SOS: Incarcerated Voices

About Sing Out Strong: Incarcerated Voices

The pandemic has changed our entire way of life. It has changed the way we work, recreate, eat, learn, teach, interact with friends and family. It has forced us to confront the fact that life is precarious, fragile and precious. It has exposed the great divide in American society, with black and brown people disproportionately succumbing to the virus, as compared to white people. This is even truer for those who are incarcerated en masse and for the long term in our prison systems.

We've collected stories from writers experiencing incarceration about their experiences exiled from families, friends and community. We've heard about what they do, how they've been coping, their hopes, their fears, their families and their despair - anything they're moved to write about. We come away awed by their essential brilliance as they find new ways of dreaming, of communing, of living, of transcending.

The concert you'll be attending features ten songs based on the texts we've collected set by diverse composers inspired to tell these stories. Through the magic of a new audio plugin, Tutti Remote, invented by Jon Robertson, our audio engineer, you will hear LIVE singing by our two singers and LIVE playing by our cellist and pianist as they perform in the safety of their homes. We can't wait to share this experience with you.

View all of the song texts here.

Check out "Hozhó" featuring text by Sophina Calderon, music by Jerod Tate from our last SOS concert, Sing Out Strong: Essential Voices.