That’s how the 19 members of the EMU Chamber Singers spent their spring break. From March 2 to 9, they performed at venues in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia, and at high schools throughout the Shenandoah Valley. 

The theme of this year’s tour was “Chorus of Peace: Songs of Lament and Hope” and featured selections sung in languages including Sesotho (spoken in Lesotho and South Africa), German, Latin and Italian.

We asked junior Iris Anderson and senior Afton Rhodes-Lehman, members of the Chamber Singers since their first year at EMU, and junior Tyler Williams, now in his second semester with the group, to share their experiences from the tour. 

How did this tour compare to others?

Anderson: We got to go to a bunch of high schools nearby and sing for them and tell them about EMU. There were a few high schools that a member or two had attended, and so it was fun to see them interact with their high school choir director and see where they came from.

Rhodes-Lehman: On tour, you see your local community in a way you haven’t before. We were going to places I hadn’t been exposed to, like Mennonite churches I haven’t gone to, so that was exciting. 

Williams: This is actually my first spring tour with the Chamber Singers. I can’t speak for other Chamber Singers tours, but I can compare it with other choir tours I’ve been on. This tour was the most fun and one of the easiest I’ve been on, simply because of the people I was surrounded by.

EMU Chamber Singers at the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C., on March 2. (Photos by Rachel Schrock Photography / EMU)

Did you have a favorite venue?

Anderson: It’s hard to pick a favorite. We sang in the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington, D.C., which was a cool place to sing in because it was so big and resonant and sounds beautiful to sing there. The Music Room in Orange, Virginia, was probably one of my favorite concerts. It was a great place. Despite it being a former hardware store, it had pretty good acoustics. And, we sang with the Rapidan Orchestra.

Rhodes-Lehman: I loved singing at the high schools. There are some high schoolers I’ve worked with through EMU’s summer musical theater program, so I was excited to get to sing for them.

Williams: My favorite venue was definitely the sanctuary of First Mennonite Church in Richmond. I know a lot of others enjoyed singing at The Music Room. I, unfortunately, got sick on the tour, so I wasn’t able to sing with them there, but from what I heard, I’m extremely jealous that I missed that opportunity.

What was your favorite memory of the tour?

Anderson: I loved hanging out with the people in choir. It’s a great group of people, so it was great to spend time with them and get to know them a little better and have fun. I frequently said to my friends on the trip: “I don’t think I’ve ever laughed this much.” There was a lot of laughter and good connection. All the churches were so generous and gave us dinner. Most nights, we would perform and go home with a host family and get a little glimpse into their lives for a night, like a mini-crosscultural experience.

Rhodes-Lehman: We got to perform in front of the reflection pool on the National Mall and that was fun. We put together our own little band based on instruments that people could play. That day, we probably did at least 12 songs.

Williams: My favorite moments were probably the car rides to and from performances and high schools. That’s where I got to know everybody on a deeper level and I feel so incredibly connected to everyone in Chamber Singers because of those long commutes. I also loved getting to know my host families when we sang at churches for services and concerts.

Answers have been edited for conciseness.

“Horseradish looks just like mayonnaise, so a label is good because it helps you differentiate between them,” Cooper told a crowd at Common Grounds Coffeehouse on Tuesday night. 

“There can be a great place for labels or it can be incredibly limiting,” she added. “A label you use today may not apply tomorrow, or three years from now, or graduate school or as you start a family.” 

Cooper, a Black transgender woman who serves as director of community engagement for the , spoke at EMU’s LGBTQ+ History Month keynote. As a member of the , she is the second-highest ranking transgender woman in the U.S. government. 

The health and equity advocate told the gathering of 135 people about the history of the transgender community. She discussed key definitions of gender and transgender identity and reviewed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation being introduced.

Cooper said it was especially important for her to provide a historic context for transgender identity, as she presented slides of some historical figures who would have identified as transgender.

“Trans is not new,” she said. “It just might be new to some of you.”

The event not only attracted students from EMU but also from other colleges and universities throughout the region. Following her presentation, Cooper engaged in a fireside chat with nine EMU students who shared their experiences of living with queer or transgender identities. 

One of those students, Sarah Peak, a junior, spoke about how she had fought a losing battle trying to turn the Queer Student Alliance at her high school into a school-sanctioned club. 

“Every single time we applied for it, we were denied,” she said. “That just goes to show you that even though you’re … allowing students to voice themselves, we’re still severely restricted in schools in what we can do and what we can say.”

Many of the students participating in the small-group discussion spoke positively about how EMU embraced who they are. 

Riley Quezada, a senior on the leadership team for the EMU Queer Student Alliance, said they did not come out until their first year on campus. But once they did and expressed their preferred pronouns, they felt like a different person.

“I wasn’t someone who was closed-off and unapproachable,” Quezada said. “I am now more approachable and I am now more of myself.”

Dawn Neil, coordinator for the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, celebrated the event’s success.

“The support that we got from the community, from our students, from faculty and staff that were here, it was very inspiring,” she said. 

Neil reached out to Cooper about a year ago and explained how EMU supported its students. Hearing about that support convinced her to speak, Neil said.

“Tori was impressed with how students’ voices are listened to on campus and with what was going on with the transition from Safe Space to QSA,” Neil said.

The EMU QSA, recently renamed from Safe Space, is a group for empowering queer voices and LGBTQ+ activism on campus. This is the second time the office of DEI and QSA has hosted a keynote speaker in recognition of October as LGBTQ+ History Month. 

“This is our first big event with the new name and new leadership, but with the same spirit,” Quezada said.