The Dallas Street Choir
RICH LOPEZ | Staff writer
Rich@DallasVoice.com
The Dallas Street Choir, founded and led by Dr. Jonathan Palant, will premiere an original piece next week that explores resilience and hope. The original work also touches on issues of those unhoused — a population of distinct importance to the DSC.
Founded in 2014, the choir provides a musical outlet for those affected by homelessness, empowering its members through music and singing that also builds bridges of understanding across its varied communities.
DSC will do just that with the public premiere of Shelter Me: An Original Rock Oratorio composed by Jacob Ryan Smith and conducted by Palant.
“Shelter Me is more than a performance; it’s a call to action,” Palant said in the show’s press release. The show will be performed April 11-13 at the Eisemann Center for Performing Arts, showcasing not only DSC, but also featuring collaborations with the Credo Community Choir and The University of Texas at Dallas Choirs as well.
Guests artists will include Darian Sanders, fresh off his run as Simba in Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway; Bryan Terrell Clark, known for his portrayal of George Washington in Hamilton and Marvin Gaye in Motown: The Musical, as well as Dallas’ own Denise Lee.
With nearly 300 performers, the oratorio will feature a mix of anthems, harmonies and storytelling brought to life by Smith.
“Through this oratorio, we aim to inspire empathy, understanding and meaningful conversations about the realities of homelessness in our communities,” Palant added.
Smith was commissioned by Palant to compose the piece. Their meeting felt fortuitous to Smith and almost seemed as if it was meant to happen.
“There was this total force of will to connect. We walked similar paths, and the universe just pushed us together a bit,” he said by phone from New York City. “We both went to the same university, so there was that. Then I saw his choir on The Today Show. Then I was featured on The Today Show that he had seen for an educational show I was touring.”
The show Smith was featured with was a musical piece about opioid use and its dangers. “Unbelievably specific, I know,” he said.
After Palant reached out by email, Smith was pretty much on board, although neither quite knew what this would become.
“When Jake and I started working on Shelter Me, we knew we wanted to create something deeply personal, something that would challenge audiences to see the humanity in every person affected by homelessness,” Palant said to Dallas Voice in an email.
Palant noted that the unhoused community is stigmatized, much like the queer community, and the Dallas Street Choir has its own queer members.
“Too many in the LGBTQ+ community understand what it means to be marginalized, to be told you don’t belong, to search for safety where there may be none,” Palant continued. “This music is a call to action, an invitation to recognize ourselves in one another and a testament to the power of community.
“No one should be invisible — ever.”
When Smith flew to Dallas, he started by getting real life stories to begin his work.
“Truth is so much more interesting,” he said. “It was impactful to talk to people who were excited to have their stories told.”
In his interviews, Smith discovered a world far more textured and varied than any bleak stereotype one might imagine.
“There is lots of tragedy, obviously but we’re all here to create and find beauty, and, despite all that could be bad, I saw more laughs and smiles, and I could feel the weight of their gratitude. Every little win was so much larger,” he said.
After listening to their stories and gathering his notes, Smith crafted the narrative and music into a choral piece that’s also a journey.
From Dallas Street Choir:
Shelter Me is a semi-theatrical choral oratorio that originated from in-person interviews with the Dallas Street Choir. The piece draws inspiration from the experiences and stories of individuals facing homelessness. The story abstractly follows the journey of a young man newly finding himself without a home and navigating the internal and external adjustments to this altered life. Guiding him is an older man, someone entrenched in the unhoused experience for much of his life.
Smith adds that this isn’t about solving the housing crisis. Instead, Shelter Me is more about affirming this community in which there are so many misconceptions.
“It’s so easy to believe that someone put themselves in that situation and there’s this weird instinct to dehumanize, but really, there’s a flawed system here; many of these people owned up to their situation and there are so many ways someone can find themselves in this situation,” Smith said.
Palant adds that Shelter Me is more than just a show for audiences: “It’s the voice of the voiceless, sharing stories that demand to be told.
“Collaborating with Jake on this project has been a labor of love, rooted in the belief that music can break down barriers, foster understanding, and create real change,” Palant said. “As a gay man, I know what it feels like to long for a space where you are seen, valued, and safe. This oratorio is about that universal need — for shelter, for dignity, for belonging.” ■
For tickets, visit DallasStreetChoir.org or EisemannCenter.com.