Welcome
2014 Science Festival Chorus
Music by David Haines
Directed by Laura Backley
| Performances: | on the last weekend of school vacation week |
| Saturday April 26 at 3:00pm at the Peabody School | |
| Sunday April 27 at 5:00pm at the Museum of Science | |
QUESTIONS? Contact Carla at
617-661-0479 or festival2014@familyopera.org
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Powers of Ten explores the scales of the universe, from sub-atomic to cosmic. It is based on the movie of the same name by Charles and Ray Eames. The 18 songs include a jazzy piece about black holes, a beautiful song about the Tamar River valley, and a round about the planets of the solar system. The performances will be presented with narration and an accompanying slideshow of children’s artwork and lyrics.
David Haines has written many of the works sung by our previous Science Festival Choruses, as well as The Puzzle Jigs, a family opera performed by NCFO in 2003 and 2008. Powers of Ten was performed previously by the NCFO Festival Chorus in 2008. It was also selected to open the first USA Science and Engineering Festival on 10/10/10.
Powers of Ten is presented as part of the 2014 Cambridge Science Festival.
Read about and hear last year's Science Festival Chorus performance of H2Oratorio: A Deluge of Songs
2014 Family Opera
Many thanks to our cast, crew, and audiences for a terrific production!
Directed by David Bass and Kathy Lindsay
Choreography by Rachel Zimmerman
All performances were at:
The Peabody School (Directions, map, parking)
70 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140
Saturdays, March 29 and April 5, at 3:00pm and 7:00pm
Sundays, March 30 and April 6, at 1:00pm and 5:00pm
SEE WHEN YOUR FAMILY AND FRIENDS PERFORMED!
Our 2014 family opera was the North American (and NCFO) premiere of Rain Dance (synopsis with music), inspired by Tish Farrell's story, "The Hare Who Would Not Be King." Rain Dance was commissioned by the W11 Opera for Young People and first performed by them in December 2010. The opera was written by Stuart Hancock (music) and by Donald Sturrock (libretto). It is the tale of animals on the South African savannah facing a drought, the Machiavellian lion whom they elect to lead them, and their unlikely hero, a brilliant but neurotic and politically apathetic rabbit.
Commission Competition
We are pleased to announce the winner of our family opera commission competition: Weedpatch, by composer Paul Phillips, book and lyrics by Bill Harley. Weedpatch is loosely based on historical accounts of Oklahomans who immigrated to California’s Central Valley in the 1930s. Funding for Weedpatch has been made possible by the Puffin Foundation.
We are always interested in hearing about new operas or entirely-sung musicals which might be suitable for our group. Please click here for more details of what we are looking for in the way of a "family opera."
