‘The Song Keepers’ in the U.S.

‘The Song Keepers’ are coming to the United States!

The documentary film by Naina Sen and the subject of that film, the Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir, will be visiting the eastern seaboard of the United States this summer for several select engagements.

Formed in 2010 and led by Pastor Morris Stuart from British Guyana, the CAAWC comprises choirs from six different remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory of Australia. Together the members from these choirs – the Hermannsburg Ladies Choir (Ntaria), the Areyonga Ladies Choir (Utju), the Titjikala Choir, the Mutitjulu Choir, the Docker River Choir (Kaltukatjara) and the Mission Block Choir – perform sacred music in both Western Arrarnta and Pitjantjatjara languages using a Baroque choral tradition originating from the German missionaries who settled in the region over a century and half ago.

The choir achieved international notice in 2015 when it toured Germany to perform these traditional German hymns now sung in their own language in a unique example of cross-cultural collaboration and musical preservation. Naina Sen’s documentary ‘The Song Keepers’ follows their journey and highlights the extraordinary individuals who give voice to this unusual cultural legacy.

The choir’s U.S. engagements begin at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. where they will be performing on the opening night of the 2018 Serenade! Washington D.C. Choral Festival ‘Mandela at 100: Songs of Hope, Justice & Unity’, June 26th at 6p.m.

The Central Australian Aboriginal Women’s Choir will then give two live performances on June 30^th at 11am and 3pm at the Phillips Collection, located 1600 21st Street NW Washington DC. At noon, there will be a screening of ‘The Song Keepers’ followed by a Q&A with Director and Producer, Naina Sen.

On July 5th, the CAAWC will be performing in New York City at the Olsen Gruin Gallery located at 30 Orchard Street in Manhattan from 6:30pm to 8:30pm.

An interview with Naina Sen will take place on Cinema with a Twist on WIOX Radio 91.3FM on July 12^th at 1pm.