Our mission


Womansong - Singing together for joy, social justice, and community!
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
  • We value Womansong as a nurturing village and a high-quality performance group and we cultivate both.
  • We value the power of music and believe that our singing uplifts, inspires, unites, and heals.
  • We value community and believe that care and respect for each other are key ingredients of our work.
  • We value the empowerment of women, and we support women in improving their lives.
  • We value joy and believe that laughter heals and fosters spiritual connections.
  • We value excellence and believe that each member’s efforts and dedication are essential to Womansong’s success.
  • Because we believe that accepting and respecting individual differences enriches us, our music and our community, we actively embrace and encourage a diverse membership within Womansong.  We affirm and support diversity with regards to age, race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, ability, and spiritual beliefs.

Love is the heartbeat of our music and our Womansong community.
OUR 35+ YEAR HISTORY
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Womansong   was founded in 1987 by Linda Metzner, and is  Asheville's longest-running and largest women's community chorus,  a welcoming, up-to-seventy-five member choir and village.  We are women of diverse ages, musical abilities, backgrounds, and perspectives who sing together to nurture and uplift ourselves and our community.  

Lively accompaniment is provided by a variety of instrumentalists, sometimes along with dancing, drumming  and poetry.  Through both its music and community efforts, Womansong brings women together to nurture  our community and our world.  The chorus promotes unity and honors cultural diversity with songs that celebrate  many themes in women’s lives, including empowerment, spirituality, healing and humor. 

 From 1994 - 2017 Womansong was directed by Debbie Nordeen, who led the chorus through a period of great growth, culminating in our 30th Anniversary season in 2017. Over the years, Womansong has performed for a variety of community events and at concert venues all over Asheville, and is proud to support local causes, such as Homeward Bound, Helpmate, Our Voice, Planned Parenthood, and Habitat for Humanity.   We also support our own charity, the New Start Fund.

Althea Gonzalez served as Artistic Director from 2018-2020, as Womansong continued to partner with local organizations to support  and celebrate women's issues.  Althea continues to sing with us and directs an occasional song. 

 Our dedicated Assistant Directors Sarah Rubin and Martha Burrows   stepped up to become Acting Co-Directors and led Womansong through the pandemic's difficult second year of zoom and masked outdoors and cancellations, at last conducting our first post-pandemic live concert in May 2022.   Through flexibility, resilience, dedicated sisterhood, and the support of our fans, Womansong has survived!  We keep on singing, and we continue to evolve. 

In Summer 2022 we welcomed a new  Artistic Director, Dr. Allison Thorp, who  debuted with us in our November concert.  It feels SO good to sing live  again! For Spring 2023, Allison will be joined by  Claire Lemke as Assistant Director.

Womansong is proud to be a member of both the   Sister Singers Network  (SSN) and   GALA Choruses  movement.  We have attended and performed at numerous SSN national conferences:  Grand Rapids, Champaign-Urbana IL, Chicago,   and more.  We're now  planning for SSN in Cleveland in 2023, where Allison will conduct a mass choir performing a new piece composed by our accompanist, Lytingale.

Come check us out! 
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Dr. Allison Thorp

  • Whereas Womansong has been an integral part of the Asheville community since 1987; and
  • Whereas Womansong is an important part of the cultural life of Asheville and its archives are available to the public as part of the N.C. Collection at Pack Memorial Library; and
  • Whereas Womansong provides a safe, nurturing community that fosters excellence in musical expression and is dedicated to the creativity of its members; and
  • Whereas Womansong chorus members affirm the goals of social justice and unity; and
  • Whereas Womansong supports local women in need of life- changing financial assistance through its New Start Program that since 1988 has awarded more than $150,000 in college scholarships and emergency funds to women; and
  • Whereas Womansong values diversity, the empowerment of women, the power of music to unite and uplift, and the contribution of each member of the chorus; and
  • Whereas Womansong believes love to be at the heart of its music and of the Womansong community.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Esther E. Manheimer, Mayor of the City of Asheville do hereby proclaim October 7, 2017 as
 
                WOMANSONG  DAY
in the City of Asheville, and call upon all citizens to celebrate the beauty of song and support Womansong in their mission to spread joy and harmony across Western North Carolina and empowering women.

  • IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have here unto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of Asheville to be affixed this 26th day of September 2017.
 


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ESTHER E. MANHEIMER MAYOR
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