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A creative community of virtuosic voices
The Esoterics is a Seattle-based vocal ensemble dedicated to performing
contemporary a cappella music from around the world.
the worlds around our sun
A choral sojourn through our Solar System with Timothy Takach
In the final concert of our 29th season, The Esoterics will commemorate THE WANDERERS of our Solar System – known in ancient Greek as πλάνητες (plānetes) – with the West Coast premiere of Timothy Takach’s choral sojourn, Helios. This fifteen-movement, concert-length work begins in the outermost reaches of the Solar System, with Pluto, and travels inward, to our Sun. The libretto of Helios is a combination of published and commissioned poems from contemporary writers as well as translations of ancient texts, and the theme of each planetary movement is inspired by the mythology or science of its namesake.
Positioned at the nexus of science, faith, and humanity, Helios includes a narrative of control and chaos, exploring that which is within our control, that which is not, and showing that we have the power to change our trajectory. The music provides a constantly changing landscape of textures, soundscapes, vocal techniques and harmonic language.
To accompany his astronomical work, Tim commissioned a series of visual projections that will run simultaneously with the concert. He collaborated with Deborah Johnson (aka CandyStations), an interdisciplinary artist and designer who has created projections for Sufjan Stevens, Sofi Tukker, St Vincent, Kronos Quartet, and Wilco.
The Esoterics will be treating our audience to the Pacific Northwest premiere of Helios with these new projections, and Tim will be here to talk about his piece before each concert. Please join us!