The Kettle Choir
Research shows that arts programs help individuals who have been stigmatized and isolated by mental illness regain visibility and rediscover their voices. This is exactly what our Kettle choir program seeks to do: create space for people to use their voices!
The weekly choir sessions offer:
A safe space to express yourself musically
A place to create lasting friendships
An opportunity to connect to support services
The start of The Kettle Choir began in 2015 as a collaboration with the Vancouver Opera with debut performance, Requiem for a Lost Girl.
With a donation to the Kettle, you can support the continued growth of this program!
“This choir has changed my life. I look at myself in a new way.”
-Kettle choir member
To Begin Again
The impact of COVID-19 and the public shut down in March 2020 had a devastating impact on the members of the Kettle Choir and Writing Guild, Vancouver Opera’s longtime community partner. As stated by one of the participants, their voices need to be heard more than ever as society comes to terms with our new reality.
On March 16th, 2020, the weekly choir rehearsals and writing workshops were cancelled. For those living with mental health conditions, the routine of weekly rehearsals provides a sense of stability and accountability to others. When rehearsals were abruptly cancelled, the participants lost their connection with the teaching artists, each other, and the art.
To Begin Again is a new song written for the choir by composer and music director Lesley Sutherland. Rehearsals and a public performance brought everyone together at the O’Brian Centre for Vancouver Opera. The experience has been turned into a short film that highlights how this already vulnerable community was impacted by the shut down and concludes with a performance of To Begin Again.
