GREENFIELD — Fiery Hope, the chorus formerly known as Amandla, will celebrate 35 years of community singing with a return to the stage on Saturday, April 29, at 7 p.m. at All Souls Church.
“We’ve been outdoors since March of 2020,” Fiery Hope founder and director Eveline MacDougall said in a statement, explaining how the chorus pivoted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, “and had beautiful experiences singing in streets and driveways, and on porches and lawns.”
Saturday’s concert marks a return to performing indoors.
“The concert not only celebrates our anniversary and our return to the stage, but also financially boosts Stone Soup Cafe, the wonderful weekly community meal program” that is run out of All Souls Church, she added.
The chorus has entertained thousands at countless public gatherings, including the 1990 event in Boston to welcome Nelson Mandela after he was released from nearly three decades as a political prisoner. Members of the chorus, who hail from Franklin and Hampshire counties as well as southern Vermont, have met and worked with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Malala Yousafzai, Cesar Chavez, Pete Seeger and others. They also bring music to listeners in more intimate settings, such as to people in hospice care.
Chorus membership decreased during the pandemic, “but we kept the songs going, and will present new material at the show, including a song from Estonia,” MacDougall said. Languages will include Spanish, Arabic, Zulu, Estonian and Xhosa. MacDougall will also perform an original solo piece in English and French, reflecting her bilingual upbringing.
Opening Saturday’s show will be Forest Avenue, with Andy Van Assche on guitar, Dan Frank on mandolin and hurdy-gurdy, Desiree Lowit on fiddle, and MacDougall on fiddle and accordion.
Tickets are available at the door. The suggested donation is $15, but with a sliding scale of 35 cents to $35, in light of the 35th anniversary.
“As always,” MacDougall said, “no one is turned away at the door due to lack of funds.”