Welcome to Singing People Together, the International choir festival of Norrbotten. Oct 24-30 2016
“Music helps bringing people together.
It’s more effective than a political speech.”
The quote is lifted from an acceptance speech held by Miriam Makeba, the famous South African singer and musician, when she was awarded The Polar Music Award in Stockholm in 2001. These words also adequately summarise what it is this project is all about: to bring people from different cultures together, through the medium of music, in a joint struggle to overcome the violence in today’s world – Singing People Together. With this project we wish to contribute to the building of a peaceful and non-violent culture through music.
Purpose
The most important purpose of the festival is the unbiased bringing together of people. For many of us choir singing is the magical way of getting there, to create music together, both through and within the singing. I have seen it happen so many times; eyes start to glow and a lust for life returns – if only for a split second.
Another purpose is to bring musical heritages from different parts of the world to the people of the county of Norrbotten and Sweden. To make it possible for people to take part in a greater context, let them share it with others and feel that they are a part of something bigger – to bring people together, through music, and to network through the mutual bond of choir singing.