Read here about
- A Chorus of Women commenting on the next election
- Vale Glenda Cloughley
- A Chorus of Women goes international
- Vale Will Steffen
- National Congress of Women
- Visual Petition on Climate Crisis
- Love Has a Voice - for the women of Afghanistan in 2021
- Vale Bob Hawke
Sing Out Wisdom! - A Chorus of Women commenting on the 2025 election
This occasion arose when we were invited to sing on International Women's Day, 8 March, in front of the Australian Parliament House, as part of the Enlighten Festival.
Have you ever wondered why we don’t have a Minister for Peace instead of a Minister for Defence, or what about a Commissioner for Compassion? Glenda's song is a light-hearted but very heart-felt encouragement from us to our politicians to rise to the challenges of our times.
We hope you enjoy ‘Sing Out Wisdom’, sung ahead of a light show on the Australian Parliament House featuring Alison Alder’s artwork of 12 trailblazing women who campaigned for a more inclusive democracy. We wondered what these women would have to say if they were here today
Vale Glenda Cloughley
1952 - 2023
Glenda initiated the singing of a Lament for the people of Iraq which led to the formation of A Chorus of Women in March 2003. Since then she has written much of our music including two major works – The Gifts of the Furies and A Passion for Peace/The People’s Passion.
As a Jungian analyst, cultural psychologist and singer-composer, Glenda has brought a unique creative and prophetic spirit to the peace, justice and environmental movements in Canberra and beyond. Her passing leaves a deep sense of loss.
'Remembering Glenda'
Hosted by A Chorus of Women with her family and Jungian friends, the event wove together stories and music from Glenda’s life.
Go to our Remembering Glenda page for more detail, the recording of the event, and links to obituaries, tributes and other stories.
Photo: Barb Baikie
A Chorus of Women goes international
'Ubuntu':
I am who I am, because of you.
We are who we are because of each other'
This song of ours has been included in the Quakers songbook for their International Plenary meeting this year in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 5 - 12 August. The theme is 'Living the Spirit of Ubuntu'.
'Ubuntu' also featured in an online event organised by ReAct Latin America, entitled 'Dancing with our friends, bacteria'. ReAct is concerned with the problem of bacteria resistance to antibiotics. The aim is to move from a war metaphor against bacteria to one of living in harmony. Here is the website about the event which was held on 27/28 June 2024.
You can watch a video of us singing 'Ubuntu' here.
Vale Will Steffen
A Chorus of Women was deeply saddened by the news of the death of Emeritus Professor Will Steffen in January 2023.
Will was a wonderful communicator and climate scientist who made a big difference with his life. He leaves a profoundly regenerative heritage in the people he touched with his commitment and gifts for communicating as well as advancing the science.
He was a long-time, steady supporter of Chorus.
‘I was struck by how we humans have a very long tradition of using singing as a way of expressing our feelings about the rest of the living world, and about the Earth itself. And although earlier societies and indigenous cultures around the world could not have had the modern scientific understanding of the Earth System, their songs had not only the word "Earth" in them, but also showed a really deep understanding of the Earth as a single, complex system and that we humans are embedded in it. Our scientific understanding has come really late!
And the songs composed by the Chorus do a wonderful job of flowing effortlessly from these earlier pieces of music, and they remind us of the very long relationship we've had with the rest of the Earth System around us.’
Chorus member Janet Salisbury, who was a science communicator in her day job, liaised with Will on many Chorus initiatives. On hearing of his death, Janet wrote of Will's 'one of a kind big picture mind, humility, communication skills and total commitment to supporting community action on climate change'. She said she felt very privileged to know him and for his engagement with Chorus and her - always replying to emails by return and taking on board requests for involvement in a way that lifted her up to new confidence.
Read more of Janet's reflections here.
A women-led initiative for action on climate change
With the overarching theme ‘How can women rising transform our response to climate change?’, the National Congress of Women (NCW) initiative has been developed in three stages. Two previous 1-day online events have explored the themes of 'Women Rising!' and 'Weaving'.
We were excited to finally welcome women, in all our diversity, from all over the country to our long-awaited 2-day event in Canberra:
Renewal — How can we save the Earth for ourselves and future generations?
11–12 September 2022, Canberra
At Albert Hall, 100 Commonwealth Avenue, Yarralumla, Canberra (and online)
After a welcome to country by Ngambri-Ngunnawal Elder, Dr Matilda House, Glenda Cloughley introduced the ‘The Singing Hill’ – a prophetic story about women at Parliament House from the early 1990s when Jo Vallentine was a WA Green’s senator (see video below).
This two-day event built on the work of the Women’s Climate Congress over the past 2 years and was a unique opportunity to participate in building a women’s movement for change on the urgent global issue of climate change, and to bring as many women’s voices as possible to a ‘Women's Charter for Change’.
There were conversation sessions with former and current politicians, First Nations women, artists, community and business leaders. The first day closed with A Chorus of Women affirming our commitment to the Earth with Glenda’s songs ‘Hymn to Gaia’ and ‘The Promise’.
On the second day, the conversations broadened into group conversations among participants to review the Charter themes and develop plans for action to bring about change. The event closed with participants joining in with the Chorus. We all sang Ubuntu, a well-loved Chorus song that speaks about our human interconnnectedness as well as with the Earth and the web of life.
Reports and recordings will be available on the National Congress of Women website.
Chorus sings with Visual Petition on Climate Crisis
Hilary chose our first song as sound track to the video about the petition when she heard the live recording of Lament from our 2004 concert in the Hall of Memory at the Australian War Memorial.
Chorus women were present at the first screening of the video during the Canberra petition launch in February 2022. The video was widely used by media, including ABCTV news.
The printed images were handed to the Member for Canberra Alicia Payne MP in June. On 28 July, she tabled the petition in the House of Representatives. The Chorus sang the Lament in the foyer of the National Library as another printed copy of the petition was taken into the National Collection.
For more information about the petition see https://www.hwp.com.au/documentary/everydayclimatecrisis
Love Has a Voice - for Afghanistan in 2021
... You are not alone, we're singing with youWe hear your voice. Hey, that's our song too!
All around the Earth the women are humming
and the song of the Spring is rising
If they hurt you Malalai, they will not kill your voice
You're a song of the women in every place
They can cut the flower, but they can never stop the Spring
The buds are opening in our gardens too ...
These words are from our song 'Love Has a Voice', which is dedicated to the women and girls of Afghanistan. With the Taliban's terrifying return to power in 2021 they are singing from all Chorus hearts to our Afghani sisters, including those who live in Australia and fear for loved ones in that war-torn country.
A Chorus of Women sang 'Love Has a Voice' to 28-year-old Afghan MP Malalai Joya at a moving 2007 UNIFEM Australia International Women's Day gathering in Canberra attended by 850 people.
Malalai Joya had survived numerous Taliban assassination attempts by the time she visited Australia. Songwriter Glenda Cloughley was inspired by Malalai's statement: 'They can cut the flower, but they can never stop the Spring'.
We sang 'Love Has a Voice' for the people of Afghanistan four years after Chorus began with our 'Lament' for the people of Iraq. The song incorporates the 'Lament'.
Hear the wisdom of women, hear our song.
We send our deep appreciation and support to all educators of Afghani girls and women, human rights defenders and journalists.
You can read the full lyrics and hear the song here. Here is a link to a August 2021 essay by Nobel Peace Laureate Malala Yousafzai, who became an international advocate for girls' education after she was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 on her way home from school.
Vale Bob Hawke
In A Chorus of Women we recall fondly the former Prime Minister joining the cast of 80 Canberra citizens in Old Parliament House for Closing Night of our 2010 Floriade Festival production of The Gifts of the Furies. In front of a packed House of Representatives, Bob Hawke delivered the verdict in the trial we staged between The Furies of Earth and Lord Reason, with Ethos presiding. The trial scene is the centrepiece of The Gifts of the Furies, which our composer Glenda Cloughley based on The Eumenides, a Greek tragedy from 458 BCE whose happy ending follows the people's commitment to compassionate justice and harmony with the Earth. Bob Hawke loved the big story-song, declaring in an impromptu speech afterwards that ‘the environment is the Number One issue for me.' Read more about our performances of The Gifts of the Furies.
See Bob Hawke’s impromptu speech and his cameo role in the House he led as Prime Minister from 1983.
The performance video concludes with The Promise sung to Gaia by the Chorus of Citizens.
See excerpts of The Gifts of the Furies 2010
