Y'all Sing Proves Joy Is Motivation And Liberation
San Antonio community choir emphasizes a low commitment to ensure a high reward.
By Sara Gill | 11/5/24
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Within most creative spaces we find a hierarchy within skill or influence. This intimidates those who wish to participate. Auditions, open calls, pitches… most art and music spaces require some sort of prerequisite, a basic understanding of music theory, a baseline level of skill. At Y’all Sing! The only prerequisites are the desire to learn and a love of signing.
Y’all Sing is a monthly drop-in, no-commitment, nonperforming, community choir, open to all who love to sing in San Antonio, and it aims to create “fun, community building, and co-regulation”. Each month a song is chosen to be learned in two to four-part harmony in a single session. Previous songs include “Dreams” by The Cranberries, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush, and “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes.
Tickets are sold on a sliding scale to make participation more inclusive with a portion of ticket sales funneled back into our community through mutual aid or donations to local nonprofits.
Y’all Sing!’s creator, Olivia De Jesus is a somatic therapist and music educator who focuses on helping others return to themselves. As someone who has had the privilege of singing with Olivia for the past year, I can attest to her teaching style and the benefits of being part of the community she has built.
“I want the people I work with to feel met and supported at a human as well as creative level, and I achieve this with wisened musicianship, a healthy sense of play, and easeful patience,” Olivia says.
Although community choirs exist everywhere, they are usually separated by skill level, voice type, age, and gender. Y’all Sing! and its related choirs, Choir Pa’Todos and Fire Choir, strive to create spaces where people can reconnect with themselves through music, without the pressures of perfection or performance. The concept is a refreshing, inclusive approach to music-making, focusing on community, healing, and joy rather than competition or exclusion.
“We’re all musicians and we thrive musically when we find our unique musical voice. I love to hold space for that kind of discovery,” Olivia says.
Y’all Sing! Is built on three core values: to “demonstrate that anyone who loves to sing, no matter how they think they sound, belongs and has a place in the choir, to connect and harmonize folks of all walks of life, and to create a relationships with, and raise awareness of, and funds for under-served folks and situations in need while mindfully drawing attention to the underpinning structures that perpetuate that need,” Olivia says.
This model highlights the importance of human connection in the music-making process by supporting one another through collective sound rather than isolating individuals based on skill or expertise. Resulting in a space where everyone feels valued and cared for.
As anyone who has sung in professional spaces, you’ll know the pressure of perfection crushes creativity. Music is part of our humanity. Singing an extension of ourselves. Unfortunately, it like most art forms has evolved under capitalism as something for consumption, a way to make a profit. Y’all Sing reminds us that enjoyment is a justifiable motivation and joy liberates us all.
To learn more you can visit Y’all Sing’s website or follow along @yallsingsa on Instagram.
PHOTO: Kyle Bowden @grainytexmex
About the Author:
Sarah J. Gill is a nonfiction writer and poet currently working in the fragrance industry. She is an avid baker and a proud member of a nonperforming choir. She is tall, beautiful, and easily overwhelmed. If you like her work, please kindly keep it to yourself as she can not bear the weight of perception. She lives in San Antonio, Texas with her cat, Guinevere.
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