On stage, Nancy Pierce guides a group of women through one of its first songs, tapping her foot during a quick run-through of “What a Wonderful World.”
“We’re going to start out stumbling,” Pierce said to the choir seated in front of her. “But we’re going to make it through in time.”
Pierce is the music director of the Calliope Feminist Choir, which had just completed its first practice of the season in ARTS/West after leaving its previous home for the past 10 years, the Christ Lutheran Church.
Calliope was influenced by a group of feminist choirs that came out of the second wave of feminism in the 1970s. Pierce has been music director for the group since 1997 and a member of the choir since its inception in 1993.
“I have wanted the feminist choir to represent an inclusivity of feminism,” Pierce said.
She said the choir, which is made up of anywhere from 30 to 40 members, is supported by both the strong feminist movement in Athens as well as a strong arts community.
“Some people think we’re too political,” Pierce said. “We’ve always been political … but one thing that I think we do is when we sing it’s quite a personal experience, to sing the words of a song with the poetry and music together.”
The political material performed by Calliope is not just relegated to feminism.
One song the group rehearsed in its first practice was a song titled “No Sweat” about poor working conditions in other countries and in the U.S.
Although there are no men in the group, Pierce added that it is supported by an “audience that includes men, and they are progressive.”
Calliope has an annual concert in the spring as well as different times throughout the year at fundraisers or other political events. On the next two Mondays, the group is holding open rehearsals at ARTS/West to encourage new members to join.
Dorothy Howard, a 10-year member, said she enjoys being in the choir for the community involvement and the camaraderie that comes with singing with the other women.
“I like being around (the) other women,” Howard said. “I think it’s important to sing. Music’s important to everyone.”
For Diane Merrill, a second-year member, being involved with the choir allowed her to meet new people after she moved from New Jersey to Athens.
“I love to sing … reading the music, watching the conductor,” Merrill said. “I hadn’t done that since high school.”
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