Over the past few years, I have been turning to artistry – that of others and my own – to process and manage my own heartache over events taking place in the Twin Cities and around the world. (Let aid into Gaza now!)

In May, I traveled to DC to experience “Over My Head, I Hear Music In The Air,” a musical celebration of the life and legacy of Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon presented by her daughter, Toshi. 

Dr. Reagon, among so many (MANY) things, was the founder of the seminal, Black a cappella women’s ensemble, Sweet Honey in the Rock.  A long time inspiration for my own a a cappella journeying (even before joining Give Get Sistet 😉), Sweet Honey pioneered activism and inclusion through songwork in countless ways, from what they sang and to whom, to when and where they sang it, and through being the first vocal group I know of who had a signing  (ASL) member. 

Hearing Reagon’s family and friends share stories and songs from the musical tradition Dr. Reagon both upheld and worked to fashion was significant and moving. I was especially moved to witness the performances of elders Charles Neblett and Rutha Mae Harris  –  original members of the SNCC Freedom Singers, who sang at numerous events and actions during the civil rights movement of the 60s.  

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As I connect with more and more artists and projects doing griefwork, I see that grief and grieving have been at the center of pretty much all of my artistic work of the past few years. 

In 2022, I explored making improvised vocal music from the sounds we use to express sorrow. I wondered if the sounds themselves could help us digest grief so I titled the work, Giving Voice to Grief.

The following year, that improvised composition birthed a project of leading singing-sounding circles to help us hold grief communally. I’ve come to believe that perhaps injuries to communities, like the death of community members at the hands of police, the trauma of the pandemic and its aftermaths (or watching genocides in real time on social media 😖) might require spaces where people can grieve in community. 

To that end, I will continue my Giving Voice to Grief community singing circles in a residency at Lakewood Cemetery this year. I am part of a four-artist cohort and my project centers on holding seasonal sings to mark how we carry, digest and transmute grief over time. I’ll host four gatherings in Lakewood’s stunning (both visually and sonically) chapel and invite community to join me in singing to our grief and loss. 

The theme for our summer sounding is The Fruits of Grief: Change and Love and will take place Monday, June 16th at the Lakewood Chapel.

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With the Giving Voice gatherings of the upcoming and past years; my writing, staging and performing of Heap Cull Gather Sow at Pillsbury House last year (Naked Stages); and my composer’s residency with Zietgeist this past winter (Precipice: Breaths For Diving), I’ve been creating an expanding collection of works about loss and sorrow. 

This month I am finishing work on yet another project* focused on how we use sound to explore and journey with grief.

Over the past 14 months, I composed improvised pieces for small ensembles (solo, duos and trios). The pieces involve text, numeric and graphic scores; work with collages; and live looping. I realized that I had started thinking of these pieces as movements in a much larger work – my “grief suite,” if you will.

What is most interesting (right now (c;) is how this griefwork is leading me into other artistic areas, many of them visual, like the set I created for Heap Cull Gather Sow, the placemaking and grounding spaces I’m crafting at my singing events, and work with collages and broken objects.

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*Sarah M. Greer is a fiscal year 2024 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the MN State Arts Board thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.