IF I LEFT THE ZOO TOUR
A concert statement on running away, only to find yourself right where you have always belonged.
When we turn on the news, it doesn’t matter if we are leaning to the right or to the left. We throw up our hands and dream out loud about moving somewhere else where we can start over again.
But what if the slate were actually wiped clean? What if we could just put all of our foregone national pride behind us and pretend like none of this ever happened? What if we left this zoo? Would we each eventually find Utopia or would we fall into the same never-ending search as the rest of humanity since the beginning of creation?
The Choral Chameleon Ensemble explores the primal instincts in humans and the stories and fables of earth’s creatures and transformations in this epic narrative concert.
At the center, the profound “Prayers from the Ark” of British composer, Ivor R. Davies gives a vulnerable empathetic voice to bird, cat, raven, mouse, and dove – but only after showing us a mirror of ourselves in Noah, ever complaining of his exhaustion from the daily grind of work and the world around him.
Added to the program are the world premiere of Edward Thompson's whimsical new a cappella trilogy, “Aphorisms of the Zookeeper,” Lauren Bydalek's deeply moving “Pieces of My Heart” and musical comments from our friends, John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the form of “Blackbird” and “I Am the Walrus.”
But what if the slate were actually wiped clean? What if we could just put all of our foregone national pride behind us and pretend like none of this ever happened? What if we left this zoo? Would we each eventually find Utopia or would we fall into the same never-ending search as the rest of humanity since the beginning of creation?
The Choral Chameleon Ensemble explores the primal instincts in humans and the stories and fables of earth’s creatures and transformations in this epic narrative concert.
At the center, the profound “Prayers from the Ark” of British composer, Ivor R. Davies gives a vulnerable empathetic voice to bird, cat, raven, mouse, and dove – but only after showing us a mirror of ourselves in Noah, ever complaining of his exhaustion from the daily grind of work and the world around him.
Added to the program are the world premiere of Edward Thompson's whimsical new a cappella trilogy, “Aphorisms of the Zookeeper,” Lauren Bydalek's deeply moving “Pieces of My Heart” and musical comments from our friends, John Lennon and Paul McCartney in the form of “Blackbird” and “I Am the Walrus.”
SCHEDULE
Saturday, January 18, 2020 | 7:00 PM
St Nicholas Roman Catholic Church I Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, February 22, 2020 | 7:30 PM
Unitarian Church | Westport, CT
Saturday, March 21, 2020 I 3pm & 7pm - CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth I Wernersville, PA
Sunday April 26, 2020 I 3pm - CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Mead Memorial Chapel | Middlebury, VT
Saturday, January 18, 2020 | 7:00 PM
St Nicholas Roman Catholic Church I Brooklyn, NY
Saturday, February 22, 2020 | 7:30 PM
Unitarian Church | Westport, CT
Saturday, March 21, 2020 I 3pm & 7pm - CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Jesuit Center for Spiritual Growth I Wernersville, PA
Sunday April 26, 2020 I 3pm - CANCELLED DUE TO COVID-19
Mead Memorial Chapel | Middlebury, VT
We managed to film the first tour date in Brooklyn! Enjoy these moments from the concert
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CONCERT REPERTOIRE
*Please note: program subject to change.
What Is Our Life?
Orlando Gibbons
Prayers from the Ark
Ivor R. Davies
Save The Country
Adaptation commissioned for this program 2019
Laura Nyro
Arr: Billy Childs
Adapted by Matt Robbins
Aphorisms of the Zookeeper
Commissioned for this program 2019
Edward Thompson
Pieces of My Heart
Premiered by Choral Chameleon 2018
Lauren Bydalek
Selections from the Following:
I Am The Walrus
John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Arr: Jonathan Rathbone
Blackbird
John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Arr: Arr. Daryl Runswick
Hallelujah
Commissioned by Chanticleer 2015
Leonard Cohen
Arr: Vince Peterson
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel Ward
Arr: Vince Peterson
Orlando Gibbons
Prayers from the Ark
Ivor R. Davies
Save The Country
Adaptation commissioned for this program 2019
Laura Nyro
Arr: Billy Childs
Adapted by Matt Robbins
Aphorisms of the Zookeeper
Commissioned for this program 2019
Edward Thompson
Pieces of My Heart
Premiered by Choral Chameleon 2018
Lauren Bydalek
Selections from the Following:
I Am The Walrus
John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Arr: Jonathan Rathbone
Blackbird
John Lennon & Paul McCartney
Arr: Arr. Daryl Runswick
Hallelujah
Commissioned by Chanticleer 2015
Leonard Cohen
Arr: Vince Peterson
America the Beautiful
Katharine Lee Bates and Samuel Ward
Arr: Vince Peterson