In December, The Esoterics will mark its 30th anniversary with a weekend of concerts featuring the world premiere commission -- A calendar of light -- by Los Angeles composer Dale Trumbore. Dale has enjoyed a fantastic career since winning The Esoterics' POLYPHONOS composition competition in 2014, and the group is excited to share her most recent work with you. To create this "calendar," Trumbore collaborated with the Pennsylvanian poet, Barbara Crooker. Trumbore's cantata of 24 movements that takes the shape of a cyclical calendar year, and is modular -- featuring multiple starting points that allow the piece to begin or end in the same month as the piece is performed.
In A calendar of light, our relationship to change is mirrored in our relationship to the changing seasons. These range from small and personal changes -- our own daily triumphs and artistic failures - to the wide-ranging, devastating consequences of climate change. Crooker's stanzas ask resonant questions: "Is it impossible to plant change?" "How can we let it all slip through our fingers?" In the end, Trumbore and Crooker's calendar holds us accountable for embracing change and for altering our relationship with the earth for the better. Their piece calls for reflection and action, with recurring refrains and call-and-response movements that invite the audience to sing with the ensemble.
Not only are The Esoterics hosting Dale and Barbara for the weekend of their world premiere, we are also hosting a grand gala reception after each concert -- in Seattle and Tacoma. We hope that you all can join us as we celebrate our pearl anniversary!
CONCERT REPERTOIRE:
A calendar of light (2023, world premiere commission)
by Dale Trumbore