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Why We Are Here by Nightswimming
An invitation to sing with other people, with a political/social/geographical bent.

Created by: Brian Quirt and Martin Julien
Produced by: Brittany Ryan
Resident Artists: Tamara Podemski, Krystal Cook, Michelle Thrush, Michelle St. John
Choir Leaders: Anne Schaefer, Jean-louis Bleau, Jane Perry, Joe Slabe, Hussein Janmohamed, Reza Jacobs, Alan Gasser, Cathay Nosaty, Karin Randoja
Why We Are Here! Is a unique and stand-alone experience that invites audience members to become a choir and sing in a site that they would not normally be able to sing in. Why We Are Here! Is Nightswimming’s site specific pop-up choir that places audiences at the centre of an exhilarating choral adventure - and they’re the singers.
Produced by: Brittany Ryan
Resident Artists: Tamara Podemski, Krystal Cook, Michelle Thrush, Michelle St. John
Choir Leaders: Anne Schaefer, Jean-louis Bleau, Jane Perry, Joe Slabe, Hussein Janmohamed, Reza Jacobs, Alan Gasser, Cathay Nosaty, Karin Randoja
Why We Are Here! Is a unique and stand-alone experience that invites audience members to become a choir and sing in a site that they would not normally be able to sing in. Why We Are Here! Is Nightswimming’s site specific pop-up choir that places audiences at the centre of an exhilarating choral adventure - and they’re the singers.
Awards & Press
“Audience members walk away from WWAH! feeling elated and transformed because of the singing community that grows out of each performance” - Theatre Ontario
"In an age when the red states won’t talk to the blue states, when sports fans of the wrong team occasionally end up dead in the parking lot, when everyone is their very own brand and media outlet, Quirt and Julien created a show out of creating a choir out of the audiences who attend Why We Are Here." - The Half Step
"In an age when the red states won’t talk to the blue states, when sports fans of the wrong team occasionally end up dead in the parking lot, when everyone is their very own brand and media outlet, Quirt and Julien created a show out of creating a choir out of the audiences who attend Why We Are Here." - The Half Step
Presentations
- Harbourfront’s JUNIOR: Toronto, ON 19-21 May 2018
- Spark Festival: Victoria, BC 12 March 2018
- Spark Festival: Victoria, BC 13 March 2017
- High Performance Radio: Calgary, AB 18, 20, 22 January 2017
- St. Andrew by-the-lake, Ward’s Island: Toronto, ON 3 June 2015
- Fort York: Toronto, ON 26 May 2015
- Allan Gardens: Toronto, ON 20 May 2015
- Videofag: Toronto, ON 12 May 2015
- Aga Khan Museum: Toronto, ON 6 May 2015
- Toronto, ON January 2014
- Toronto, ON November-December 2013
- Toronto, ON 22 October 2012