Come Closer: Queer Choir Amsterdam #2

After a sold-out evening in March, Queer Choir Amsterdam returned to the Oude Kerk on September 10th with the new performance 'A Gushing Deluge'. Once again, the choir used the space of the Oude Kerk to reshape and alienate (as in: 'to queer') the traditional meaning and presentation of a choir. Accompanied by the cello, the choir presented not only two older songs but also three new compositions created in a collective process. The tone and content was both light-hearted and more activist and serious. Antonio Oba's installation was integrated into the performance. For instance, the song Fruit Chorale was sung around the artwork Suspended Children and the choir improvised with Oba's bells in the High Choir. With over 200 visitors, this second performance was also sold out.

Come Closer was a series of educational performance programs in the Oude Kerk, developed in and around the specific artistic interventions inhabiting the space at the. Artists, musicians, researchers and visitors together explore an underexposed past, alternative versions of the present and possible futures. Curated by Radna Rumping, the Come Closers took the form of intimate evenings, where visitors and artists explore the sonic space of the Oude Kerk with dance, performance and deep listening exercises.

Programme:
Gush Song: Lyrics by Shreya de Souza, 'Golden Showers' segment by Mama Kil
Fruit Chorale: Queer Choir Amsterdam with Vera Morais
Villian the Villain/Mage is a Real Word: Concept by Mama Kil, lyrics by Kavya Venkatraman and Linn Pfitzner, composed by Vera Morais
Don't Ransack my Pride: Lyrics by Abigail Maxime, composed by Vera Morais and Kavya Venkatraman
Mermaid Orgies: Song lyrics by Sarah Naqvi and Rinella Alfonso, composed by Vera Morais

Choir members present during the performance:
Abigail Maxime, Antigoni, Alma Noor, Aurelia Noudelmann, Beatriz Lerer Castelo, 감孫하惠, Ishita Shukla, Jesus Cervantes Ruiz, Johanna Ekenhorst, Joy Brandsma, Justin Nuij, Kavya Venk, Lin, Lea, Margot Bruce van der Sande, Mama Kill, Maithri, Micaela, Miquel Tur, Mylou Oord, Rinella Alfonso, Rula, sanj, Shreya de Souza, TERRY, Ursula.
Antigoni Seferli op cello.