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After the COVID pandemic closed schools, and her classes of elementary students dissolved into online coursework, Lift the Spirit Cville's Director Ashlynn felt called to bring voices together to feel real vibrations in the body in real time.
Singing in harmony with other voices has always lifted her spirit more than anything else, so when Ashlynn decided to start a community choir, she called it "Lift the Spirit."
Within a few weeks of reaching out to singing friends in the Boulder/Denver area, two co-leaders joined Ashlynn in founding the first group, Roy Willey and Kathleen Hooper. They started rehearsing in the fall of 2021.
That choir is still going strong in Colorado and is now in its 12th season! Co-leaders Marisa Kinsley and Elle Logan have stepped up and made Lift the Spirit Choir Denver a truly powerful collective of singers in community.
When Ashlynn moved to Charlottesville, VA, in 2022, with her husband Kevin Teng, she had a vision of creating that same magic in Virginia, and the Charlottesville chapter began in 2024.
Voices Rising
Voices Rising
Voices Rising is a monthly public singing event, founded on the belief that singing together can create powerful change, and that songs themselves are tools we all can carry. As Sarina Partridge of the MN Singing Resistance writes, we
"imagine a world where singing is deeply woven into everyday life: helping us do our work, show up and care for each other, do things we are afraid to do, and feel all of our feelings with our whole bodies... Singing can help us be together in courage, in our fear, in our grief."
Join us in community singing while we learn songs of this moment together. It is not about perfection or performance. These are songs that are being written now, as well as songs from singing movements of the past. When we sing about our values, we co-create the future.
Every second Friday of the month, 7:00- 8:30pm
Trinity Episcopal Church, 1118 Preston Ave, Charlottesville
The Wonderground is a singing activism cohort that calls itself a "cultural test kitchen dedicated to wondering well using convivial contemplayful practices."
Based in Charlottesville, the Wonderground sings at rallies, demonstrations, and vigils, and has collaborated with groups like Indivisible, Keep Caring Together, and other local activists.
The group propagates uplifting songs to generate communal wonder, rapport, and resilience, and is an offshoot of another Charlottesville-based group, Songtuary.
Park Street Christian Church generously hosts Lift the Spirit Cville every week.
Park Street is a dynamic faith community celebrating inclusivity and individuality, creatively responding to the needs of our community through acts of justice, peace, and love. Park Street is fully open and affirming of the LGBTQ+ community.
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