RiverSing
Charles River Conservancy and the Revels,
in collaboration with Underground Railway Theater
Autumnal Equinox, September 22, 2004
A free celebration
at the Weeks Footbridge
6:00-7:30pm on the parklands
of Allston and Cambridge
At 6 pm on Wednesday, September 22nd, join hundreds of singers at the Weeks
Footbridge to celebrate the passage from summer to fall. Under the artistic leadership
of the Revels, this event will include, among other things, reciprocal singing
across the water and the lighting of the Weeks Bridge.
Directions and Parking
Public Transportation
RiverSing will be located on the Charles River Parklands, just upriver from the
Weeks Footbridge (which links Memorial drive at deWolf Street with the Harvard
Business School). The event will take place on both the Allston and Cambridge
Riverbanks.
The best way to get to the event will be by public transportation!
- Red line T to the Harvard Square T stop.
- Take John F. Kennedy Street toward the river.
- Turn left onto the Parklands and head downriver toward the Weeks Footbridge.
Parking
Garages in Harvard Square: Eliot Street, University Place, Charles Hotel, Church
Street
Volunteer
Volunteer and help make RiverSing a roaring success! Volunteers will help set
up for the event, sign people in, maintain pedestrian traffic across the Weeks
Bridge during the event and clean up afterwards. To learn more or to sign up,
contact Evan Moss by phone or email edm@thecharles.org.
Learn the RiverSongs
RiverSing will feature not only well known music but also a special call and
response piece written specifically for the event by Revels music director George
Emlen. To learn the new RiverSing song, visit the Revels
website or email info@revels.org.
RiverSing 2004 Press Release
As the sun sets on Wednesday, September 22, 2004, the Revels and the Charles
River Conservancy in collaboration with Underground Railway Theater will celebrate
the first day of fall with an event on both banks of the Charles River involving
lighting the Weeks Footbridge, and people celebrating with music. The event will
create a public gathering to strengthen a sense of community, a common goal of
both the CRC and Revels.
Concentrating on the area upriver from the Weeks Footbridge on both banks of
the Charles, dancers, singers, friends of the parklands and many greater Boston
area choral groups, including the Mystic Chorale, will come together to celebrate.
Besides Alpine horns, musicians such as the Second Line Social Aid and Pleasure
Society Brass Band, the New Liberty Brass Band, and percussion ensembles from
the Brazilian and the local Cape Verdean communities, will join in this unique
celebration.
The event has three parts:
-
At 6:00 pm we invite people to gather for an informal performance set
featuring dancers and musicians on either riverbank.
-
At sunset the second, more focused event will begin when the massed choirs
will join in song.
-
At 7:00 pm, all will be invited to join in a special call and response
piece written for the event by Revels music director George Emlen. The piece will
be conducted by a larger-than-life puppet with an illuminated baton, courtesy
of Underground Railway Theater who designed the puppet specifically for this event.
The event will conclude with the architectural lighting of the Weeks Bridge
and the lights—which will remain on after September 22nd!
The event will not only be a wonderful musical celebration, but it will also
be a great time for community members to join together to celebrate the arrival
of fall and the beauty of the parklands and the Weeks Bridge!
Background
The Charles River Conservancy has previously illuminated the Weeks Bridge
for a single night on the winter solstice 2001 and again on May 2nd 2003. The
purpose each time was to draw attention to the bridge's architectural beauty,
to build support for lighting bridges and to show the need for restoring the Weeks
and other bridges as part of the parklands renewal. The Conservancy believes the
Charles River Parklands themselves are a living work of art, where seasonal changes
of nature and mirrored light from the river play in concert with the architecture
of the bridges. In collaborating with the Revels in producing RiverSing, the Conservancy
seeks to achieve a fusion of musical and environmental art in which the audience
at the event becomes part of the performance.
Revels, founded in 1971, is best known for its annual Christmas Revels
community celebrations at Harvard University's Sanders Theatre. Revels also produces
the annual Midsummer Revels family celebration at The Children's Museum in Boston.
Revels has a 34-year long tradition of marking the calendar with participatory
festivities and works with large numbers of volunteers of all ages on a regular
basis.
RiverSing's Light Artist
John Powell, of Light Time and Space, Inc. has worked with the Conservancy
on the past bridge lightings (2001 and 2003). John, a renowned lighting artist,
has created innovative lighting exhibits world-wide. Locally, however, he is probably
best known for his work with the Conservancy and his successful illumination of
the Evelyn Moakely Bridge over Fort Point Channel, a City of Boston Browne Fund
project. To learn more about John Powell and his work, visit the Light
Time in Space website.
Post RiverSing Dinner Reception
After RiverSing, join the Charles River Conservancy at the Weld Boathouse at
7:30 pm for a fundraising dinner reception. Tickets must be purchased in advance
and are $150 per person. To purchase, call the CRC or email crc@thecharles.org.
|
