On Earth Day, Monday April 22 at 7pm, the World House Choir will perform a concert at the Foundry Theater in Yellow Springs with songs that call us to action on climate justice and celebrate the importance and significance of water in our lives. The concert’s title is taken from the African-American spiritual “Wade in the Water.”
The choral works on the program will be stitched together by the gifted local storyteller, Omope Carter Daboiku.
Songs will include Moses Hogan’s powerful arrangement of “Wade in the Water,” “Yemaya,” a sacred chant from the Santaria religion of Cuba calling to the feminine Orisha who lives in the oceans and represents the forces of creation, the well-known upbeat spiritual, “Down By the Riverside,” and Margaret Bond’s lush setting of the Langston Hughes poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers.”
The concert will also feature our premiere performance of a newly commissioned arrangement of the inspiring song by the Thrive Choir from Oakland, California, “We Shall Be Known.”
A distinct treat will be our guest artist, Nigerian drummer Baoku Moses, who will accompany two pieces on the program as well as lead the World House Choir and a percussion ensemble in his original composition, Wa Ka Lo [Let’s Celebrate].
Mark your calendar for this special event. Admission is free, donations are welcome.
