Fall 2026: WASSA WASSA! African Songs of Joy and Celebration
Join us this fall as Mystic favorites, Linda Shoemaker and Louise Grasmere, lead us in a season of joyful, energizing music from Africa. We’ll sing a wide range of African traditions and styles, from simple call and response songs to full choral works, representing the music of Nigeria, Liberia, Guinea, Ghana, Cameroon, Mozambique and South Africa.
We are thrilled to be joined by guest vocalist Yemisi Oluwole, who will lead several Yoruba songs from Nigeria, and accompanist/band leader Donnell Patterson, who will add his special spark and stellar musicianship to the mix.
Songs will include Bonka Baphandle, a celebratory song of welcome from South Africa, Bele Mama (“call Mama”), a fun and beautiful round based on a Cameroon folk song about motherhood, Ukuthula, a gorgeous, moving Zulu anthem of peace, and Ise Oluwa, a lilting Nigerian song that affirms “that which the Creator has created can never be destroyed.” We’ll end with a pan-African freedom song, Aluta Continua (“The Struggle Continues”) with full audience participation.
Come ready to immerse yourself in songs in many languages from many lands! Linda and Louise have selected these songs carefully, and will teach in an accessible, step-by-step way. Singers who attend each week and put in a little time between rehearsals will be able to sing confidently by concert time.
This dynamic and oh-so-talented and energetic duo will provide an uplifting season of jubilant music-making through accessible group singing and richly textured percussion. You don’t want to miss it!
Nine weeks of rehearsals begin on Tuesday, Sept. 8 p.m., 7:30pm at First Parish, Arlington. The concert will be at First Parish, Arlington on Saturday, Nov. 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Meet Our Music Directors
Linda Shoemaker
Linda Shoemaker, a song leader, drummer, arts advocate and administrator, is excited to lead the Mystic Chorale in some of her favorite African songs, learned and collected over the past 25 years.
Linda is currently the administrative director and a song leader for Sharing a New Song Chorus (SANS). She has just returned from a tour of Ghana with SANS, and has traveled, conducted and performed around the world with SANS, including tours of South Africa, Cuba, England, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and Peru, in addition to tours within the United States.
Prior to her work with SANS, Linda served as executive director of the Arlington Center for the Arts.
Linda has a long history with the Mystic Chorale, having served as administrative director from 2019-2024. She has sung in over 30 Mystic seasons, served as a board member, and led the 20+ member Mystic Drummers ensemble from 2001-2006.
Linda has studied West African drumming and song for over 25 years. Influential teachers have included Famoudou Konate, Mamady Keita, Mamady Wadaba Kourouma and many others, including one short but life-changing workshop with Babatunde Olatunji towards the end of his life.
Linda founded and directed Kukublu, a women’s drum and song ensemble that performed African songs from many traditions at festivals and events for over ten years. She looks forward to reviving some of her Kukublu arrangements for the Wassa, Wassa Mystic season!
Louise Grasmere
Louise Grasmere was one of the early members of the Mystic Chorale, joining in its first year and performing in dozens of seasons as both featured and guest soloist.
She is an accomplished vocalist and voice teacher with over 30 years of experience and a passion for bringing out the best in choral groups and individuals. As the vocal coach for Sharing a New Song, she is known for making warm-ups a favorite part of rehearsals. She conducts workshops in vocal technique, vocal expression, and improvisation.
In addition to being a vocalist, Louise is a songwriter, guitarist and percussionist, whose powerful, emotionally rich performances have made her a respected presence on the New England music scene for decades. Seamlessly blending jazz, blues, soul, folk, gospel, Motown, and Americana, she has developed a distinctive sound that is deeply rooted in tradition and unmistakably her own.
As a recording artist, Louise has recorded three solo albums. Her first solo album, No Detour Ahead (2000), showcases her interpretations of classic jazz and blues. Her second album, Blue Ain’t Only Blue (2006), is an acclaimed collection of original blues, jazz, and folk songs, was voted one of the Boston Herald’s Top Five Blues Albums of 2006. Her newest album, Two Crows (2026), reflects both her masterful songwriting and her commitment to creating music that is imaginative, heartfelt, and deeply moving.
Louise also performs with Ensemble Eclectica Boston, where Renaissance and Baroque music meet jazz improvisation in an innovative cross-century musical dialogue. Louise has traveled worldwide as a featured soloist with multiple Boston-based choral groups. This year she toured both Ghana and Austria with two Boston choirs.
Louise is thrilled to be a part of this Mystic season. Her passion for African songs and percussion was ignited in the late 1980s though her studies and friendship with the great Nigerian drummer Babatunde Olatunji. Since then, through classes, workshops, performances with choirs and the ensemble Kukublu, Louise continues to honor and respect this evolving and ancient music.