We are a radical performance community based in New York City, we come to the Choir from many different creative and activist backgrounds. We have evolved a very particular sound and performance experience from the synthesis of our lived experience. We are grounded in the work of Justice and in service to the Earth. We love to Sing together.

Savitri D
Director

Colista Turner
Singer of the Month

Sunder Ganglani
Composer

Ali Dineen
Musician In Residence
THE STOP SHOPPING CHOIR


Kai Pelton
Kai was born and raised in Brooklyn, she is a performer and wise old lady. She like to read and make music and should have her own radio show.


Katie Degentesh
Katie Degentesh is a poet whose first book, The Anger Scale, was selected for a 2009 American Poetry Society award and favorably compared to the Stooges by critic Stephen Burt in The Believer. She was raised in Maryland, went to school in the San Francisco Bay Area and has lived in NYC since 2000 and Harlem since 2007.


Katy Hogan
Katy Hogan is a passionate human whose greatest pleasures include singing, dancing, and loving. And sleeping and eating. And playing the piano when she has the time. Oh! And foot massages. (Maybe those should go to the top of the list.) Also, she really enjoys doing laundry and the dishes when she doesn't feel pressed for time. She doesn't much like showering, but does it anyway, because, well, you know. She loves mother earth and her fellow humans who share this sacred planet. She espouses a return to shamanism, to the earth, to the body, to the spirit, to the greater consciousness. She is eternally grateful for her Stop Shopping and 5 Rhythms communities. By day (and most evenings) she masquerades as a professional lady and makes her living as an acupuncturist and East Asian medicine practitioner. If you live uptown, reach out for a session!


Lena Talen
AKA KindGoth Lena has been in the choir since she was a baby. She loves to dance and sing and draw and hopes to be a digital artist when she is older. She also likes to travel. Lena is a friendly person and teaches her elders all the new ways of being. She is the pres of the GSA at her school.


Mariana Wilson
Mariana Wilson is a queer non-binary theatre artist who centers anti-racism and love in their activism. They've moved around a lot in the past few years, but might stick around New York for a good while.

Mark Read
Mark Read is a good and decent human being, though he can be a tad irascible at times. He makes up for it by being a very loyal friend, exceptionally dedicated uncle and doting dog owner. He talks to himself at full volume when walking in the woods by himself.


Max Andrucki
Max J. Andrucki has been a bass in the choir since 2017. He is an associate professor of geography and urban studies at temple university. He is also a singer in beloved indiepop band The Smittens. A native of central Maine, he has lived in the UK and Japan as well as Vermont and Pennsylvania. He likes to read, cook, discuss, travel, and celebrate.


Molly Chanoff
Molly Chanoff grew up feral and wild in a free school in Massachusetts. She is an aunt, daughter, sister, friend, lover, former capoeirista, sometimes-surfer, polyglot, acrobat, trapeze artist and proud mama to a lovely daughter that she is raising In Community. Since 1999 she has been part of LAVA, a feminist dance company known for awe-inspiring feats that push the boundaries of dance, gravity and gender expectations. LAVA is committed to uninstalling the patriarchal values of our society, one person and performance at a time (join us! lavabrooklyn.org). Since 2007 she has been singing, running in the streets, dancing, climbing up mountains, travelling and performing with the choir. These two communities have shaped her adult life.


Nate Stevens
Nate is from Kentucky, he joined the Church of Stop Shopping in 2005. In addition to playing in many bands he teaches math and knows a lot about the Civil War.
CHOIR COUNCIL
Founded in 2019 The Stop Shopping Choir Council is made up of elected choir members chosen to take care of the choir at large. The council members rotate around every six months and like stewards of the land, they anticipate and tend to the choir’s needs, and instigate the community’s collective imagination. Self-determined and evolving, the council just wants to help.
Current members : Colista Turner, Molly Chanoff & Jess Beck
DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE CHOIR?
We rehearse on Sunday evenings. Please join us for a full rehearsal and we can, together, see if it is a good fit. We have many levels of singers, from Broadway belters and classically trained to karoake and secret shower crooners. Site reading and the ability to read music are not necessary! Check out our music.
COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS
The Church of Stop Shopping is intent on creating a safe and vibrant environment, one that encourages creativity, courageous activism and community consciousness.
We consider each other’s feelings and comfort levels.
We treat each other with respect and do our best to understand each other’s differences.
We encourage interpersonal complexity, lets be involved in each other’s lives!
SINGERS OF THE MONTHS
Colista Turner
Sunder Ganglani
Shilpa Narayan
Donald Gallagher
Pat Hornak
Gina Figueroa
David Yap
Sylver Pondofino
Dawn Stewart-Lookkin
Gaylen Hamilton
Bryce Gill
Sierra Carrere
Dragonfly
Ben Dubin-Thaler
Barbara Robin Lee
Jessica Wiscovitch
Ruby Spiegel
CHOIR EMERGENCY FUND
We have a small emergency fund which is available for the choir, usually grants and loans of 250$ or less. This is one way we help eachother through rough patches as many of us live paycheck to paycheck. Would you like to CONTRIBUTE to the Choir Emergency Fund?