Via Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship, for the Hardwick Gazette
GREENSBORO – Savannah Williams took the stage and softly began to hum. A harpist and double bassist played soft, ambient sounds reminiscent of ocean waves in the background.
Williams’ performance was part of Healing Together: a Lullaby Project Celebration Concert and Art Show, September 19 at the Highland Center for the Arts (HCA).
The song, “Wish Come True” shared her love and gratitude for her 17-year-old son, Emmett, evoking scenes of them walking on the beach in Maine.
“When we’re at the ocean, it’s a time for us to just kind of be and be together,” Williams said.
The Lullaby Project is an international program, part of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. It pairs new and expecting parents and caregivers with professional musicians to write and perform heartfelt lullabies for their children.
Williams is the operations director for Umbrella, a Northeast Kingdom nonprofit which aims to help survivors of sexual and domestic abuse and prevent violence before it occurs.
Umbrella’s version of the Lullaby Project focuses on parents who are trauma survivors, giving them the opportunity to write, and sometimes even perform, lullabies for their children. The project aims to strengthen familial connections through expressive art and song.
Williams has been with Umbrella for more than 16 years. She was given the opportunity to write a lullaby when one of the spots was vacated by a parent dropping out.
“They [the musicians] were very sweet, and patient and generous. They really allow you to go through your process of being anxious and jittery,” Williams said.
One of those musicians is Marianne Donahue Perchlik. She sings, plays the harp and guitar and is a songwriter. She is a teacher at the Orchard Valley Waldorf School and a parent educator.
“When we carry these stories around with us, all these songs and wishes, we are inspired and motivated to get involved to change the circumstances that separate people from their children, or put them in a position where they’re not their best self to be a parent,” she said.
The venue is intimate, offering a space for parents to be up close to the musicians performing their lullabies. The concert featured 19 songs, which each of the five musicians performed together. Twice, they were joined by a program participant.
The Lullaby Project, funded by Healing Together, is a collaborative project led by Umbrella. Voices Against Violence, the Vermont Network and Discussing Intimate Violence and Accessing Support (DIVAS) are several other program partners that offer support.
This is the fifth year of the event, with the last two being hosted by the HCA.
Umbrella has taken the lead on Healing Together for the past two years, with the Vermont Network being in charge of funding the project before that. Writers for Recovery and Northwoods Music Collaborative have also provided support for Healing Together and the performances themselves.
Expressive arts can be powerful for people who are going through a difficult portion of their lives by giving them the opportunity to connect with their community, said Amanda Cochrane, the executive director of Umbrella.
“I think the power of this project is in the ability for folks to express what they’ve experienced, whether it be domestic violence, incarceration [or] something that’s brought them to supervised visitation,” Cochrane said.
“But even though they’re going through all those things, they still have that really important love for their child.”
Aurora Freeman writes for the Community News Service, a University of Vermont journalism internship.