PGSO

$10,000.00

The Hummingbird and the Fire is a narrated family concert that combines Mahler’s music, arranged for chamber orchestra, with a Quechua story.  A hummingbird works to put out a forest fire, one drop of water at a time.  When told that he is not accomplishing anything, he replies that he is doing what he can. It is a wonderful parable for our time of climate change.  We would like to adapt and perform this piece in partnership with a local indigenous storyteller and composer/educator Duncan Fox.  

This is significantly more ambitious than our usual children’s programming, and an opportunity for a meaningful collaboration between the orchestra and an indigenous artist.  We are looking to collaborate on this project with an elder local to Northern BC who knows a version of the story.  The Northern Indigenous Arts Council will act as consultants to help us identify an artist and help us work with this community. The PGSO would also like to license or commission an indigenous artist to add a visual component of the story.

Two preview presentations will be made in local schools on Earth Day – Apr 22, 2022.  The public performance will be at the Canfor Theatre at UNBC the following Sunday.

The final performance will be recorded for digital streaming, which will be made freely available for up to one year to District 57 schools, select retirement homes, and to any interested regional indigenous communities.

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