Wishing Chair: News

Oct 14-22 WC is out on tour in the Midwest with three shows in Indiana and finishing next week with four shows in Texas. More on the tour date page. Hope we see you at a show near you!

Wishing Chair has won two Pride in the Arts Awards for 2010. WC won Favorite Group and Favorite CD categories for " Stand Up Eight."

 

Hello Chair Friends.

It has been a while since we have contacted all of you at once! We hope that this finds you well, happy and healthy and getting ready for the holidays with friends and family.

We have been busy celebrating our 15th year of performing together. Wishing Chair has relocated to the Northeast - Kiya is in NJ where she is in graduate school at Westminster Choir College getting a  M.M. in Music Composition as well as being Composer in Residence at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Princeton. I have moved back to my ancestral home of Philadelphia, where my partner Kim and I have just purchased a new home. I continue to work part-time for the UU Church of Greenville, SC where I serve as Music Director.

Kiya's musical, Lying to the Sea Gypsy, has its Jersey premier the first weekend in December. You can read all about it and get tickets at www.lyingtotheseagypsy.com.

The Ghost of Will Harbut is being used in a documentary about the horse industry in Kentucky, currently in production. We'll keep you posted.

I have a new website to help promote my independent music business at www.miriammusic.com and Kiya has one as well for her composer and arranging work and performance art worship services at www.kiyaheartwood.com.

Wishing Chair has had an incredibly busy summer and fall season with shows in NY, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Virginia, Ohio, Florida, Maryland, NJ and Michigan. This past weekend we just finished up two shows in Philadelphia with its women's choir, Anna Crusis, where we were guest artists and performed several WC pieces arranged for choir. What a wonderful experience and we are so grateful to have had the opportunity. Thank you to director Jackie Coren and all the women of the choir!

Last summer we released our 8th CD, Stand Up 8, and it has been climbing up the OutVoice Top 40 charts for the last several months. In fact, OutVoice is acceptioning nominations for your favorite performers and CDs and TODAY, Nov. 16th, is the last day to get your votes in. We would so appreciate your help! It is a great honor to be on the list and its a small thing you could do that would help us so much.

You may place your nominations at www.prideinthearts.com till end of day, TODAY (StoneWall Society, Pride In The Arts and OutVoice avidly support GLBT artists as headliners for GLBT events).

We are getting ready to head back to South Florida this weekend for a few shows on both the east and west coasts. Details can be found at the end of this email.

 

We are currently booking for the winter/spring seasons and summer festivals and shows. We would love to come see you all again. Please feel free to contact us at booking@wishingchair.com to talk with us about a show in your town. If you would like to host a house concert or find out how to do one, just let us know.

So, many thanks to all of you for your continued support over the years and for keeping independent music alive through these hard times.

Much love and light.

Miriam and Kiya

Wishing Chair will be on the move quite a bit this fall, with gigs in the southeast: MD, DC and Florida and also in the midwest with a trip to Lansing and the Toledo area. Also, Philly folks, the be sure catch us as guest artists with Anna Crusis, Philadelphia's Women's Choir in November.

Stay warm, y'all!

 

Wishing Chair is returning to Southeast Unitarian Universalist Summer Institute in Radford VA. Kiya will be doing her performance art worship service, The Gaia Psalms, on Monday Night, WC will be performing and joining in Phil Ochs night. More on the calendar page.

We'll be in Cincinnati Friday and Indianapolis on Saturday. More on the calendar page.

Hope to see you there!

A Joint Production of Converse College Music Department and the Spartanburg Repertory Company in the Hazel B. Abbot Theatre Jan 28-30th. www.lyingtotheseagypsy.com written by Kiya Heartwood of Wishing Chair.

Our latest CD, "Stand Up 8' has made the Best of 2009 list for Mark Manning's radio show in Kansas City and was just reviewed By Sean Hickey for the Daily Local news in Philly. Here's the link: http://www.dailylocal.com/articles/2010/01/01/entertainment/srv0000007199686.txt

Hello all.

Post Thanksgiving thoughts - we are grateful for those of you who have supported us and our music throughout the years. Here's to many more!

Kiya has been accepted into the graduate program in composition at Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ. To help raise the money for her tuition she is doing a series of one-night only solo shows this winter. You can check them all out at www.kiyaheartwood.com. If you are interested in hosting her, or in booking Wishing Chair for a show of your own please let us know at booking@wishingchair.com!

Our CD release party is at Natasha's Bistro and Bar in Lexington KY this Friday Sept 11th at 9 pm. Stand Up Eight features 10 new tunes with longtime bassist Dave Arms and a good mix of stand up folk and roll.
Tickets are $10 Reservations are suggested. see you there!

WC's 8th and newest CD, Stand Up 8, is now hot off the press! You'll be able to get your own copy here, via CD or download shortly. Stay tuned!

We will be part of a great weekend of music Aug 21-22
in Whitesburg KY at the Mars Fest.

We are nominated for two 2009 JPFolks awards for Best Contemporary Folk CD ( Folk and Roll) and Best Contemporary Folk Song " Dishpan Brigade" The awards will be presented August 29th at the Wild Horse Saloon in Nashville, TN.
Pretty cool, huh?

Next weekend WC will be performing Saturday night at the operetta debut weekend of Kiya's "Lying to the Sea Gypsy" at the Cheltenham Arts Center in Philadelphia. The show opens on Friday and WC will play a set on Saturday night.There's also a show on Sunday. More on the calendar page.

WC and Kiya will be featured at the Emrys Foundation Annual Meeting. Emrys honored Kiya with a scholarship last year to study Composition. WC will be doing three school performances this week in SC and will be performing on Saturday at Haw River St park in NC for the UUA TJD Annual Meeting.

This week WC plays a lunch show at the Spartanburg Public Library at noon Weds and a school show Thurs morning, then Kiya is off to perform with the Calliope Feminist Choir in Athens OH Sat and Sunday.More on the calendar page.

This Weds. we have a concert at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, a concert for the School for the Deaf and Blind in Spartanburg and Kiya is off to Ohio to rehearse her pieces with the Calliope Feminist Choir of Athens. Whew!!!! All the details on our calendar page.

This week we are working in the studio and visiting our families. Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Check out the calendar page for more details.

We are doing a special concert and Sunday service in Grey this weekend. Check the calendar page for more details.

Wishing Chair will make a brief appearance this weekend at the Western Carolina UU Cluster Gathering in Hendersonville, NC.
Hope we see you there!

Friends,
Hang in there. We have been working on the new CD and we are hoping to get it out in late April.

Wishing Chair and many others will be performing at a tribute concert for famed pianist John Gault, who passed away earlier this week. The concert will be from 6:30-9 pm Friday Feb 13th at the UU Church of Spartanburg.

Kiya is solo in Montclair NJ this coming weekend. WC is back in the saddle in February. Our condolences to Reba Heyman over the loss of Vic. He was one of the fairy godfather's of Folk and an amazing person. We will all miss him.

2009 brings two new Wishing Chair CDs and an Operetta... "Stand Up 8" is due later this month and is WC's eighth release and Kiya's third solo CD will follow this Spring. Kiya's first operetta, "Lying to the Sea Gypsy" will premier this March. Here's wishing everyone a healthy happy and productive new year.