Portland, Maine probably isn’t the first city that comes to mind when you think of a multicultural center. However, it’s become just that. Home to many refugees and immigrants from countries ravaged by war and hardships around the world, the halls of Portland’s schools are filled with 52 different languages, all with one thing in common – they’re looking for their own voice in a new country. ASCAP member Con Fullam – a songwriter, producer and musician – formed a group to fulfill that need.
“Pihcintu” is a Passamaquoddy word meaning, “When she sings, her voice carries far,” and that’s the name Fullam chose for his multicultural chorus. The group began seven years ago as a way to represent the immigrant community in Portland and tell their stories through song.
“It took a little while to get the word out and develop a trust in the project,” Fullam explained to Playback. “But now there’s literally a waiting list to get into the chorus.” From its humble beginnings when only four girls showed up for auditions, the chorus has grown to a membership of 32, now including girls from Cambodia, Congo, Dufar, Egypt, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Vietnam, British West Indies and the U.S. The group has become much more than an extracurricular activity; it has become a home.
“The music is what makes these kids come together,” said Fullam. “It’s what makes them feel as though they’re a unit, a community.” Before being featured on The Today Show last December, Pihcintu had a landmark performance in Washington, DC for the National Convention of Refugee Resettlement, which received a standing ovation from thousands of delegates from around the world. “We were getting back on the bus the next morning and four delegates came up to me and said, ’We were clapping and crying at the same time.’ And these kids can have that effect on people.”
Fullam writes most of the material that the chorus performs, interspersed with traditional and folk songs of the chorus’s native countries. The songs may not be complex in sound, but when Pihcintu sings them they clearly make an impact. “I think everyone who is exposed to them, who sees them, who listens to them, who hears about them, is a little bit closer to the greater scheme of things than they were before,” said Fullam. “It’s an incredibly uplifting and powerful way for them to deal with the many issues that they have. These kids come from war-torn countries and they have stories that would curl your hair.”
Pihcintu released its first album – Music for the World – in September 2011, with all proceeds going toward building schools in the girls’ native countries, and a documentary is also in the works. For more information on the chorus and their future endeavors, visit www.pihcintu.org.
