Donate
Tacoma Refugee Choir welcomes refugees to Washington with open arms
For the Tacoma Refugee Choir in Washington state, gatherings are more than just rehearsals — they’re homecomings. When you enter their rehearsal space, whether it’s your first time or your fiftieth, you’re welcomed like you’re family.
“I love each rehearsal because each rehearsal is not only for new songs or for practice. Each rehearsal is to be with your family,” Lucia, a former refugee from Venezuela, shares. “You have the space to talk about how you are feeling… and you have someone so you can take their hands and give a hug and be in a community, being a family.”
When Lucia arrived in Washington, she knew she wanted to find people who shared similar experiences. After a bit of searching, Lucia found the Tacoma Refugee Choir. Founded in 2016, the choir is based in Tacoma, Washington and brings together resettled refugees, immigrants and community members from the greater Puget Sound region, including Seattle. The choir's mission is to create spaces for authentic expression, interconnection and healing through music.
For Lucia, the choir offered her a place to connect with her new community and other members who shared her experience of forced displacement, but it also gave her a place to enjoy and pursue her love of music.
“Music is a way to say to the people, to my neighbor, to my family, how I feel right now, or how I will feel in the future,” Lucia explains when asked about her passion for music. “When I sing, I can show what I am, where I am and what I want.”
As a choir member, Lucia contributes as a singer and as a bridge between the choir members and the Venezuelan community in Washington. For one of their concerts, Lucia encouraged Venezuelan community members to join the choir on stage for a performance. Erin Guinup, the founder of the Tacoma Refugee Choir, reflects fondly on the experience of that concert.
“After that concert, someone who didn't perform on stage but was present felt so validated to hear a Venezuelan song sung on stage,” Erin explains. “It just made me feel really proud of Lucia for recognizing not only that we needed that collaboration but also that her community needed that support. It was just one of those moments that you realize a little thing can go a long way to making someone feel safe in our community.”
While many members like Lucia came in with a passion for music, there are others who discovered their voice over time through the choir. Maurice, a resettled refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was skeptical about the choir at first. Members of the choir first approached Maurice after hearing him speak on behalf of the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, but it took time for him to warm up to the idea of joining.
“I'm very skeptical person. I don't really like to join any movement or any group, any organization if I do not know what they really do,” Maurice explains. “But to be in a place where people are singing, and they came from different backgrounds… My skepticism started cutting down. I said, ‘I think maybe next week I'll try again to come.’ I came again and again and I couldn't stop. That was in 2019.”
In addition to Maurice’s skepticism, he also felt apprehensive about lending his voice to a choir. He had no previous experience in music, and until joining, had never sung in front of an audience.
“I'm not a musician and I don't sing. Before that, I was not able to sing in the public. That was healing for me. Not only on a singing level, but also on a speaking level, that now I can stand and speak to say something. I don't really have that nervousness anymore.”
Now, as a long-time member, Maurice’s voice has become a pillar of the choir. When reflecting on how the choir has nurtured leadership amongst its members, founder Erin Guinup highlights Maurice’s guidance.
“We sometimes call him The Professor because the wisdom that he has kept inside for most of his life is so profound,” Erin says. “And I'm just so encouraged by the wisdom that collectively comes from people who have been through adversity and now are empowered to use that wisdom to make our community a better place.”
Looking towards the future, the choir hopes to continue offering a welcoming and community space where new members feel safe to share their voices and experiences. They also hope that continuing to write and perform songs that highlight their journeys will teach Americans how to better support and empathize with refugees who resettle in the United States. Orlando Morales, the Artistic Director of the Tacoma Refugee Choir, believes that the arts offer a unique opportunity to foster that connection.
“I think the first step to supporting [refugees] is finding that empathy, and finding that just human-to-human understanding,” Orlando explains. “I think one of the biggest things that we're combating through our singing and through creating art is just that dehumanization that happens through the media. And I think our job as the Tacoma Refugee Choir is to really just dial it back and be like, ‘Hey, we're all humans here, and we can remind you of that through our singing.’”
How to Help
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, supports the full journey of refugees who have been forced to flee violence, war and persecution. Our donors help refugees in their greatest time of need, and their support builds awareness for resettled refugees living in the U.S. like Lucia and Maurice. With your help, more refugees will have the opportunity to build peaceful lives and give their families a bright future.
More Related News
Sudanese refugee foster families offer hope and a home to lone children
Dozens of refugee families in eastern Chad are caring for orphaned and unaccompanied children amid what the UN is calling the world’s largest child displacement crisis.
