Orcas Choral Society to present songs, dance, quilts

||| FROM ORCAS CHORAL SOCIETY |||

May 16 and 17, come celebrate our nation’s 250 years of creativity in song and dance and the traditional art of quilting, as Orcas Choral Society presents its spring concert, An American Choral Tapestry at the Orcas Center.

All the songs in this concert were written by American composers, beginning with “Gentle Crystalline Waters,” by Paul Chiyokten Wagner, an award-winning Native American flutist. We’ll hear from America’s first popular songwriter, Stephen Foster, to current new pieces, including one by Billy Joel. Along the way, we’ll sing songs by Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Aaron Copland, Randal Thompson, local world-renowned composer Morten Lauridsen, and a new piece the chorus loves by Rosephanye Powell. The different pieces fit together into a beautiful musical pattern.

“This concert proves the American songbook to be as inventive, as tuneful, as just plain lovely as any in the world. It’s a joy to sing and a joy to hear,” said OCS Artistic Director Bruce Langford.

Interpretation in Dance
Orcas Island High School senior Maddy Sonshine directs members of the Orcas Dance Collective in interpreting three pieces as part of her senior project.

Piecing Together Out Heritage
In a nod to American tradition, the Orcas Center will hang the concert space with 23 handmade Orcas Island quilts. This American art form, long practiced by homemakers in all walks of life, is very popular on Orcas. The American Choral Tapestry collection includes a Washington Centennial quilt from the Orcas Island Public Library, quilts handed down from choristers and family members over the centuries, plus recent works by incredible island quilters. We hope you will enjoy the visual feast as well as the aural treat.

An American Choral Tapestry sings at the Orcas Center on Saturday, May 16 at 7 p.m. and again on Sunday, May 17 at 2 p.m. Tickets are available at the Orcas Center or at www.orcaschoralsociety.org.