Tina’s #REQUIEMSTORY

TINA BULL, Singer

While attending my first choral rehearsal for,"An Africa American Requiem" by Damien Geter, I was so moved that I wondered whether I would be able to sing. The text and music came together in such powerful ways, my words fail to describe it well for you. I was surrounded by people who were both familiar and unfamiliar and there was energy in the room that was greater than the sum of our parts. In just a couple of hours, we began to meld and merge. We became a new choir, each singer excited to have the privilege to perform such a remarkable piece. 

Here we are on June 1, 2020. In spite of centuries of oppression of people of color, we have never needed this music more. We must sing and listen and share this piece until we can no longer sing, listen, and share. Our hearts break once again over another unnecessary and inhumane act of a police officer killing an unarmed, restrained black man: George Floyd. When will it end?

I hope you will save this date, January 22, 2021, to experience something you have never heard, something you will never forget, as we sing the world premiere of, "An African American Requiem" with the Oregon Symphony. We must remember and pay respect to all those who have lost their lives to violence, racism, and oppression. 

With gratitude to Damien Geter and Katherine Fitzgibbon...and sincerely,

Tina Bull