Rhiannon: Singers on the Front Line

This is the first in a series of interviews with singers working to promote wellbeing, social justice, and sharing the gift of song with vulnerable communities. Subscribe (below) to receive notifications of future posts. 

I first heard the phrase ‘singers on the front lines’ last October, offered up by a woman who’s been singing on the front lines herself for many years, Rhiannon. This was at the third, and final, session of a year-long program called All The Way In – a vocal improvisation course taught by Rhiannon that blends technique, mindfulness, and deep connection to each other as singers, and as conduits for the world around us. I’ve spent the past few months pondering . . . what does it mean to be a singer on the front lines? Who’s out there, singing on the front lines? And is the war metaphor an appropriate one? I called Rhiannon to find out.

Rhiannon got the phrase from Bobby McFerrin, who said it comes from a story in the Old Testament, 2 Chronicles 20:21. The story begins with Jehoshaphat putting singers in front of the army to enchant the enemy. What follows is classic Old Testament - the opposing army went mad hearing the music, and killed each other rather than the advancing army. However, in the spirit of Jewish teaching which encourages exploration and interpretation, I choose to see it as a metaphor, that the forces that oppose our wellbeing and humanity can be extinguished through music.

Rhiannon and I spoke about the metaphor of the "front lines” - being underneath to hold things up, or sometimes at the back pushing things to carry forward, the power of sound waves to travel in all directions. Such is the power of song, or, as William Congreve’s famous quote (17 centuries after the Bible was written) says, “Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast. To soften rocks, or bend the knotted oak.” 

I asked Rhiannon what’s happening on her own “front lines” right now, what role music is playing in her life, sheltering in place on Leo Nani Farms in Hawaii. She’s considering online possibilities to continue her teaching, but taking time to think about it and explore options. She’s inspired by the new Facebook group, “Singing Together across the globe with Acapella”, created by Italian singer Chiara Cortez to promote the use of the Acapella app for singers to collaborate with each other. As of this writing, the group has 546 members and 1,537 likes – likely to grow as singers in isolation look for ways to connect.

As Rhianon walks her dog, Gnocci, in the mornings, she sings to all the life that surrounds her, offering up a Hawaiian chant to the sun, listening to the song of spring and of the coqui frogs (which provided the soundtrack of our Zoom call). These were her parting words to me:

“It’s good for people to sing to themselves – you don’t need to go online and be with other people. Increase the vibration in your body, it’s so healthy and gets everything moving. Sing on your own, whenever you feel safe and comfortable. And whatever comes out is perfect.”

#SingersOnTheFrontLines