Jazz Vespers: Chanda Rule

she took a flight to New York with dreams of using her freshly-earned journalism degree on Madison Avenue. Daunted by rush hour and cubicles, she turned to music for solace and soon after began her professional career in musical theater, appearing in a variety of productions, from New Jersey’s Hudson Shakespeare Company and regional tours, to "Hair, The Musical" in Amsterdam and Milan.
She has since shared music around the world, letting her inspirational spirit shine through her music, whether sharing chants with intimate song circles or performing for festival audiences. Her “bewitching voice,”as described by the Baltic Times, has a flexibility and range that has graced a variety of musical projects: from"Feeling Good: The Gospel According to Nina Simone" where she was featured with sax powerhouse Donny McCaslin, gospel fests and workshops with the legendary Golden Gospel Singers, and concerts with the Outreach Orchestra, to appearing as a featured vocalist on Ö1 "Jazznacht," tours with Kirk Lightsey and Zimbabwe’s Nobuntu, performing with Russian classical pianist Denis Matsuev’s Crescendo Festival, and sharing her song and sound with digital performance art projects and folkloric dance companies. She has also performed as an opening act for India.Arie, Amel Larrieux, Angela Bofill, and Regina Belle & The Whispers.
Chanda’s Langston Hughes inspired concert series, “I Too Speak of a River,” was granted the Harlem Stage Fund for New Works, and “Listening to Roots and Voicing Branches,” a multimedia theater piece she penned and performed with Okay Africa recording artist Somi was presented in New York’s Apollo Salon, Featured New Works Series.
Her passion for interfaith dialogue and creating sacred spaces in secular places – both through music and art, led her to One Spirit Interfaith Seminary and Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University where she became ordained as an interfaith minister and received her Masters degree in Theological studies with a focus on Practical Theology and the Arts. With music and interspirituality at the heart of her message, she has shared and led music at the International Buddhist Christian Conference in New York, curated and co-created Blurring the Lines, Faith Dialogue through the Arts, and performed and presented at the University of Leipzig’s Liturgical Institute Conference on Jazz, Improvisation and Liturgy. She was honored with the Hudnut Award for her sermons that combine sacred text with original story, ritual, community song and improvised music. She also shares her joy of song leading and inspirational music through her RiseUp workshops - featured on ORF "Zeit Im Bild" (Austrian national news), as a song leader at Saint Peter's Church in NYC, women's song circles, and as a presenter and song leader with Music that Makes Community.
Chanda lives in Vienna with her drummer husband, rock star three year old and his host of imaginary friends. She is currently dreaming of vertical herb gardens, dancing wildly behind closed curtains, and reframing childhood stories.
More info here: www.chandarule.com
JAZZ AT SAINT PETER’S CHURCHEach Sunday at 5:00 P.M. an open community gathers for prayer and reflection on the lines of jazz.The community is diverse and includes people who live near and far, native and new New Yorkers, and people visiting New York City. Oftentimes churches will bring groups from their home congregations. Others are not Christians or are exploring Christianity for the first time in this supportive environment. Musicians from New York and throughout the world come to play.You do not need a ticket or reservation of any kind to attend a liturgy at Saint Peter's Church. As at every other liturgy of Saint Peter’s Church, everyone is welcome.