Belonging: a call to care for all
Belonging: a call to care for all was created in response to the rising wave of hate speech and injustice present in our world. This project seeks to honor and uplift voices from communities that have been historically and recently marginalized. Composer Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra gathered these stories directly from people whose experiences reveal personal joys, deep struggles, and the persistent strength to overcome prejudice.
Belonging invites all listeners into a space of reflection, care, and connection. These are not just compositions. They are living stories that ask us to listen with attention and compassion. They remind us that belonging is a right, not a privilege, and that healing begins when we choose to honor each other’s humanity through understanding, remembrance, and love.
Music and memory honoring silenced voices and resilient communities.
When stories of prejudice are met with deep listening and music, healing can begin.
In Belonging: A Call to Care for All, twelve brave people share their lived experiences with prejudice, and find strength in knowing they are heard and validated through musical co-creation.
Belonging emerged as a musical response to hate, exclusion, and injustice–an effort to spotlight and honor the voices of people who have experienced systemic prejudice. Drawing from interviews with 12 individuals across diverse backgrounds, each piece gives voice to real stories of struggle, strength, and cultural wisdom. Through carillon music, composer Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra invites audiences to listen deeply to these important voices, recognize their gifts to the world, stand in solidarity, and rise to action to end discrimination and oppression.
1. Mo(u)rning Call. Dedicated to Ekram Suleiman, this piece mirrors the peaceful beauty of Muslim morning prayers while highlighting Ekram's courage as a Black Muslim woman pursuing an engineering degree in an environment traditionally prejudiced against women, Black people, and Muslims. Traditional Arab musical forms and rhythmic modes form the heart of this tribute.
2. Earth Blood Reprise. A reflection on African American history and ongoing injustices, this piece includes spirituals, train sounds, and quotes from classical and folk songs. This piece honors Jackie Doneghy, who was subjected to racial bias in her pursuit of classical music education.
Through collective storytelling, this project fosters empathy, connection, and a renewed sense of community. It’s a call to listen with care—and to help build a world where everyone truly belongs.
3. The Voice of Weeping. This deeply emotional work recounts the Holocaust through the voice of survivor Goldie Szachter Kalib and her spouse Sylvan Kalib. Drawing from Hebrew liturgical chants and Holocaust-era melodies Cantor Sylvan Kalib selected, the piece becomes a lamentation and a prayer for world peace.
4. Border ID. Focusing on Latine identity and border realities, this piece honors individuals and families forced to migrate, who have lived in two cultures and wonder where they belong, and what is their identity. Featuring Afro-Cuban montunos, salsa rhythms, and other cultural songs such as "De Colores," this work balances sorrow in the face of oppression and celebration of the colors of the world.
Belonging: A Call to Care for All invites listeners to reflect, remember, and reimagine a world rooted in compassion, inclusion, equity, and justice.
