Nashville in Harmony. The phrase itself speaks of acceptance, freedom and, of course, harmony. Harmony between people, cultures, religions and lifestyles is a goal many of us thought was to come in the far, rather than near, future—if ever at all. Nashville has made such strides toward that goal and a completely harmonic future may be much closer than any of us originally thought it would be.
Our city’s civil strides have been greatly guided by organizations like Tennessee Equality Project, Nashville Pride, Out & About Nashville (if we do say so ourselves!) and yes, Nashville in Harmony (NiH), Nashville’s first and only musical arts organization specifically created for the GLBT community—and their straight, curvy and triangular friends.
NiH not only looks like the abbreviation for a battery, it is an organization which is leading a charge against inequality and unacceptance. It is also similar in that it keeps on going and is in its ninth year of performance. Nine years promoting human equality and the remembrance of the fight we endure for civil rights, NiH also works to protect the environment and help the homeless.
Their mission is simple: to use music to build community and create social change.
"For nine years Nashville in Harmony has worked very hard to fulfill our mission of using music to build community and create social change,” said NiH Marketing Chair Julie Reliford. “As we begin our tenth year, we have planned four very special performance events to celebrate the successes and milestones that we have reached. Our tenth year is going to be so sensational that it can only be called TENsational!”
So how exactly TENsational will it be? Reliford gushed over some of the firsts for NiH. "Our TENsational 4-pack of shows will feature some firsts for Nashville in Harmony including: our first time to headline both the Historic Ryman Auditorium and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.”
But that’s not all. Reliford continued, “We’ll also have our first all Broadway revue complete with a special Broadway guest vocalist, our first 'greatest hits' all holiday show with special guest vocalist J Karen Thomas, star of ABC's Nashville , our first invitational choral festival featuring some of Nashville's best choirs and guest renowned conductor/composer Greg Gilpin and finally, our first commissioned work to be debuted as the centerpiece of our Premiere Gala."
Sounds pretty TENsational to us!
Check out all NiH has to offer in their TENsational: Bravo! Broadway series at nashvilleinharmony.org/tensationalevents.