Melanie DeMore is a three-time Grammy-nominated singer/composer, choral conductor, music director, and vocal activist who believes in the power of voices raised together. In her presentations, DeMore beautifully brings participants together through her music and commentary. DeMore facilitates vocal and stick-pounding workshops for professional choirs and community groups and directs numerous choral organizations across the US, Canada, and beyond. She is a featured presenter of SpeakOut!-The Institute for Social and Cultural Change, works with everyone from Baptists to Buddhists, and was a founding member of the Grammy-nominated ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. She became music director of Nicole Brooks’ Obeah Opera as part of the Luminato Festival in 2019. She is a charter member of Kate Munger’s Threshold Choirs and conducts song circles with an emphasis on the voice as a vessel for healing. In her own words, “A song can hold you up when there seems to be no ground beneath you.”