Choral Art Society of the South Shore, the area’s community choral group, will present “What a Wonderful World – Songs of Earth, Sea, & Sky” on Sunday, May 1, at 4 pm at House of Prayer Lutheran Church, 916 Main Street, Hingham. Artistic Director Danica A. Buckley conducts the chorus, accompanied by Ellyses Kuan (piano), and Sally Cole Tucker (flute). The program is uplifting and thought-provoking. It features captivating choral music selections that are rooted in the themes of earth and sea and sky as well as engaging presentations from the region’s environmental groups.
“We cannot ignore the fragility and beauty of the planet, especially on the South Shore in our fragile coastal ecosystem. Buckley shares that a Choral Art Society concert featuring songs about earth and animals was held years ago. It was very popular with both chorus and audience. I have revived the program with new pieces, and have collaborated three local environmental organizations as we celebrate their mission to educate and provide recreation about earth, sea, sky, and birds in the sky. I want to use music and science to raise awareness of environmental issues and celebrate the beauty around me.
The concert program for “What a Wonderful World”, explores nature’s vast beauty with an eye to the sky, and a heart in the water. Songs drawn from this splendor include “There is a Pleasure”, Oceanus, “Under the Sea”, and “The Lake Isle of Innisfree”. The Massachusetts premiere of “Singing for Water”, a powerful piece by Brent Michael Davids, who celebrates Mohican heritage. Lyricist Tara Zhaabowekwe Houska of the Water Protector Movement. The piece is inspired by Native American roots as “Water Protectors singing to water”, the source and source of life. It also includes a nod towards repairing ecosystems and Indigenous approaches for watershed management and restoration. Honor the Earth, an organization that supports Native American environmental issues, will receive the proceeds from the composition. Other selections include Mendelssohn’s “Die Nachtigall”, which celebrates avian buddies, and “The Lark in the Clear Air”, which is a traditional Irish folk song featuring Sally Cole Tucker, flute, as a well as other similar-theme repertoire.
“What a Wonderful World”, a collaborative objective, spotlights local environmental organizations. This allows them to celebrate their missions and provide a platform for sharing information on the region’s coastal environment with the audience. The program features short appearances by representatives of North and South Rivers Watershed Associations and the Cohasset Center for Student Coastal Research. This is to increase ecological knowledge and appreciation for the beauty that surrounds us.
For this performance, masks are not required. If the venue’s policy changes before May 1, the audience will receive notification via CAS’s Facebook page and website.
Tickets for “What a Wonderful World”, which is open to all ages, are $20 each. Children aged 18 and younger are admitted free of cost. Tickets can be purchased at the door by CAS members or in advance online at tix.com. For more information on Choral Art Society, please visit choralartsociety.orgFollow Choral Art Society of the South Shore Facebook page.
The Choral Art Society (CAS), a South Shore choral group, was founded in 1958 and is dedicated to performing all types of choral music from the Renaissance to the 21st century. The Society is a non-auditioned chorus that performs challenging music to enrich and educate its members and audience. CAS is a non-profit organization that includes more than 50 singers from Scituate, and the surrounding areas. The ensemble performs in Scituate each year, and rehearses there. The Society awards an annual scholarship to a graduating high-school senior who is pursuing a music degree. For more information, visit choralartsociety.orgFollow Choral Art Society of the South Shore Facebook page.
This performance is partially supported by grants from several Massachusetts Cultural Council chapters, South Shore Music Circus, Scituate Education Foundation, and the Scituate Education Foundation. Coastal Heritage Bank sponsors it.
About Danica Buckley Artistic Director
Since 2005, Danica A. Buckley is the Choral Art Society of the South Shore’s artistic director and conductor. In 2009, the chorus performed Mendelssohn’s St. Paul for the 200th Birthday of Mendelssohn as well as the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Choral Art Society. Other performances included English part-songs and Viennese choral music, songs about the environment, as well as major works like Mozart’s Requiem, Christ Lag In Todesbanden (Bach), Magnificat(Bach), Mass of War (Haydn), Dona Nobis Pacem (“Vaughan Williams”), all performed with the Choral Art Society Orchestra. She also directs the Simmons University Chamber Choir and Cape Cod Chorale, as well as Colleges of the Fenway Chorus and Orchestra. Since 2007, she has been an adjunct English teacher at Wentworth Institute of Technology. Ms. Buckley is a Master of Music in Choral Conducting, which she received from Boston Conservatory. She studied with Dr. William Cutter.