Diaspora Dialogues is delighted to partner with the Orpheus Choir of Toronto for their “Raising Her Voice” concert in 2018/19. In this exciting project that brings our proven mentorship model to a cross discipline enterprise, we will pair poets who have published in our programs, both mentors and mentees, with established and emerging composers chosen by Orpheus Choir to produce compositions for this concert celebrating International Women’s Day in 2019. Directed by Robert Cooper, the Orpheus Choir’s mantra is “Expect Something Different”, so who better for DD to partner with? We’ll be featuring stories and progress reports as the project comes to fruition. 
Both of our organizations are seeking to invest in the ongoing nurturing of the talent that has been developed through our programs. For writers, music and text is an area that they may not have considered, or felt that they or their works were not suited to. This is an opportunity to work with the actual composers, and see their input reflected in the final composition. Both composers and authors have told us that this is an element that is missing from current modes of training, and the value that such feedback can bring to their process, as well as broadening their appeal across disciplines, can give audiences a chance to discover an artist they didn’t know about. We already have a good idea of who has agreed to be involved in this project, and we’ll share the list with you soon!