Earth, Sea, and Sky: The Beautiful Poise of Lightness

The Choral Arts Ensemble of Portland opens its 58th concert season with concerts that explore our connection to the natural world and to each other through various writers and thinkers who speak of the environment as a place of safety, comfort, and beauty. Utilizing texts from Wendell Berry, John Muir and other environmentalists, Alex Berko’s A Sacred Place connects the old with the new, the sacred with the secular, and the individual with their community. Jake Runestad’s Secrets of the Sea sets texts by Whitman, Longfellow, and Inuit shaman Uvavnuk to take listeners on a dramatic musical journey of the human spirit that questions the meaning of existence while evoking the sights and sounds of the sea. We also continue our collaboration with Cascadia Composers and the National Association of Composers USA this season, singing four new works by contemporary American composers on these themes. We hope you will join us for concerts that explore community, nature, compassion, and healing.