A Brief History of the World House Choir

Dr. Catherine Roma, WHC Founder and Artistic Director

Founded in 2012 by Dr. Catherine Roma, the World House Choir is a diverse, multi-cultural, mixed-voice choir of 80-90 active citizen singers. The choir’s repertoire is drawn from the music of peace and justice struggles worldwide, representing different traditions including classical, global folk music, spirituals, and gospel.

Our name is inspired by the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, who wrote, “We have inherited a large house, a great world house in which we have to learn to live together in peace.” The name refers to the choice each person must make – to live in community or chaos, particularly in a nation where racial stereotypes remain strong and multiculturalism a work-in-progress.

The Rev. Derrick Weston and Dr. Catherine Roma met in the summer of 2012. They were encouraged to meet one another because people felt they had the same focus about creating a peace and justice choir. Rev. Weston was Director of the Coretta Scott King [CSK] Center and minister of the Presbyterian church in Yellow Springs, Ohio. In September 2012, they worked together to form an embryonic choir that sang for world peace day celebration at the Presbyterian Church.

After that successful effort, a mission statement was created: “To perform music that motivates and inspires our communities toward justice, diversity and equality as we strive for peace and to create our web of mutuality.” Rev. Weston and Dr. Roma wanted the choir to be associated with the Coretta Scott King Center at Antioch College and embarked on a collaboration.

The choir grew throughout 2013. The first major collaboration was for the CSK birthday celebration at the CSK Center at Antioch College in April 2013. This was considered the “official” launch of the choir and the beginning of the public phase of our collaboration. From the beginning, Antioch College has graciously provided practice space first in the CSK Center and, as our numbers grew, in the Foundry Theater.

Past Performances

2013 Performances

Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration – AME Central Chapel, Yellow Springs
Program – Madison Correctional Institution – London, OH
Urbana University – In remembrance of September 11 victims
UN International Day of Peace – First Presbyterian Church, Yellow Springs
Standing on the Side of Justice Rally – Courthouse Steps, Columbus, OH

2014 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration – AME Central Chapel, Yellow Springs
Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration – AME Central Chapel, Yellow Springs
Program – Madison Correctional Institute – London, OH
Welcoming Dinner – Antioch College Campus – Impromptu performance for Board, Alumni, Students and Friends celebrating the new year.
Building the World House: Celebration of the UN International Day of Peace – Grace Methodist Church, Dayton, Ohio
TEDx Dayton, Victoria Theatre, Dayton, OH
Love Makes a Family – A Celebration in Support of Marriage Equality, Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH

2015 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration – His Light Still Shines – AME Church, Yellow Springs, OH
King Day Celebration – Warren Correctional Institution, Lebanon, OH
King Day Celebration – Madison Correctional Institution, London, OH
Mary Morgan’s Celebration of Life – Senior Center, Yellow Springs
Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration – Antioch College
Maxine Jones Memorial Service – Bryan Community Center, Yellow Springs
Mending the Sacred Hoop – Grace Methodist Church, Dayton, OH.
Roger Husbands Memorial Service – Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs
Antioch College Commencement – Wellness Center, Yellow Springs
Missa Gaia (A Mass in Celebration of Mother Earth) A call to action for climate change/climate justice, three performances, two at Antioch College Foundry Theater in Yellow Spring and one at Grace Methodist Church in Dayton, OH
Nuns on the Bus Come to Yellow Springs – Senior Center, Yellow Springs
Black Lives Matter Sing – House of Joy, Cincinnati, OH

2016 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration, AME Central Chapel, Yellow Springs
King Day Program – Dayton Correctional Institution, Dayton, OH
King Day Program – Warren Correctional Institution, Lebanon, OH
King Day Program – Madison Correctional Institution, London, OH
Black History Month program – Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Fairborn, OH
Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration, Antioch College Foundry Theatre, Yellow Springs, OH
Program – Marion Correctional Institution, Marion, Ohio
Antioch College Commencement, Yellow Springs
UN International Day for Refugees – Dayton Cultural and RTA Center, Dayton, OH
Americans Who Tell the Truth – Sinclair College, Dayton OH
Flash Mob for Mavis Staples – Wheat Penny Oven and Bar, Dayton, OH
Come Sit at the Welcome Table – Concerts to celebrate the UN International Day of Peace – Grace United Methodist Church, Dayton, OH, Antioch College Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH and Urbana University, Urbana, OH.
Concert to End Gun Violence – Wilmington College Westheimer Peace Symposium, Wilmington, OH
Celebration of Bishop Todd O’Neal’s 40 Years in the Ministry – House of Joy, Cincinnati, OH

2017 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Marion Correctional Institution, Marion, OH
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Antioch College Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at London Correctional Institution, London, OH
Celebration of Life for Ron Seimer, Yellow Springs, OH
Langston Hughes Program at the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Center, Central State University, Wilberforce, OH and Antioch College Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH
Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Concert to benefit Standing Rock, Grace United Methodist, Dayton, OH
Concert for United Nations World Refugee Day, Dayton, OH
Antioch commencement, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Together We Bring on the Light, with guest artist Melanie DeMore, Foundry Theater Yellow Springs, OH and Wayman Chapel AME Church, Dayton OH
Westheimer Peace Symposium at Wilmington College, Wilmington, OH
Repeat of Langston Hughes Program, Central State University, Wilberforce, OH and Chapel at the VA, Dayton, OH
Community Solutions Conference, Yellow Springs, OH

2018 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Bryan Community Center, Yellow Springs, OH
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at London Correctional Institution, London, OH
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Dayton Correctional Institution, Dayton, OH
Dayton Women’s March, Courthouse Square, Dayton OH
Tenth Anniversary Celebration, 365 Project, Central Chapel AME, Yellow Springs OH
Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration, Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH
Progressive Baptists Conference Performance, Harmony Creek Church, Kettering, OH
Fifth Anniversary Celebration, WHC, Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH
Benefit for Poor People’s Campaign, First Unitarian Church, Columbus, OH
Antioch Commencement, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Bayard Rustin: The Man Behind the Dream, Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs; Westminister Presbyterian Church, Dayton; and House of Joy, Cincinnati, OH
Freedom to Vote Rally, Antioch College, Yellow Springs
Opening Celebration for new House of Joy, Cincinnati, OH

2019 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Bryan Community Center, Yellow Springs, OH
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at London Correctional Institution, London, OH
Take Back the Night: Our Voice is Our Power, Fairborn Community Park, Fairborn, OH
Wade In – A Call to Action on Climate Change/Climate Justice, Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH
Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration, South Gym, Wellness Center, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Memorial service for Terry Snider, First Presbyterian Church, Yellow Springs, OH
Peace and Unity Concert with Jeremy Winston Chorale, Kettering Seventh Day Adventist Church, Kettering OH
Flash Mob to Counter KKK, McIntosh Park, Dayton, OH
Antioch Commencement, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Performance for the Women’s Missionary Society of the AME Church Convention, Columbus Convention Center, Columbus, OH
Our Planet, Our Lives: Missa Gaia, A Mass in Celebration of Mother Earth, Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH; Levitt Pavilion, Dayton, OH; and High Street Methodist Church, Springfield, OH
Performance for Agraria Annual Conference, Yellow Springs, OH
Hazel Tulecke memorial service, Yellow Springs, OH

2020 Performances

Women’s March, Courthouse Square, Dayton, OH
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Bryan Community Center, Yellow Springs, OH
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at London Correctional Institution, London, OH
Black History Month Celebration, United AME Church, Xenia, OH
Black Lives Matter & LGBTQ Rally, Yellow Springs, OH
Celebration of 100th Anniversary of Ratifying the 19th Amendment, Women’s Park, Yellow Springs, OH
Release of the video performance of All Lifted Hearts

2021 Performances

Meredith Carpe memorial service, Greenville, OH
Juneteenth Programs in Cincinnati and Yellow Springs, OH
90th Anniversary of Rockford Chapel, Yellow Springs, OH
Commemorating 20 Years of Peace Building after 9/11, Urbana, OH
Celebrating the opening of new location of Dayton International Peace Museum, Dayton, OH
Fall Concert, I Feel Like Going On, – Agraria, Yellow Springs, OH
Unveiling of Wheeling Gaunt Statue, Yellow Springs, OH
Chola Susarret-Reynolds memorial service, Cincinnati, OH
Tree trimming and lighting of holiday tree, Yellow Springs, OH
Virtual Kwanzaa celebration, Bryan Center, Yellow Springs, OH

2022 Performances

Virtual Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program
Celebrating Ysaye Maria Barnwell – a program with 10 area choirs, Cincinnati, OH
Coretta Scott King Birthday celebration, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Solidarity Dividend self-produced concert with returning citizens, Yellow Springs, OH
Concert with Jeremy Winston Chorale, Seven Last Words of the Unarmed, Kettering, OH
Antioch College graduation, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Juneteenth Celebration, Yellow Springs, OH
Celebrating the 9 Lives, program for anniversary of the mass shooting in the Oregon District, Dayton, OH
Concert with Napoleon Maddox, Sorg & Thronee Threat, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Fall concert, Rise Up, Sing Out, March On, Yellow Springs, OH
Tree trimming and lighting of the holiday tree, Yellow Springs, OH
Julia Reichert burial service, Woodlawn Cemetery, Dayton, OH

2023 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Bryan Community Center, Yellow Springs, OH
Black history Month program at Chillicothe Correctional Institution with NIA Men’s Chorus, Chillicothe, OH
“Bread & Roses,” International Women’s Day Celebration, Yellow Springs, OH
Black history Month program at Chillicothe Correctional Institution with NIA Men’s Chorus, Chillicothe, OH
“Bread & Roses,” International Women’s Day Celebration, Yellow Springs, OH
“25 for 25,” May Festival Commissioning Project, Christ Church, Cincinnati, OH
Oscar Romero Conference, University of Dayton, Dayton, OH
“25 for 25” May Festival Commissioning Project, a collaboration with Jeremy Winston Chorale, 7th Day Adventist Church, Kettering, OH
Julia Reichert Memorial Service, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Marco Comegys Memorial, Yellow Springs, OH
Juneteenth Celebration, Yellow Springs, OH
Antioch College Commencement, Yellow Springs, OH
John Crawford Vigil and March, Yellow Springs, OH
“Standing on the Side of Love and Justice,” 10th Anniversary Concert, Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH
Reproductive Rights Rally, Courthouse Square, Dayton, OH
Music Series, High Street United Methodist Church, Springfield, OH
Celebration of Life for Paul Graham, Glen Helen, Yellow Springs, OH
Benefit Program for Robert O’Neal Multicultural Arts Center [ROMAC], House of Joy, Cincinnati, OH
Holiday Tree Lighting, Yellow Springs, OH

2024 Performances

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Program at Bryan Community Center, Yellow Springs, OH
Season of Non-Violence with Coretta Scott King Center & Dayton International Peace Museum, Yellow Springs, OH
Black history Month program at Chillicothe Correctional Institution with NIA Men’s Chorus, Chillicothe, OH
Bread & Roses, International Women’s Day Celebration, Yellow Springs, OH
Weather: Stand the Storm Concerts, Yellow Springs, OH
Antioch College graduation, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
Juneteenth Celebration, Yellow Springs, OH
Tenth Anniversary of the murder of John Crawford, Yellow Springs, OH
Benefit for GAZA Humanitarian Relief with YS Uproar, Yellow Springs, OH
Dayton Democracy Summit with Rev. William Barber at Sinclair College, Dayton, OH
Hold On, Hold Hope concerts, Yellow Springs, OH
Trans Day of Remembrance, Springfield OH
Holiday Tree Lighting, Yellow Springs, OH