’s New World Symphony. Puppetry, dancing, humorous songs, a swing band and audience favorites from Womansong’s three decades of performing are also part of the lineup.

“Our listeners love the accessibility of the songs we sing, which are chosen to really touch hearts, uplift spirits and unify community,” says Womansong’s artistic director Debbie Nordeen. “We include a number of audience participation pieces, which adds to the collective experience of our music.”

Still We Rise will be Nordeen’s last concert with Womansong before retiring from her 23-year position as artistic director. As the chorus moves forward next year under the direction of Althea Gonzalez, it will expand its emphasis on diversity and inclusion within its musical repertoire and its membership. “Womansong believes that accepting and respecting individual differences enriches us, our music, our community and our world,” says Gonzalez. “Using music as a vehicle for social justice and unity, we will strengthen our commitment to human rights.”

Diana Wortham Theatre is located at 18 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. Tickets are $22 through September 25 and $25 thereafter. They are available from Womansong members and from the Diana Wortham Theater box office. Learn more at womansong.org.

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