Spring Choir Concert at the Unitarian Universalist Community Church of Santa Monica
Tag: choirs
Choirchella!
Harvard-Westlake Upper School brings it home.
“I Will Arise”
Harvard-Westlake presents their Spring Choral Concert, with special guest Shawn Kirchner, composer and singer-songwriter (pictured). Free admission.
Finding home
On Saturday, April 28 at 7:30pm, I will direct a spring choral concert with the Harvard-Westlake Choirs entitled “I Will Arise.” Joined by composer, singer-songwriter, and folk music expert Shawn Kirchner, we explore the musical intersections between Scotch-Irish, Appalachian, and Black American cultures as we consider what it means to find home within ourselves when circumstances drive us far away from the physical homes we know and love. We learn what enables us to rise and redefine what the word “home” can mean and where home can exist. And we discover what binds us together in our search for that home, that longed-for place of simple beauty and peace and timelessness that frees us from despair, loss, and pain. We consider the colorful poetry of 19th century Irish poet William Butler Yeats as he describes his desire to go to such a place:
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made;
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow,
Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings;
There midnight’s all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow,
And evening full of the linnet’s wings.I will arise and go now, for always night and day
I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore;
While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey,
I hear it in the deep heart’s core.
– “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats
Tonality
I’m so excited to announce that I’ve accepted an invitation to be on the board of directors for the incredible new choral group, “Tonality.”
Tonality promotes peace, unity and social justice through choral music performance in Los Angeles. I’ve sung with this group myself, and am blown away by their director Alexander Lloyd Blake. Alex is a fellow USC Trojan!, and I am so proud to support their incredible work.
As a Christmas meditation, please read Ian Perry Walker‘s review of Tonality’s December 2 performance of Stories of Home: A Tonality Holiday Concert:
Tonality’s next performance is a reprise of their “Put Your Guns Down” concert, on Sunday, January 7 at 7pm, at First Congregational Church of Los Angeles. Admission is free!
I’ll be there, and I hope you’ll come, too. If you can’t make it, please consider making a year-end gift to support the dynamic work of this organization. Go to their Fractured Atlas page to make a donation.
Merry Christmas.
Zanaida
