Dallas Street Choir

Through community engagement and public performance, the Dallas Street Choir seeks to improve the way society views those experiencing homelessness. Our model demonstrates that participation in a consistent, structured, safe, and creatively engaging environment better equips individuals experiencing homelessness to find a job, housing and improve their overall lifestyle. For our members, we aim to provide: practical musicianship training; an environment that promotes accountability; and a community that offers compassion and hope. For those with capacity to serve-volunteers, donors, community and corporate partners-we seek to engage you in the profound experience of empowering individuals to achieve what once seemed impossible through the seemingly simple act of singing.

The Dallas Street Choir, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, was established in October 2014 by its current conductor, Dr. Jonathan Palant. To date, over 2,000 individuals have attended at least one of our weekly rehearsals amassing more than 15,000 hours of cultural enrichment. In addition to presenting concerts at The Stewpot and the newly-built amphitheater adjacent to The Stewpot, the Dallas Street Choir has performed at the Winspear Opera House, the Dallas City Performance Hall, the George W. Bush Presidential Library, for both area private and public school students, and at other venues throughout the Dallas/Fort Worth area. The choir has sung alongside opera stars Frederica von Stade and Joyce DiDonato, composer Jake Heggie, and, in November 2015, welcomed Mrs. Laura Bush, along with Mr. and Mrs. Ross Perot to our stage. In June 2017, the Dallas Street Choir made history when it became the first musical ensemble comprised those experiencing homelessness to perform at New York City's Carnegie Hall. In 2018, the ensemble was invited to perform for the Texas Choral Directors Association statewide convention in San Antonio and, in 2019, the choir traveled to Kansas City to sing at the American Choral Directors Association National Conference.

The Dallas Street Choir will premiere SHELTER ME: An Original Rock Oratorio in April 2025. This work was commissioned by the Dallas Street Choir and composed by Jacob Ryan Smith. 

SHELTER ME is a one-hour semi-theatrical choral oratorio that originated from in-person interviews with the Dallas Street Choir. This musical piece draws inspiration from the experiences and stories of individuals facing homelessness. SHELTER ME 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. This project is in collaboration with the Credo Community Choir of Dallas and the University of Texas at Dallas. It is co-presented by the Charles W. Eisemann Center for Performing Arts.