Community “choir” for the homeless

June 8th, 2018 San Diego, U.S.A

With my host’s saxophone on my back, I jumped onto the back of the motorbike with him to downtown San Diego on a sunny day. After an exhilarating ride, we arrived at a community church in the heart of downtown. The band is ready with the ‘choir’ warming up ready to sing. The choir made up of people who are homeless for whatever reasons, gathering here every week to sing together without agenda. Anyone can suggest a song, go up front and lead or improvise a section.

When a soloist goes in front, the choir acting as the accompanist singing out the call and response parts and harmonizing.

The band: a drummer, a percussionist, a pianist, bassist and a saxophonist provide the music backdrop for the people to sing along. The parts blend so well in this setting, people won’t feel too awkward if they don’t sing or if they wanna sing loud or soft, people can feel comfortable to do whatever they feel like in the moment.

The environment is so chilled out, no pressure at all, people came up front to lead a song, sing in whatever style they want, improvise the lyrics based on the song structure. It was ear opening to hear someone improvise on amazing grace, totally transforming the lyrics to a personal story made up in the moment.

People are moving, clapping, singing along with the music, some are just relaxed, with their eyes closed soaking in the music. The backing music felt like it’s a tranquil lake for people to flow on it. Containing and comforting.

The song selection are all the classic: somewhere over the rainbow, amazing grace, L what’s going on, this little light of mine, what a wonderful world, let it be, change the world etc.

It’s a “choir”, but there’s no instruction, no correction, no assigned parts, no right and wrong ways to sing, no official leader. There’s a facilitator occasionally giving signals for instrumental or vocal solo, affirming song selection decided by the group, marking the pulse, signaling the sections.

This is the place where people can be relaxed, be themselves, be connected, socialize and have fun together. This is musicking, the true spirit of music.

Im constantly wondering how I can make this happen in the HK culture, it would take a great effort to introduce such spontaneity and freedom of expression into the culture. This is what the Asian culture needs: people need to have space to loosen up, let out all those creative energy, break through their fear and stop thinking about how people think of them when they can just be authentic.