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March 3, 2008
The Complaints Choir of Umeå is now taking your complaints. Have you anything to complain about? You can file your complaints at this website until March 24. The Choir is organized by MADE festival. Mats Larsson Gothe will write the music and Kjell Oscarsson will be the choir master. |
March 1, 2008
Today the Complaints Choir of Florence was announced. It will be the first Complaints Choir in Italy. It is organised by Associazione Start. The composer is Alessandro di Puccio.
Info: www.associazionestart.org or brigua@gmail.com You can download the flyer from here. |
January 28, 2007
All public performances of the Complaints Choir of Singapore have been cancelled. The Singaporean authorities did not want to issue a permission for public performances if foreign choir members wouldn't leave the choir. The choir has few members who are permanently living in Singapore but who are not Citizens. The Malaysian born choir conductor and the artists Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen weren´t given a permission to perform either.
The choir decided that they did not want to perform under these circumstances and hence all public performances were cancelled. This is the first time the Complaints Choir project created negative attention due to the reactions of authorities. The lyrics contain mostly daily irritations like "People put on fake accents to sound posh" and "My neighbour sings KTV all night". The relation between daily complaints and political ones were in average the same than in other countries where the project has been realised. The authorities did not come to follow the rehearsals before making their decision.
It was a strong provocation for us to hear that the authorities wanted the Non-Singaporean choir members to be excluded from the choir performances. This would have spoilt the project's intention to create a strong sense of community, a community that is based on shared complaints about life in Singapore here and now.
We are disappointed that our prejudices against Singapore have been affirmed. We find it irritating that foreigners - people that built this city, nurse Singaporean kids and bring in their knowledge - are not allowed to complain." – Tellervo + Oliver Kalleinen
But judge by yourself: read the lyrics  and watch the video 
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January 8, 2007
The Complaints Choir of Singapore came together for the very first time today. The rehearsal took place in the Old Parliament House right in the chamber in which many decision affecting the lives of all Singaporeans were made. After a short complaints warm up people went into full gear and produced ca. 1000 complaints in 10 minutes. That is a world record, but for those Singaporeans that complain about Singapore always needs to be No.1, we can confirm, that Helsinki produced 3 times more complaints in total, placing Singapore into 2nd best only.
The Complaints Choir project and its Singaporean section is featured on Channel NewsAsia. The Sinagporean Complaints Choir has attracted a number of Media responses, e.g. from the Straits Times and Channel5 News among many others. |
  
November 3+4, 2007
The Complaints Choir of Chicago performed for all Chicagoans on Sunday November 4 at the Cloud Gate aka The Bean at Millenium Park in the heart of Chicago. On Saturday November 3 the Choir was the biggest band ever to have performed at the legendary Empty Bottle Club. The Chicago Complaint Choir was conducted by Jeremy Jacobson aka the lonesome organist and organized by Frank and Lisa Mauceri of Smog Veill Records (in collaboration with MCA and SAIC and Humanities Festival). All photos by Clare Britt.
Check lyrics and live footage from the Chicago Complaints Choir. |
November 25, 2007
The Complaints Choir project is featured on CBS Sunday Morning, November 25. Correspondent Bill Geist covered the story and even contributed a complaint that is now a part of the Chicago Complaints Choir song. |
November 1, 2007
The BBC One Show ripped off the Complaints Choir project! We are dissappointed that exactly BBC utilizes the idea of the Complaints Choir for their show without crediting anybody that has made this project a success around the globe and created an international community. They even pretend to be the first ones who organize a complaints choir in the UK while in fact the project was started in Birmingham, UK. They even have reported on the BBC about the Bimringham choir. Thats just bad journalism and bad style. And the worst part: when submitting a complain to the official complaints website of the BBC you can tick a box saying" I want an answer to my complaint". We certainly ticked that box, still they did not reply to us. Write to BBC and complain about them! |
November 3+4, 2007
The Complaints Choir of Chicago performed this weekend at a packed house at the MCA and in various locations around the city. Our thanks goes out to all complainers of Chicago, all choir members, the organizers and of course to choir leader, composer and conductor Jeremy Jacobson! |
October 22, 2007
The Complaints Choir of Chicago is rehearsing now. More then 400 complaints were filed. A third of the complaints had to do with the traffic, only one complaint was about relationships. Jeremy Jacobson, the composer and choir conductor set them to music. The challenging piece will be now rehearsed during the next two weeks. The choir will perform on November 3 at the Museum of Contemporary Art (2 performances: 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.) and at the Empty Bottle Club 8 PM. On November 4 the Choir will perform on various locations in Chicago without prior notice. So watch out for a bunch of complainers that day! |
October 1, 2007
After sweeping successes in Europe the complaints choir movement has now finally reached the heart of America (by detour of Canada and Alaska). We proudly announce the Complaints Choir of Chicago. It comes just in time to save the country from the unscrupulous mission of Rev. Will Bowen of Christ Church Unity to create a COMPLAINTS FREE WORLD. To complain is a basic human right. Even in Paradise people complained. Why pretend that things are okay when they are not. Complainers of Chicago, we count on you to stop the "tyranny of the positive attitude in America!" (Barbara S. Held "Stop Smiling and Start Kvetching"). View the trailer on YouTube. |
August 22, 2007
The Complaints Choir of Malmö aka Malmö Klagokör celebrated a great premier last week during Malmöfestivalen. On Sunday 19 the choir performed also on the main stage of the festival in front of 2.000 people. The choir was organized by Malmöfestivalen (Karin Larsson & Lotta Ström) in cooperation with Signal Gallery. The choir was conducted by Mattias Leesment Bergh. |
August 7, 2007
The complaints choir project will be shown at KUMU (Art Museum of Estonia) in Tallin and at SIGNAL Gallery in Malmö. Today also the Budapest Complaints Choir has been added to the site. Check out their great video and the fantastic song. Our favourite complaint is: "My neighbour gives folk dance classes above my bedroom." |
July 28, 2007
Heidi Soltau reported today about the Complaints Choir of Sointula: "We, the hearty souls of Sointula, have joined the ranks of "connoisseurs of complaining" and organized a Complaints Choir. Since we are an island community of only 800 people, it was pretty easy to get the word out and organize (we even got some fellow complainers from across the water).
We just put up a poster and a "Complaints Box" in our local Coop Store and in two weeks we had more than enough material to work with. (The hardest part was keeping the complaints from getting too personal,,,,,,,,since this is a small island and we all tend to know each other's business.)
We held our first "workshop" meeting the first week in July and are now rehearsing the final version (hopefully) of the song called "History Always Trumps Common Sense" (that was one of the complaints we just couldn't find a place for in the song!) We will be performing our "Complaints" on Saturday, July 28 at "Artopia", our summer arts festival." |
June 2, 2007
Basel is organizing a Complaints Choir as well. Daniel Hagmann took the initiative. It will be the first one in Switzerland. The Complaint Choir of Basel is searching now for participants and complaints. Please join if you live in Basel and have anything to complain about. Rehearsals will take place in September. All further information can be found on the choir web-site: baselklagt.ch |
May 29, 2007
Finally the Complaints Choir of Gabriola is online. Check the latest contribution to the worldwide phenomena of complaints choirs! This site includes now also an option to vote for your favourite complaint choir. This is not a representative survey and it is not about who complains better, it is just to see which video people favour most. Thanks for voting. |
May 18, 2007
Today Sivan Shenhav informed me that she had organized the Complaints Choir of Jerusalem. It will be added to the site as soon as the video is edited and subtitled. |
April 18, 2007
Now it is official. Budapest will get its own complaints choir. Daniel Fazekas took the initiative. The Budapest Complaints Choir aka Budapesti Panaszkórus is growing already rapidly: 75 Members, 1300 complaints. Check here for more (and here). |
April 17, 2007
Three more Complaints Choirs have been added to the site: The Penn State Complaints Choir (organized by Craig Upton), the All Canadian/As It Happens Complaints Choir (organized by CBS radio) and the Juneau Complaints Choir AKA Skunk Cabbage Complaints Chorale (by Nancy DeCherny). Check the Choir section. |
March 11, 2007
The London Complaints Choir is searching for complainers and complaints. If you live in London and you always wanted to complaint together with a whole choir you should consider joining. The choir is initiated by Benjamin Nolan and Mawgen Beattie. Visit the web-site of the London Complaints Choir for further info. |
March 8, 2007
Gail Lund informed about the recently founded Gabriola Island Complaints Choir. The choir has 45 members and has already recorded a song and is working now on a video clip. As soon as the video is ready it will be available on this site. Gabriola is a small island off Vancouver Island near Nanaimo with a population of around 4000.
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March 6, 2007
The Penn State Complaints Choir music video is finished and will be posted soon on the site. The choir was initiated by Craig Thomas Upton and PSU ECO INNOVATION at Penn State University in the USA. The choir is "tackling global issues as well as local issues in a rhapsody parody song format." |
February 27, 2007
The Juneau Complaints Choir was announced today: "We are forming, as part of an annual Cabin Fever Spring Arts Fest, a Skunk Cabbage Complaint Chorale. We will perform on Mar. 9 at 12 pm noon on the Capitol Steps in Juneau (Alaska). The weather will be miserable. Our complaint song is composed by Patricia Hull and Tony Tengs, and will move from a whiny fussy minor key filled with complaining and lamentations to a melodic and uplifting major key singing out of the wonderful reasons to live in this dark rainy and magnificent place. Spring is just around the corner, none too soon, I might add." |
February 23, 2007
The Complaints Choir videos are shown until March 10 at Sparwasser HQ in Berlin and from April 1 at Kunsthalle Kiel as part of the Ars Baltica Triennale. |
February 22, 2007
The CBC radio show "As It Happens" organised a Canadian Complaints Choir with the complaints provided by listeners of the show. The choir was formed by volunteers from Toronto. It had its debut at the Glenn Gould theatre last night. |
January 31, 2007
Gilles Roy wrote a long, excellent and very insightful review of the Complaints Choir project. You can read it at his site Amateurmusicians.net. |
JANUARY 29, 2007
A new complaints choir was submitted! Check out the ultimate complaints of the citizens of Bodø in Northern Norway in the CHOIR section of this site. Watch the Mayor of Bodø being the hardest complainer. Thanks to Kari Koksvik. |
JANUARY 23, 2007
Rehearsals for the Pittsburgh Complaints Choir - organized by Jen and Ray Strobel - have been set! There will be six rehearsals beginning the week of February 6th. Reherasals will be held in the parlor of First United Methodist Church, on the corner of Centre Ave. and South Aiken in the East End of Pittsburgh. If you are interested in singing and can attend all six rehearsals, or if you have a complaint to suggest, please send email to the following address: complaintschoir [dot] pgh [at] gmail [dot] com. |
JANUARY 9, 2007
A new complaints choir was submitted! Check the fantastic song and great performance of the Poikkilaakso Complaints Choir in the CHOIR section of this site. The chorus of the song is magnificient. Poikkilaakso is part of Helsinki city. Thanks to Matti Salo. |
DECEMBER 23, 2006
The Complaints Choirs of Hamburg (aka Beschwerde Chor zu Hamburg-Wilhelmsburg) and St. Petersburg went online today. Merry Christmas! |
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DECEMBER 12, 2006
The Complaints Choir Project is featured today on BBC Global Hits: "For today's Global Hit, the subject is complaints. Complaints about the weather, the neighbors, the government. All set to music. The World's Patrick Cox has more."
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DECEMBER 3, 2006
The Complaints Choirs of Helsinki and Birmingham will be shown at the Dreamlands Burn exhibition at Kunsthalle Budapest. The exhibiton is open from 7th December 06 - 28th February 2007. There are also discussions about a Complaints Choir of Budapest. |
DECEMBER 1, 2006
The Complaints Choirs of Helsinki, Birmingham, Wilhelmsburg and St.Petersburg will be shown at the
Lost and Found exhibition at the Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, SMAK, in Ghent in Belgium.
The exhibition runs from 2nd December 2006 until 11th February 2007. |
NOVEMBER 30, 2006
Today the Complaints Choir Website Worldwide went online. |
NOVEMBER 24, 2006
Today the Complaints Choir of Birmingham was featured on YouTube. One member of the Birmingham Choir was recognized at his local Farmers Market: "I have seen you on YouTube". |
NOVEMBER 23, 2006
The Complaints Choirs of Helsinki, Birmingham, Wilhelmsburg and St.Petersburg will be shown at the
5 Tage Bis zum Ende der Kunst – Fremd bin ich eingezogen exhibition at Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel. The exhibition, the last one curated by Rene Block for Fridericianium, runs only from 23rd - 26th November 2006. |
NOVEMBER 2, 2006
Today the Complaints Choir of Bodø had it's premier. It was the second complaints choir that was organized completely independent from the initiators of the Complaints Choir project. |
OCTOBER 6, 2006
The Complaints Choirs of Helsinki, Birmingham, Wilhelmsburg and St.Petersburg will be shown at the
Art Link exhibition at Göteborg Konsthall in Sweden.
The exhibition runs from 6th October 2006 - 7th January 2007. |
SEPTEMBER 7, 2006
The Complaints Choir of St. Petersburg was formed today. The choir met for the first time at Pro Arte Institute to work on the complaints song. The public performances will be on September 28th and 29th. |
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