If you have not yet heard Amandla, you are in for a treat!

Pete Seeger

• Eveline MacDougall — Director, Fiery Hope
• Forest Avenue – Opening Act

Founded in 1988 as Amandla Chorus, the group has changed its name to Fiery Hope with the start of its 31st season this year. The chorus is based in Greenfield, Massachusetts and made up of singers from all over the Pioneer Valley.

The original name, Amandla, suggested by a chorus member from South African, comes from the Zulu word for “power,” and is used celebration of the power of community.

Every season, they present new works in addition to gems from their vast repertoire and work with guest artists to round out the mission of singing world music while remaining deeply rooted in their community.

Fiery Hope sings for justice, freedom, and peace—songs new and old, some from around the world and others written right here. In performance, they wear sashes made of cloth from many lands to remind each other that we all belong to a global family.

Playing for Change Foundation

The Playing for Change Foundation is a non-profit organization established in 2007 whose mission is to create positive change through music and arts education. The foundation has been chosen as the recipient of a 2019 Polar Music Prize, which is one of the world’s most prestigious music awards. 

This year PFC Day coincides with the International Day of Peace, a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. We welcome supporters of that celebration to join Fiery Hope and our Meetinghouse friends in song.

• Playing for Change page for Fiery Hope

We will honor a sliding scale donation at the door, suggested $15 to $25, more if you can, less if you can’t. If you prefer to donate directly to PFC in support of our event, please bring your online confirmation with you to attend. We would greatly appreciate your online support of the PFC Foundation through our event even if you are unable to attend. Thank you in advance for your support.

Forest Avenue is Opening the Show

Forest Avenue, a high energy string quartet playing music from Celtic and other traditional genres, will open the night.

• Andy Van Assche — guitar
• Désirée Lowit & Eveline MacDougall — fiddles
• Dan Frank — mandolin & hurdy-gurdy

More on Fiery Hope

The original Amandla Chorus was founded by Eveline MacDougall in 1988 as a way to support the then-growing campaign to end apartheid in South Africa. Since then, the chorus has added songs from many lands and in many languages as a way to share the joy of singing in community and to take a stand for human rights.

Fiery Hope offers songs that are both rousingly joyful and deeply meditative to honor the spectrum of experiences on Earth. Also among their large repertoire are songs celebrating the natural world, the many struggles for justice, rites of passage, and the strength of community.

The chorus travels to prisons, schools and universities, rallies, protests, concert halls, soup kitchens, and community centers to bring songs to audiences of all ages and walks of life. Their songs have brought then into the presence of some treasured heroes, including Nelson Mandela, Pete Seeger and Cesar Chavez. Yet some of their most moving experiences have been while singing in remote or dismal places like prisons and shelters.

In more recent years Fiery Hopes has been honored to offer their music by special invitation in private settings including memorial services, weddings, and at the bedsides of those at life’s end.

• Fiery Hope’s website