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Post-Covid Brings Active Schedule to Choir October, 2022

After more than a year of no singing, then several months of “easing in” to a rehearsal routine, this fall has seen our Choir return to a very high level of activity, appearing in both NSCP produced events and private invitational conferences. October brought the inspiring Opening of the Glen McClure “Neighbors” exhibit at the Slover Library, and November will feature the Choir’s second “Sing” of the year in the parking lot at Freemason Street Baptist Church. Both of these events were organized and produced by the NSCP, but the choir is also responding to numerous invitations from area organizations. In October, the Choir sang at the Virginia Librarians Association Conference at the Norfolk Marriott (their third appearance at this event in the past several years), and in November the Choir will open the Governor’s Tourism Summit at The Main in downtown Norfolk.

After so much change, growth and adaptation, it is a joy to see the Choir making its mark on our community once again in so many places!

Singers to Appear at Prime Plus August, 2022

Just two days after the SUMMER SING program at 2nd Presbyterian, a small group of singers from the Choir will appear at Primeplus Senior Center in Norfolk to sing and talk about “Why We Sing.” We are excited to have been invited to share the story and music of the Choir with seniors in the Norfolk community who look to Primeplus as a source of support in their pursuit of social, emotional and intellectual wellness. We are honored to be a part of that effort by this important United Way Agency!

SUMMER SING! The Choir Returns in its first Post-Covid Public Event - Including Expressive Art! August, 2022

It’s been a long time! While the Choir sang last December for Norfolk’s annual Homelessness Vigil, they have not appeared in a public event of their own since 2019, before the pandemic forced a long hiatus from singing. Also marking the Choir’s first-ever summer event, the singers will present “Summer Sing” at Second Presbyterian Church in Norfolk at 4 p.m. on August 14. This fun new format will invite everyone who attends to sing along on every song, and will also include contributions from guest instrumentalists and our partners from across the USA.

In another exciting first, the program will incorporate elements of the Expressive Arts Program, an ongoing collaboration between the NSCP and the EVMS Graduate Art Therapy Program. The stage area will be flanked by colorful banners that were created by our participants, and there will be performance elements (including puppets!) that were made to reflect messages in the choir’s songs. We are grateful for Matthew Bernier and his collaborative spirit as the Expressive Arts director, and are excited about a day that we know will be full of joy!

Arts Programs Extended to Year-Round Operation June, 2022

The Street Choir and Expressive Arts programs have been offered in the past from September through May each year, taking a break through the summer months as food and service programs continued during all 12 months. Recognizing both the need these programs meet for the community and the NSCP’s capacity to extend these programs, 2022 marks the first time that all of its programs will follow a 12 month schedule, assuring that continuity of participation and access can take place. The impact of this expansion will be felt in many ways, most importantly in the joy and meaning they provide to our neighbors.

Artistic Director to Present at VMEA Conference November 2, 2021

Artistic Director and Choir founder Robert Shoup will be presenting a session about our organization to music educators from across the Commonwealth on November 18 at the Marriott Hotel in Downtown Norfolk. This session will provide the NSCP a chance to share its story and vision with musicians who may not be aware of the kind of work that is possible with choirs in their communities. The session will share information about the unique challenges and opportunities that characterize our work, and will hopefully inspire the larger musical community to think about ways they might address needs in their towns and cities.

Choir Member Johnnie Driggins wins Songwriting Prize October 20, 2021

We are excited to announce that one of our Choir’s charter members, Johnnie Driggins, has been selected as a winner of a national songwriting competition that was sponsored by the Dallas Street Choir. The Competition theme was “Home Is,” and was designed as an “effort to further [The Dallas Street Choir’s] mission to bring art to those affected by homelessness.” Johnnie’s winning song was “Don’t Give Up” which our audiences may recognize from NSCP concerts and the documentary “City Voices: from Homelessness to Hopefulness.” Congratulations, Johnnie!

Welcome to two exceptional new leaders! September 8, 2021

As we launch our fall programming with an expanded schedule, we are also excited to welcome two gifted leaders to our artistic programming staff. Matthew Bernier is a faculty member of the EVMS Art Therapy program and a passionate advocate for community arts. He oversaw graduate students who helped us to launch our Expressive Arts program last year, and we are delighted to report that he will now be in charge of this program, leading our friends in art projects every Friday. Matthew brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to this role, and we are already learning what a wonderfully collaborative, creative, and compassionate colleague he is.

Also joining our team this fall is one of Hampton Roads’ most exceptional pianists, Steve Kolb. Steve is joining the choir as its new accompanist, and brings a breadth of unique skills to bear. He is an excellent teacher, gifted improviser, and caring collaborator who will support our singers both musically and in spirit.

We are thrilled to have Matthew and Steve as part of our team - welcome!

THE CHOIR IS BACK! September 7, 2021

After a 17 month hiatus due to the Covid 19 pandemic, our beloved choir is finally singing again! We have waited a very long time to welcome our friends back to a singing experience, and are overjoyed to again be filling the air with inspiring sound. Because risks remain, we are taking a number of precautions to protect our participants, including mask wearing and the use of two powerful HEPA filtration units. We will return to songs that the choir has loved the past few years, but will also introduce some new material including Bruce Springsteen’s “The Rising,” and more! We don’t know when a return to public performance will be possible, but in the mean time we are grateful for the chance to encourage and lift up one another each week in rehearsal!

Now Tuesdays and Fridays! SCP Doubles Program Profile September 1, 2021

As vaccinations and increased availability of tools allows life to resume a bit more normally, the NSCP is excited to launch a new expansion of its outreach to the community by adding Tuesdays to our program profile. Since our inception in 2016, we have offered services each Friday. This weekly addition of help for our neighbors will increase safety, comfort, health and opportunity for those who need assistance and help to find it. Both days will offer breakfast, showers, and artistic programming, and Fridays will continue to offer access to the FSBC Clothing Closet and EVMS Street Health services.

Supporting Our Neighbors: NSCP Grows as a Hub for Homelessness Service November 24, 2020

While the tenet of “Supporting Our Neighbors” is at the very heart of The Norfolk Street Choir Project, its importance has grown during this pandemic. Over the last 7 months, we have been well positioned to bring together resources across the community and provide a safe place for our neighbors to receive care and support in ways that would otherwise be closed or difficult to access during this pandemic.

On Friday mornings, in addition to our warm breakfast, mail pickup, refuge from the weather, and art programming, one can expect to find access to:

• A warm shower and basic clothing needs (t-shirt, underwear, and socks) thanks to the generosity of our friends at Soap Chips, New Life Church Ghent Campus, and Hospital Services

• Clothing closet access to things like pants, shirts, coats, and shoes thanks to the kindness of our friends at Freemason Street Baptist Church

• Doctors via a Telehealth program and in-person basic medical care thanks to the continued presence of our friends at EVMS Street Health

• Housing and other City Services thanks to the continued support and presence of the Community Services Board of Norfolk

• Computer-based and basic identification services thanks to the heart of our friends with Ghent Area Ministries

• Snack bags thanks to the compassion from our friends at Grace Bible Church and First Baptist of Norfolk

• And at scheduled times, access to flu shots thanks to aid from our friends with the Bon Secours Care-A-Van and haircuts thanks to various barbers in the area

We could not be more thankful for the growing list of partners and their willingness to work together to provide access and care for our community.

Beauty Is in Their Hands: Art Program Invites Expression & Community November 24, 2020

Our organization was born through the vision of forming a choir - and developed quickly into a laboratory for self expression and community building as singers gathered each week to rehearse, learn, and work together to add beauty to the world around them. The Choir is not an end, but a means of providing encouragement and affirmation in a community that too rarely experiences such support.

When our Mission Statement was developed, we intentionally embraced a vision broader than the choir, opening possibilities for other avenues of encouragement as our young organization prepared to step out on its own.

Mission Statement

The Norfolk Street Choir Project

will engage the community 

to encourage and support our neighbors in need 

through arts opportunities 

in a joyful, affirming and safe environment.

This decision appears to have been providential with the arrival of Covid19, which has forced all group singing to come to a painful and unwelcome halt. We are all eager to get back to singing when it is safe. Fortunately, we had already planned for our organization to expand our artistic offerings, and so were well positioned to pivot to a new program that would encourage and support our neighbors.

The Expressive Arts program that was launched in September is another example of community collaboration that has been a hallmark of NSCP’s operation since its start. Led by Art Therapy graduate students in cooperation with our staff, this effort has been a welcome point of joy in the midst of a pandemic that is particularly hard on those affected by homelessness. Our community partners do all they can to help alleviate practical needs, but this program helps to lift spirits and remind us all that there is beauty in community, and community in making beauty.

One recent Friday project involved making art of our hands - and it was inspiring to watch our friends express their identities and experiences through their hands. Many are colorful and vivid, others more realistic. All of them are beautiful, and reminders of the wonder and possibility that lives in us all.

Meet Tyrone November 24, 2020

Tyrone’s smiling face has been a steady presence in with our Expressive Art Program. While Tyrone is a man of few words, his art speaks volumes.

Tyrone grew up attending school and playing sports in Norfolk. He shared that he studied art at Norfolk State University for awhile. He loves the foundation of art and thinking about the underlying reasons the artist creates a particular piece. His desire to look beyond the surface of different pieces of art explains why his art pieces have become a favorite with the other Expressive Art Program participants.

“My favorite thing about the Friday Art Program is the variety of materials that you have available. Each week we are given a new project and access to so many different materials to create our art. You didn’t just give us crayons and paper, but you allow us access to really explore art in different ways.”

Tyrone’s advice to everyone is to “Pay more attention to your health and less attention to things and to always be respectful to your mother.”

A Piano Has a New Home… at the NSCP! November 24, 2020

The community that is served by the NSCP has been shown generosity in many forms, from financial gifts and donated materials to devoted volunteers and community partnerships. Generosity found a new expression recently when a beautiful Yamaha P2 piano was gifted to our organization, providing us with a new and exciting way to encourage our community in need through music! Our generous donors, Joyce and Bill Wooldridge, have long supported efforts in their community. Joyce served as principal of Community School in Roanoke and her church work has included service as Elder, development of Stephen Ministry and writing curriculum for Sunday School, which she also taught. Bill has served as a Trustee of the Virginia Historical Society, President of the John Marshall Foundation and of the Norfolk Historical Society, and on the boards of WHRO and the Library of Virginia Foundation.

Reflecting on their decision to donate this beautiful instrument, Joyce wrote,

“Music was always part of my family: my grandmother on one side was a concert soprano in New England, and on my father’s side barbershop quartets were always practicing downstairs as I went to sleep.  But my parents couldn’t afford the piano lessons (or piano) that I craved.  When my grandfather died in 1981, he left me some money, and I knew that I would buy a piano.  I did, and have both enjoyed it and struggled to learn to play it. It has been loved and cared for, and I can not think of a better home for it than the Street Choir, whose members also crave music.  It has found a good home!”

Bill is a retired vice president of Norfolk Southern Railway, and author of Mapping Virginia, From the Age of Exploration to the Civil War. Joyce and Bill are soon to be former residents of Suffolk as they move into their new home in Norfolk.

We at the NSCP are deeply grateful to the Wooldridges for a gift that has been thoughtfully and personally donated so it could bring joy to others. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for this beautiful and supportive act of generosity and care for our neighbors in Norfolk!

Meet Board Member and Treasurer Terry Shaw November 24, 2020

Role with NSCP: Treasurer, Board member

Profession: Fiscal Administrator, Chesapeake Transportation System, City of Chesapeake

Resident city: Norfolk

I was first introduced to the Norfolk Street Choir in 2018. That year, I was a member of a church choir which sang along with the NSC in concert, and it was an eye-opening experience for me. I was so moved by the joy, camaraderie, and sense of purpose that the NSC displayed as they sang. The looks on the faces of the choir members when the audience applauded their efforts brought me to tears.

The Norfolk Street Choir Project was designed to provide for the physical, emotional and spiritual needs for those in our Norfolk community who are most vulnerable. This program gives the participants a chance to express their creativity, along with an opportunity to give back to the community by using their gifts and talents to bring joy to others. It instills them with dignity, usefulness, and self-worth.

When the time came for the NSCP to become an independent nonprofit entity, I was honored to be asked to serve as the NSCP’s Treasurer. I am privileged to be a part of this organization and to be able to utilize my skills and resources to further the mission of this project.

- Terry Shaw