I Dream A World, 2012

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale - Toronto, Canada

Live Performance

"I dream a world where man no other will scorn, where love will bless the earth, and peace its paths adorn. I dream a world where all will know sweet freedom's way, where greed no longer saps the soul, nor avarice blights our day. I dream a world where black or white, whatever race you be, will share the bounties of the earth and everyone is free; where wretchedness will hang its head, and joy, like a pearl, attend the needs of all mankind, of such I dream our world."  -Langston Hughes

In our end is our beginning. The Nathaniel Dett Chorale welcomes you to Museum for the End of the World and its presentation of I Dream A World, a performance comprised of three unique programs, each performed twice. The segments will showcase The Chorale's signature blend of Afrocentric choral music, spirituals, Latin and vocal jazz. The programs themes are the romantic, cautionary, prophetic and visionary voices of thinkers such as Langston Hughes, Joan Wolf Prefontaine, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Omar Khayyam, Dr. Ysaye M. Barnwell and James Weldon Johnson. The invitation is extended to evolutionary spirits everywhere to take heart, to consider what is ending and what is being born, and together to dream a new world.

30-minute live performances:

My Lord, What a Morning
Performance Times:  8:00 pm and 12:30 am

A set of Spirituals ranging from Who Built the Ark through warnings of impending doom such as God's Gonna Set This World On Fire and My Lord, What a Morning to the serenity of Wake Me Up, Lord, When It's Over and Abide With Me.

Oblivion
Performance Times:  9:30 pm and 2:00 am

This set is an intimate and passionate exploration of oblivion and silence, at once philosophical and hopeful. Seven Songs of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam invites us to fill the cup that clears today of past regrets and future fears, while Silentio (Lamentatio Jeremiae Prophetae #3), featuring guest bass clarinettist Jeff Riley reminds us that it is good that one should hope and wait in silence for God's deliverance.

I Dream A World
Performance Times:  11:00 pm and 3:30 am

Langston Hughes, Martin Luther King Jr., Joan Wolf Prefontaine, Gaïa Willis-Owen and Greg Jasperse are all prophets of the possible who, in tone poems like Truth Pressed to Earth, Poem for 2084 and Light, call us to take heart and to envision a new world in which we awaken to peace, love, life, hope, to deep knowing and to light.

The Nathaniel Dett Chorale is Canada’s first professional choral group dedicated to Afrocentric music of all styles. The Chorale's multi-faceted vocal talents stretch beyond classical chamber choir, to include all styles and genres of music; jazz, folk, blues, popular music and the traditions of the African Diaspora. The mission of Nathaniel Dett Chorale is to build bridges of understanding, appreciation, and acceptance between communities of people, both Afrocentric and other, through the medium of music.

Schedule

30-minute live performances. My Lord, What a Morning: 8pm and 12:30am Oblivion: 9:30pm and 2am I Dream A World: 11pm and 3:30am

66

Nathan Phillips Square, 100 Queen Street West

This project is outdoors.