05-03-09 - You are different, so what?

April 20, 2009
The Healing Project
You are different, so what?

Sunday, May 3, 8:00 PM
Meyerson Symphony Orchestra

SUNDAY, MAY 3 AND WEDNESDAY, MAY 6 PRESENTED BY THE TURTLE CREEK CHORALE FEATURING MEMBERS OF THE DALLAS WIND SYMPHONY

Participation by Jews, Gays, African Americans and Muslims.
http://www.turtlecreek.org/index.php?/tcc/newspost/the_healing_project/
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SUNDAY, MAY 3 AND WEDNESDAY, MAY 6
PRESENTED BY THE TURTLE CREEK CHORALE
FEATURING MEMBERS OF THE DALLAS WIND SYMPHONY

On Sunday, May 3 and Wednesday, May 6 at 8:00 PM at the Meyerson Symphony Center, the Turtle Creek Chorale will present THE HEALING PROJECT; a musical exploration of personal and communal courage during challenging times. Using poetry drawn from personal accounts and powerful, evocative music, we aim to promote awareness of the many similarities among various distinct communities, thus bringing them closer to healing as one greater community.

We, who would heal the world, must first-ourselves be healed,
yielding to a greater love, the human heart reveals. . .
calling to our better angels
to restore our dignity!

The words above come from Our Better Angels, a new work composed specifically for THE HEALING PROJECT by Jewish composer, Andrea Clearfield with text by Reverend Robert Espindola of the Community Church of Christ.

Dr. Jonathan Palant, Turtle Creek Chorale Artistic Director, says, “This concert explores the parallels between various minority communities using both personal accounts and symbolic music. Are the equal rights desired by one community any different than those desired by another? Are both deserving of the same equal rights? These simple questions are the premise of this concert.”

Joining the Turtle Creek Chorale on stage to offer personal accounts of courage and growth are: City of Dallas Councilmember, Hon. Pauline Medrano; Holocaust survivor, Marion Avery; Mike Ghouse, President of the World Muslim Congress; Mrs. Reem Alghonimi, a Muslim Leader; Bud Knight and Chet Flake, two gay men celebrating 44 years as a couple; and Cedric Neal, an African American member of the Dallas Theater Center’s Resident Actor Company.

Our Better Angels, a musical work composed by Dr. Andrea Clearfield with texts by Rev. Robert Espindola, will receive its world premiere at these concerts. This 35-minute work, commissioned by the Turtle Creek Chorale specifically for this concert series, is scored for men’s chorus, brass ensemble, percussion, harp and organ. Members of the Dallas Wind Symphony will accompany the Turtle Creek Chorale in these performances.

Dr. Andrea Clearfield is a prolific composer. Recent commissions include works for the Philadelphia Orchestra, Orchestra 2001, Network for New Music, the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia and the Handel Society of Dartmouth College. Her choral cantata, Dream Variations, was recently premiered at Disney Hall with the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Reverend Robert Espindola has been a professional librettist for eleven years. A professional educator and ordained minister, he graduated with honors from Graceland College in Lamoni, Iowa. A teacher for twenty-two years, in 1992 Espindola was honored as one of California’s “Distinguished Educators.” A strong advocate for teenagers living with HIV/AIDS, Espindola was keynotes speaker at two national AIDS conferences, and in 1993, served as delegate at the International Conference on AIDS in Yokohama, Japan.

Tickets for THE HEALING PROJECT ($20-65) are available online at www.turtlecreek.org or by calling (877) SING-TCC.

About the Turtle Creek Chorale:

The Turtle Creek Chorale is an all-male chorus in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1980, the Chorale has over 200 members who volunteer more than 100,000 hours annually among rehearsals and service projects for those in the community. The Turtle Creek Chorale has released 37 compact discs and was the subject of an award-winning documentary in 2005 titled, The Power of Harmony.

To arrange interviews with the composer, librettist or conductor, please contact Robert Cole at (214) 526-3214 Ext. 102 or by email at rcole@turtlecreek.org.