Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Winter 2025 5 On a crisp October evening in Nashville, Tenessee, also known as Music City, a combined choir of women's voices from diverse backgrounds rang out in harmony in a memorable performance entitled "We Have a Voice." e highlight of the concert was the official Nashville premiere of the work "Suffrage Cantata" by Angela Ramsey, celebrating the 19th Amendment of women's right to vote. is was the premiere performance of this work in Nashville by Vox Grata, a professional women's choir who participated in a nationwide commissioning of this work. e setting was in the sanctuary of historic Fieenth Avenue Baptist Church, one of Nashville's earliest Black congregations established in the late 1800s. It was the joint vision of two local community choral directors, Jeanette MacCallum and Patrick Dailey, to form a combined choir of women from varied ethnicities and musical backgrounds to help bring their vision of unity to fruition. MacCallum is the founder and artistic director of the Vox Grata Women's Choir and also serves as director of music at Nashville's Second Presbyterian Church. Dailey is founder and artistic director of the W. Crimm Singers, who also performed a selection of Negro Spirituals at the performance. He is a voice instructor and creator of the Big Blue Opera Initiatives at Tennessee State University, a federal land grant and historically black college in Nashville. "Suffrage Cantata" is an extended work in five movements for SSAA chorus, piano, string quartet, narration, soloists, and optional percussion. Angela Ramsey's composer's notes indicate her desire to represent all sides of this narrative through the power of music—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Ramsey's personal commitment to include diverse perspectives from the Suffrage Movement intensified not only her research, but also displayed the depth of the turmoil and trauma of the suffragettes. is is prominently exhibited in this cantata through her musical genius as a composer. Each movement is further enhanced by a collection of pictorial artifacts of key places, events, and memorabilia projected on a backdrop above the choir to help drive the action of the story. e voices of the Suffragettes are surreally transmitted through the choir, soloists, and narration. ese elements, layered with the visual artifacts and instrumental music, transported the audience on a roller coaster of emotions. From the opening movement, "It is Coming," to the final movement, "Forward Into Light," the audience travels through a timeline dating back one hundred years ago in America's history, where women were relegated to second-class status with no citizenship or voting rights. e Tennessee State Capitol was the site for the historic decision that gave women the right to vote on August 18, 1920. However, Tennessee was the last state to ratify the vote. Upon ratification, full electoral equality was still decades away for women of color. Women from marginalized communities were excluded based on gender and race. Native American, Asian American, Latinx, and African American suffragists had to fight for their own enfranchisement long aer the 19th Amendment was ratified. e following statements from the two choral directors best sums up the significance of the event and the opportunity to celebrate the occasion: "Being able to perform this cantata in such an authentic manner, with the voices of women of all ages and races, was incredibly powerful for Vox Grata. We found it impactful to involve a varied group of narrators and soloists to convey the message of Ramsey's monumental work. Partnering with the Tennessee League of Women Voters was fitting, especially given the timing of the performance, just before the national election. We have made new friends through the power of word and music, music which transcends all boundaries." —Jeanette MacCallum, Director, Vox Grata Women's Choir "e W. Crimm Singers were extremely honored to join forces with Vox Grata Women's Choir, ALIAS Chamber Ensemble, and Fieenth Avenue Baptist Church for "We Have a Voice." Our ensemble is dedicated to projects and work that tell important stories and honor elders and ancestors while being rooted in the institutions and spaces that reared us. e program offered us that very opportunity; singing of and centering the difficulties and triumphs of women, particularly Black women, recognizing our mentors Dr. Nita Smith and Diana Poe along with William G. Crimm, our namesake, and bringing this experience to the Black church where so much of the fights for justice have been formed and fought." — Patrick Dailey, Director, W. Crimm Singers As a narrator for the "Suffrage Cantata," I gained a greater perspective on those women who fought for the rights that we now have today. is was truly a historic moment that brought together a cross-section of people from the city of Nashville to understand and celebrate the sacrifices that led to the voting rights of our ancestors. Future performances of this cantata will help to bring more communities together to foster awareness, educate our students about American history, and encourage young adults, especially women, to exercise their right to vote. Note: Historical information was retrieved from the US Department of the Interior and the National Parks Service. Nita Modley Smith, Ed.D., is a Gamma Rho initiate and current member of the Nashville Alumnae Chapter, serving as Vice President of Programs. Nita is a 31-year veteran K–12 music educator with Metro Nashville Public Schools. Dr. Smith has been a recurring workshop presenter for the Tennessee Music Educators Association Professional Development Conference and Metro Nashville Public Schools. She is Director of Music Ministries at Fieenth Avenue Baptist Church, Nashville, Tennessee. Music Notes Unifying Our Voices in Song "We are all bound up together in one great bundle of humanity, and society cannot trample on the weakest and feeblest of its members without receiving the curse in its own soul." — Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, African American Suffragist Nita Smith Nita Smith

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