Voice of the Lake

An Oratorio for Vocal Soloists, Choirs, and Instruments

Composed: 2017, revised 2018
Premiere: Blue Streak Ensemble, Breen Center for the Performing Arts, Cleveland, November 12, 2017
Revised Version Premiere: Blue Streak Ensemble, Cleveland Institute of Music, October 19, 2018
Duration: 80 minutes
Instrumentation: Vocal - Soprano, Mezzo, Tenor, Bass solos, Children's Choir, Adult Choir (SATB). 
Instrumental: 1111; 1110; 1 perc, harp, piano, strings (6,5,4,3,1) or (11111)

Part I:     At the Lake
Part II:   The Public Hearing
Part III:  Evening Near the River (silent video shows pollution and causes during aria)
Part IV:  Sunrise on the Lake

Voice of the Lake, an Oratorio for Vocal Soloists, Choirs and Instruments is a musical description of Lake Erie, the good and the bad, in the first quarter of the 21st century.  The music portrays the constant motion of the waves splashing on the rocks, of walking on the beach, of the sun glinting on the water, of children playing in the water, and of the pleasure of a fisherman in his boat fishing.  The Oratorio also depicts the environmental problems that the lake faces.  After a canoe trip near the algae friendly river, the mezzo shows photos to her friend and sings of the lake where it is filled with algae. She also shows various innovative attempts to control and stop the algae.  Another section of the Oratorio portrays a public hearing over whether to dump the toxic residue that has been dredged from the Cuyahoga River into the lake. The revised version of Voice of the Lake focuses on factual information in the libretto veering away from using poetic lines.   The music is the same, but the words have changed.  Plus there are new arias for the mezzo, and for tenor.

(Part II, The Public Hearing, refers to actual hearings in Cleveland, OH, and is very specific to that location. Thus, it is fine to omit Part II and perform only Parts I, III, and IV if so desired)

REVIEWS

"The 'Voice of the Lake' needs to be heard."
- Mark Sebastian Jordan, Seen and Heard International

This project is supported by generous grants from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, The George Gund Foundation, the Cleveland Foundation, Bascom Little Fund, and the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the National Endowment for the Arts. But we still need your donations to help us reach our goal of matching these grant awards!

RECENT PERFORMANCES:

September 20, 2018, 7:00 pm

Museum of Natural History
Part I will be performed in collaboration with a new photography exhibit by Linda Butler

October 19, 2018, 7:00 PM

Cleveland Institute of Music
Blue Streak Ensemble performs the oratorio in its entirety and the performance will be video recorded for future broadcast

FEATURING:

Domenico Boyagian, conductor
Angela Mortellaro, soprano
Sarah Beaty, mezzo-soprano
Brian Skoog, tenor
Bryant Bush, bass

READ ABOUT THE SOLOISTS HERE

October 31, 2018

21c Museum Hotel, Cincinnati
International Symposium of the North American Lake Management Society
Blue Streak Ensemble was invited by NALMS to perform Voice of the Lake during their symposium in Cincinnati. This was a FREE performance

The video of Voice of the Lake was aired on cable TV stations across the nation throughout 2019!

• Hudson Community Television Air times: August 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22 and 24 (just after the City Club of Cleveland’s forum discussion about the Great Lakes)

• My Community Focus, located in seven communities in Northeast Ohio. Air Times: Every Sunday in November 2019 on the Sunday Special at 9:30AM and 8:00PM

• LTV in Wainscott, NY, Air times: Saturdays 2pm (9/21, 9/28, 10/05), Sundays 6pm (9/22, 9/29, 10/06),Wednesdays 2:30pm (9/25, 10/02, 10/09)

THANK YOU

to our generous donors for helping to bring Voice of the Lake to life