Description:

Our fall concert is about loving boldly. To celebrate this 25th year, we begin with some classic works from our rich lesbian and feminist repertoire, and we welcome the dynamic duo, Wishing Chair (WC), to join us in the first concert of our 25th anniversary year.

MUSE will give the Midwest premiere of "Weave and Spin"--a tapestry of women's lives written by Miriam Davidson and Kiya Heartwood (WC). The six-movement suite reflects the mission of MUSE as illustrated in their introduction:

"Our lives as women are crafted by our experiences as daughters, mothers, lovers, leaders, activists, adventurers and dreamers. Women who have made great contributions, who we have admired, become essential pieces in the quilts of our lives."

The movements each tell a passionate tale. "Weave and Spin" introduces us to a symphony of women who have gone before us, part of the patchwork of our daily lives. "Wide Sky" involves a blend of Appalachian and South African a cappella singing styles, and reflects the act of transformation through mothering. "Beautiful Soul" is a flamenco-pop love song. "Copernicus" is about survival and thriving against the odds. "Adagio" is about taking a stand against injustice and the insanity of war, and "Higher Ground," is a rousing, gospel, call-to-action.

Following intermission, MUSE will sing some of our favorite bold love songs, songs which helped to create our fan-base of open-minded, open-hearted people. Reminisce as we sing "Simply Love," and "Perfect Night" by Holly Near, and "Miss Celie's Blues," from The Color Purple, or celebrated risk-taking adventure songs like "Marie", "Annie" and "Wanderlust."

Seating is limited with only two performances so get your tickets now as MUSE celebrates women's music - past and present.

With Special Guest Artist, Wishing Chair

About Wishing Chair:

Curve Magazine calls Wishing Chair "poetic and political, with engaging performances, haunting harmonies and stellar vocals."

Multi-instrumentalist Miriam Davidson and songwriter Kiya Heartwood have made an art of inspiring performances and award winning songs, seducing the listener with soulful confessions, political broadside and a wicked groove. They combine a passionate mix of intelligent lyrics, spell-binding storytelling and breathtaking harmony over a full folk and roll sound. Winning over audiences all over the country, they perform at festivals and venues such as the Bluebird Café; Kerrville Folk Festival; Michigan, National and Iowa Womyn's Music Festival; The Philadelphia Folk Festival and Olivia Cruises to name just a few.

With any subject being fair game, they have earned high honors from JP Folks (Best New Folk CD, Best Roots Song, 2nd Place Best New Folk Song 2006), Kerrville (Political Songwriting Finalist 2003), Falcon Ridge (Emerging Artist Finalist 2002), OutMusic (double Winner 2003, Finalist 2004) to The South Florida Folk Festival (double Winner 2003).

Whether it's a song about politics, true love, or Calamity Jane, Wishing Chair "has a passion about the truth, about being emotionally available to tell it, " Euan Bear, Out in the Mountains.

"Weave and Spin" a song cycle for Women's Voices, was first performed by the Denver Women's Chorus in 2004.