Seattle choir unites through gospel and justice
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A joyful tradition. Photo: Courtesy of Cindy Ogasawara
As Black History Month begins, Resounding Love Center for the Arts choir will perform a fundraiser concert Sunday at the Renton IKEA Performing Arts Center, using music rooted in Black traditions to bring singers and audiences together.
Why it matters: With loneliness and isolation on the rise, a growing number of Washington residents are searching for something deeper than entertainment or ideology: a place to belong and find purpose outside traditional churches, civic groups or political spaces.
State of play: Resounding Love, an LGBTQIA-embracing multiracial interfaith social justice choir was started in March 2020 by Cindy Ogasawara and Marshan Moultry.
- The choir formed as the COVID-19 pandemic began and amid a national reckoning over police violence and racial injustice, shaping its focus on care, trust and shared responsibility, Ogasawara told Axios.
- Early rehearsals — many held online among members who had never met in person — combined singing with the sharing of personal stories.
How it works: The choir describes its work as participatory rather than performative. Applause, for example, is not treated as feedback from an audience but as part of the practice itself.
- In the African American gospel tradition, clapping isn't about the audience, Moultry said. "It's about applauding God, applauding the spirit of justice … applauding love and what we are creating together."
Go deeper: The group's mission is to take uplifting music into the community, including to people who are incarcerated, unhoused or navigating displacement.
- The roughly 35-member choir performs throughout the region, including at juvenile detention facilities and shelters such as Mary's Place in Seattle.
- "We want to take this music to people who don't usually get sung to," Ogasawara said.
- That mission has grown only more urgent, she said, as people look for ways to stay engaged without feeling overwhelmed. "It gives people a chance to feel like they're doing something that actually makes a difference."
The bottom line: Choir member Corey Kline said joining the group gave him "the first religious experience" of his life, despite growing up in the church. And the impact continues.
- "This is my family," he said.
If you go: Love Is Resistance — the choir's largest annual concert — takes place Sunday in Renton. Tickets are about $50.
- Proceeds from the event support the choir's ongoing work with marginalized communities, extending the spirit of Black History Month throughout the year.
The group also performs free or low-cost community concerts and is opening auditions for new members, inviting singers from a range of backgrounds and experience levels to join the choir.