Our Mission
The members of Bread & Roses are devoted to developing and enjoying musical skills, sharing them with each other and the community, and providing a community of women who deliver messages of peace and justice, protection of our fragile environment, diversity, women’s empowerment and acceptance for all.
Our Singers
Bread & Roses is a diverse group of around 25 women of varying ages, from various backgrounds. We are based in DeKalb, but members travel from many surrounding areas including St. Charles, Kirkland and Huntley. It’s true, we’re a collection of very different individuals, but we come together every Sunday night because we share a love of music and singing, and we love to share our talents with anyone who will listen (even if it’s only each other )
Our Director
Well, we all lead each other, in one way or another! However, mere words can not describe how much we owe to our fearless and dedicated director, and 2007 recipient of the “Woman of Achievement” award, Peggy Safford, and how much she means to us. A founding member of our group, Peggy spends many waking (and sleeping) hours on Bread & Roses. On Sunday evenings, she voluntarily comes to rehearsal and in a matter of a weeks, transforms our meager beginnings into a tight, harmonious, performance-ready chorus. She works tirelessly behind the scenes arranging, transposing, re-arranging, purchasing and organizing both our music and our concert programs – including what we say between pieces at the performance. Peggy chairs our music committee who selects the songs we will sing (among other things), and participates heavily in our Steering and Concert committees. Peggy is our rock. She encourages us when we’ve “almost got it,” and lets us know when we need to “get our heads our of our music – we know it better than we think!” She’s a wonderful director, mother (to one of our members ) and friend whom we could not do without.