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 60-70 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 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 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. Prior to the WHC’s creation there were occasional celebrations of Ms. King’s life at the CSK center.
From the beginning, Antioch College has graciously provided practice space in the CSK Center or elsewhere on campus and child care has been provided by Antioch College students. Louise Smith (Dean of Community Life) and Jennifer Berman (Community Life Liason) have been very supportive and have helped the collaboration to grow.
In 2013, Rev. Weston announced that he was leaving the CSK Center and Myla Cooper was hired as the new director. We collaborate with her on the annual Coretta Scott King Birthday celebrations at Antioch College and we are also honored to perform at the Antioch College graduation ceremony each June.
The name “World House Choir” is rooted in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s metaphor that we must create a “world house” in which we all live together in peace and justice. 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.
Past Performances
2013 Performances
- UN International Day of Peace – First Presbyterian Church, Yellow Springs
2014 Performances
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration – AME Central Chapel, Yellow Springs
- Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration – Coretta Scott King Center, Antioch College, Yellow Springs, OH
- Welcoming Dinner – Antioch College Campus – Impromptu performance for Board, Alumni, Students and Friends celebrating the new year.
- TEDx Dayton, Victoria Theatre, Dayton, Ohio
- Love Makes a Family – A Celebration in Support of Marriage Equality, Antioch College Foundry Theater, Yellow Springs, OH
2015 Performances
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration – His Light Still Shines – AME Church, Yellow Springs, Ohio
- Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration – Antioch College
- Antioch College Graduation, Yellow Springs, OH
- Peace Day – Grace Methodist Church, Dayton, Ohio. *
- 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
2016 Performances
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Celebration, AME Central Chapel, Yellow Springs, OH
- Coretta Scott King Birthday Celebration, Antioch College Foundry Theatre, Yellow Springs, OH
- Antioch College Graduation, Yellow Springs, OH
- Come Sit at the Welcome Table – Concerts in celebration of 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
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 International Refugee Day, Dayton, OH
- Antioch Graduation, 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 Graduation, 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, OH
- 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 Graduation, 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, 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 on the 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