Blyth native honoured with Unison Innovation Award for work with ensemble
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
Jackie Falconer, a Blyth native and the daughter of Kevin and Lorie Falconer of Blyth, has won the National Unison Festival’s first-ever Unison Innovation Award.
The award recognized Falconer for her creation of the Trans and Non-Binary Ensemble, which is a complementary choir to Singing Out - Toronto’s 2SLGBTQQIA+ Choir, of which she is the assistant artistic director. The ensemble is the first of its kind in Canada.
The festival, which was held in Halifax late last month, celebrated LGBTQ+ choirs from across Canada and welcomed about 20 choirs to the event, which had not been held since before the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been held every four years since 1991. It was due to be held in 2022, but was cancelled due to the pandemic.
“It’s such an honour to be presented with the inaugural award for innovation from Unison Festival for my role in creating the Trans and Non-Binary Ensemble with Singing Out,” Falconer said in an e-mail to The Citizen. “I saw a space for something new to exist here that had been lacking in the past and made it happen. Our ensemble performed at the festival to rousing standing ovations. The need for this kind of art space is clear and their excellence only propels us to keep going.”
That innovation, she said, has a definite place in the world of music, as evidenced by the rapid growth of the group. She said it made sense to create the ensemble to provide a unique opportunity to those from the trans and non-binary communities that broke down some of the traditional groupings often associated with choirs.
“Choirs often are broken into gendered voice parts - men’s and women’s, or soprano, alto, tenor and bass. These binaries or sections aren’t applicable to many trans and non-binary people,” Falconer said. “Our voices are one of the most gendered features. For example, when you hear someone over the phone, your brain will categorize their gender based on pitch and how they sound. That often gives you a number of assumptions about the person you’re speaking to. These assumptions, even when well meaning, don’t always align with the realities of who is on the other side.
“I proposed that we create a small ensemble where singers could explore their voices outside of those boxes. They could sing the parts that felt right - in their voice or in their hearts - and the result has been incredible. This ensemble grew from six members in our first performance in 2022 to 20 members in our third term. This show, the group sang beautifully in a capella with only the blend of their true voices and brought audience to tears and to their feet,” she said. “Trans and non-binary people have exceptional talents and perspectives to offer to our choir and our communities, all we need to do is to make space and listen.”
Falconer says winning the award is less about her and more about a movement for the trans and non-binary communities and she feels that winning the award and the ensemble performing at the festival are some of the first steps in a much longer journey.
“I was so excited to be getting this award and performing at Unison Festival with Singing Out and the Trans and Non-Binary Ensemble because it was a chance to be visible on a national level. Making space for trans and non-binary people in our communities is within our reach. It is possible and important,” she said. “Many groups came up to us after, saying that they wanted to do similar things in their own communities and seeing us do it set a precedent and showed them that they could do it too. We are the first, but I hope that in a few years’ time when we gather together again, that we are no longer the only group finding ways to highlight and expand our inclusion.
“This is something we’re working on in all communities, be it in discussions about flags or school policies. Choir is my thing and it’s my place to make a difference. Everyone can make the world a little better, a little more inclusive and welcoming in their own little ways. I hope I can inspire people to take that first step and stand up for someone else in your life, make someone else feel welcome. That’s all it takes.”
Creating the ensemble and working with members of both the ensemble and of Singing Out gave Falconer a chance to learn more about her craft, she said, and fill what she called a gap in her knowledge.
“When I began working with Singing Out, I got to know a number of trans and non-binary singers and realized that, as a singing teacher, I had a gap in my knowledge. I spent the next few years studying the things my education had missed. The things I learned have made me a much better teacher to all of my students. Voices are voices and should be loved as they come, much like the people they are attached to. Taking time to learn about others and taking simple steps to make space for them is simply what communities and families do,” Falconer said. “My first interactions with transgender people were from growing up in Blyth and Wingham. I know my group is in the city, but trans and non-binary people are everywhere, in all of our communities, and they have been for a very long time. The better we get at letting people be themselves, the more beautiful diversity we have to enrich our lives and neighbourhoods instead of making people feel the need to hide who they are to be safe.
“I see so much pride from the members and the members of our choir. Everyone feels better making our community a more welcoming place.”
As for the festival itself, Falconer said being part of it was so encouraging and inspiring, especially when it comes to seeing what some of the country’s other choirs have been doing in recent years.
“My favourite things about Unison Festival was seeing such a variety of groups gathered, all doing what they do best. Some groups were big and had dancers and choreography, others were intimate and sang songs of protest with important social messages and some brought beautiful classical, choral music, and others brought the fun,” she said. “The closing ceremony was especially moving. It featured three pieces commissioned in remembrance of the LGBT purge, a time from the 1950s to the mid-1990s, when LGBTQ+ members of the Canadian military and public service were discriminated against and fired from their jobs because of their identity. There is a monument under construction in Ottawa dedicated to this and these moving songs will be played for those who visit.”
She says the encouragement she and the ensemble have received from the Unison Festival has been great and the event was one to be remembered for her and her choir members.
“The ensemble is such an incredible group of people. They are so joyful and ready to try new things as we navigate the best way to make music together. Since some voices might not fit typical ranges or voice parts, sometimes we are finding new ways to approach these challenges. Sometimes they work and sometimes we have to keep trying, but in the end, we always have a beautiful song to sing,” Falconer said. “The choir and our audiences, and Unison Festival, have been so supportive of the work we’re doing. I can’t wait to see what we do next.”
For Pride Month, Singing Out and the Trans and Non-Binary Ensemble have been busy, including two large shows in recent weeks and an appearance on Breakfast Television. Now, the groups will take breaks over the summer and return this fall for another season. For more information, visit singingout.com or follow @singingoutlgbtq on social media.