It’s an unusually warm fall Tuesday evening in Lexington at African Cemetery #2. Dozens of people have gathered to celebrate tree week at the newly designated arboretum by listening to the Kentucky Climate Choir.
Rosie Moosnick, co-founder of the choir in Kentucky, said the group began earlier this year and received an Arts Meets Activism Grant from the Kentucky Foundation for Women to help fund it. She said the singing can be a peaceful protest.
“It is bringing attention to environmental harms that we are facing in a peaceful and non-violent way. And it is also a way to build community and collective action through song,” explained Moosnick.
The choir has been involved in several events, including the Interdependence Day Parade in Berea. It’s held the day after Independence Day with a goal of connecting people to each other and nature.
On this night, a founding member of the Kentucky Climate Choir, Tori Cruz-Falk stands in a semi-circle at African Cemetery #2 and sings with 15 other men and women. She said the group also organized a forest action where they sang at the Daniel Boone National Forest.
“We recently went to Redbird in eastern Kentucky and did an action, also about trees, about the logging that’s happening out there. And we went out with Kentucky Heartwood, which is a non-profit. And it was really an emotional experience, but it was also really beautiful to get to grieve that together. And so, I think that is the type of work that the Kentucky Climate Choir can do,” said Cruz-Falk.
The Climate Choir Movement was started in 2022 in Bristol, England. Kentucky Climate Choir co-founder Rosie Moosnick said she and her husband Ted were spending time in Bristol. They had never heard of the Climate Choir Movement but were invited to a rehearsal in Bristol by someone Moosnick met in a coffee shop.
“We just started coming to their rehearsals, and we found them incredibly moving and powerful, just the rehearsal itself, just to be in this room singing with other people about the environment. We were very moved and decided we wanted to start one in Kentucky,” explained Moosnick.
Climate Choir Movement co-founder Jo Flanagan spoke with me from her home in Bristol. She says there are climate choirs in numerous places, including Kenya, Zimbabwe, London and now Kentucky.
“Music and singing can be a fantastic tool to get your messages across, and also it means that those involved also are moved and have some hope and positivity as well,” said Flanagan.
At African Cemetery #2, Mark Coyne, Professor Emeritus at the University of Kentucky and Chair of African Cemetery #2 Incorporated, is the emcee for the evening. He shares information about the history of the cemetery in between songs. Coyne rings a bell before the choir sings.
Like most choir members, Lauren Kallmeyer is passionate about singing with the Kentucky Climate Choir.
“Kentucky’s environment is near and dear to my heart as somebody who is a lifelong Kentuckian. I’ve spent my entire life recreating in our woods and waters. We need an outlet for some of the angst that we’re all feeling right now about our federal policies as well as the state of our environment in general. It felt like singing was a positive thing we could do,” explained Kallmeyer.
Choir co-founder Rosie Moosnick said it’s not necessary to audition to be a choir member. Some members have experience singing, and some do not. All are welcome.
