A Note from the Artistic Director
Tonight's concert, “HomeCare,” is designed to educate us on aspects of climate change which go beyond our emotional response. For this information we have invited Luke Wallace, musician and climate activist, and Ruth Andrade from Stand LA, to share their knowledge of this issue and ways to heal our land. It is my hope that you will
leave this space aware of our limited resources and how we must work to protect them for generations to come.
Concert Program
Silence My Soul
Silence my soul,
these trees are prayers.
I asked the tree:
Tell me about God.
Then it blossomed.
New Collective Consciousness
I. “We know”
Ok is the first Icelandic glacier
to lose its status as a glacier.
In the next 200 years,all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path.
This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done
Only you know if we did it.
II. “How Dare You”
How dare you!
People are suffering.
People are dying.
Entire ecosystems are collapsing.
We are in the beginning of a mass extinction,
and all you can talk about is money and
fairy tales of eternal economic growth.
How dare you!
You are failing us.
But the young people are starting
to understand your betrayal.
The eyes of all future generations are upon you.
And if you choose to fail us, I say:
We will never forgive you.
We will not let you get away with this.
Right here, right now is where we draw the line.
The world is waking up.
And change is coming, whether you like it or not.
We’re doing this because our future is at stake.
It’s Not Too Late
It’s not too late,
Too late to build,
It’s not too late,
Too late to dream.
The only way I dare to die,
is if I die because of love.
To share the land
A land in peace
It’s not too late
To share the land
Not too late to share the land in peace.
Flames
It’s a cold serene morning
In the dry forest,
Tall, thin trees loom over all.
Casting long shadows in the subtle light of dawn.
A faint glow can be seen on the horizon.
Like a harsh warning.
A flare of maroon in a sea of cool colors,
The truth of alarming reddish hue is revealed.
Licks of flame can be seen creeping over the hillside piercing the tranquil horizon.
As all trees watch in silence,
awaiting their inevitable end,
The flames advance, foot by foot, like a battalion.
Pushing forward to the battlefield.
Soon enough, the entire forest
is engulfed in distorted heat.
The smell of burning embers
is recognizable from miles away.
Minutes turn to hours, hours turn to days,
And eventually, the flames dwindle.
It’s a cold serene morning,
In the barren, charred remains of a forest.
A tulip sprouts from the ashes,
A glimmer of hope in a sea of ashy black.
This Land Is Your Land
This land is your land,
this land is my land,
This land was made for you and…
This land is my land;
ain’t it made for you and me?
This land is my land; shinin’ sea to sea.
Oh this land is your land, this land is my land,
From California to the New York island,
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters:
This land was made for you and me.
As I went walking that ribbon of highway,
I saw above me that golden skyway.
I saw below me that golden valley:
This land was made for you and me.
This land is your land, this land is my land,
From California to the New York island,
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters:
This land was made for you and me.
I’ve roamed and rambled, followed my footsteps,
To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts;
All around me a voice was sounding:
This land was made for you and me!
When the sun come shinin’, then I was strollin’,
And the wheat fields wavin’, and the dust clouds rollin’,
That voice come a’chanting, yeah!, as the fog was lifting:
See, this land was made for you and me.
In the squares of the city, in the shadow of the steeple,
By the relief office, I saw my people.
And as they stood hungry, I stood there wond’ring:
Is this land made for you and…me?
My land; ain’t it made for you and me?
This land is my land; shinin’ sea to sea.
Oh, this land is your land, this land is my land,
From California to the New York island,
From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters:
This land was made for you and me.
This land was made for you and me.
This land was made for you and me.
This land!
When Old Men Plant Trees
Plant trees whose shade you shall never sit in.
For a society grows great,
for a society grows strong,
when we all plant trees
whose shade we know we will never sit in.
Pani Ka Rang
Pani re pani, tera rang kya hai?
Water, O water, what is your color?
Rangon ke liye, pani, tu pyaasa hai!
For colors, dear water, you are so thirsty!
Pani ki tarhah, Mann berang hai
Just like water, the spirit is colorless
Jeevan ke rangon ko mann bhi pyaasa hai
For the colors of life, the spirit, too, is thirsty!
Life’s legacy reflects the heart’s colors!
Sons and Daughters
Easy on the earth, lightly on the water,
remember this place is for your sons and
daughters,
Easy on the earth, lightly on the water
Remember who this place is for
Get your kids to a garden, with the garden they'll
grow
They'll learn to go easy and learn to live slow
Just get your kids to a garden, with the garden
they'll grow
They'll learn to go easy on the earth, lightly on
the water
Remember this place is for your sons and
daughters
Easy on the earth, lightly on the water
Remember who this place is for
Get your kids to a river, with the river they'll flow
It'll teach em' how to paddle, teach em’ how to
row.
Get your kids to a river, with the river they'll flow
It'll take em' where they need to go
Ima' go easy, easy, I’m going easy yea (REPEAT)
Let em' see their reflection wherever they go
In the rain water, flood water, sleet, hail, snow
Let em' see their reflection wherever they go
And go Easy on the earth, lightly on the water,
remember this place is for your sons and
daughters,
Easy on the earth, lightly on the water
Remember who this place is for.
Earth Song
What about sunrise, what about rain,
What about all the things
that you said we were to gain?
What about killing fields, is there a time?
What about all the things
that you said were yours and mine?
Did you ever stop to notice
all the children dead from war,
Did you ever stop to notice
this crying earth, these weeping shores?
What have we done to the world?
Look what we’ve done.
What about all the peace
that you pledged your only son?
What about flowering fields,
Is there a time?
What about all the dreams
that you said were yours and mine?
I used to dream,
I used to glance beyond the stars,
I now don’t know where we are,
although I know we’re drifted far.
What about yesterday?
What about the sea?
The heavens are falling down,
I can’t even breathe.
What about apathy?
I need you.
What about nature’s worth?
It’s our planet’s womb.
What about animals, turned kingdoms to dust?
What about elephants, have we lost their trust?
What about crying whales, ravaging the seas?
What about forest trails, burnt despite our pleas?
What about the holy land, torn apart by creed?
What about the common man,
can we set them free?
What about children dyin’,
can’t you hear them cry?
Where did we go wrong, someone tell me why?
What about baby boy, what about the days?
What about all their joy, what about the man?
What about the cryin’ man,
what about Abraham?
What about death again, do we give a damn?
Performers
Soprano
- Anna Crumley
- Addy Sterrett
- Becca Tomasko
- Cassandra Duschane
- Hannah Abrahim
- Meredith Pyle
Alto
- Hannah Lewis
- Kim Dawson
- Molly Pease
- Natalie Gonzalez
- Vera Lugo
- Katelyn Dietz
Tenor
- Kion Heidari
- Adam Faruqi
- David Morales
- Jonathan Byram
- Christopher Roney
- Isaiah Chacon
Bass
- Gregory Fletcher
- Brandon Guzman
- Matthew Lewis
- Ian Gabriel Luna
- Patrick Tsoi-A-Sue
- Lorenzo Zapata
Instrumentalists
- Kristen Simpson, piano
- Christina Galisatus, piano
- Zev Shearn-Nance, Percussion
- Gaayatri Kaundinya, piano
- Robin Sukhadia, Tabla
- Aakash Pujara, Bansuri
- Jay Hemphill, Bass
Pro Bono ASL Team:
Director or Artistic Sign Language:
Monica L. Abelar-Muñoz
Deaf Performers:
Monica L. Abelar-Muñoz
Mikey Agyin
ASL Interpreters:
Ashley Rodriguez
Gema Niebla
Melissa Marquez
Special Thanks
Company Manager
- Hasan Crawford
Tonality Board of Directors
- Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake, Executive Director
- Dr. David Connors, Board Chair
- Dr. Tram Sparks, Vice Chair
- Joe Trapanese, Secretary
- Dr. Kimberly Bradshaw, Treasurer
- Stacy Brightman
- Jacob Broussard
- Shawn Kirchner
- Stu Marks
- Caroline McKenzie
- Jordan Reddout
Honorary Board Members
- Michael Abels
- Kris Bowers
- Lara Downes
- Dr. Melissa Dunphy
- Brian Lauritzen
- Angela Leus
- Kevin “K.O.” Olusola
Advisory Board Members
- Kristy Edmunds
- Vijay Gupta
- Jen Belladin Rogers
- Leslie Thomas
We sincerely thank:
- ProBono ASL
- Luke Wallace
- Stand LA
- David Morales
We are gathered today on the unceded land of the Tongva peoples. We ask you to join us in acknowledging the Tongva community, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations. This land has nourished, healed, protected and embraced the Tongva peoples for many generations in a relationship of balance and harmony. As members of the Tonality community we acknowledge this legacy. We promote this balance and harmony. We find inspiration from this land; the land of the Tongva. This acknowledgement demonstrates Tonality’s commitment to the process of dismantling the ongoing legacies of settler colonialism and honoring our Nation’s Indigenous Peoples.
Acknowledgments
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STAND LA is an environmental justice coalition of community groups that seeks to end neighborhood drilling to protect the health and safety of Angelenos on the front lines of urban oil extraction.
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Upcoming Events
HomeCare focuses on the climate crisis, including the words of young leaders who have spoken about the urgency of action toward conserving what resources are available on this planet. We've designed this concert to educate us on aspects of climate change that go beyond our emotional response. We hope that you will leave this space aware of our limited resources and how we must work to protect them for generations to come.
Music @ The Wallis is generously made possible by Terri and Jerry Kohl At War With Ourselves – 400 Years of You features a text by National Book Award-winning poet Nikky Finney inspired by her 2013 poem “The Battle of and for the Black Face Boy.” The music was composed by Pulitzer Prize winner Michael Abels, composer for the Jordan Peele films Us and Get Out. This powerful new work for string quartet, narrator, and chorus explores race relations, social justice, and civil rights in 21st century America. KRONOS QUARTET TONALITY MUSIC BY Michael Abels TEXT & NARRATION BY Nikky Finney CONDUCTED BY Alexander Lloyd Blake
Music @ The Wallis is generously made possible by Terri and Jerry Kohl Making their Wallis debut, GRAMMY-award winning vocal choir Tonality combines melodic harmonies to present concerts on themes of social justice in hopes to catalyze empathy and community activism. Put Your Guns Down discusses issues related to gun violence in the United States. Some of the selections will discuss mass shootings, police brutality, the effects on victims, school shootings, and suicide prevention. The concert also focuses on an active sense of peace as we come together to find solutions toward the epidemic of gun violence in this country. This evening’s performance will feature the world premiere of Alexander Lloyd Blake’s Running From, Running To: A Musical Reflection on Ahmaud Arbery.