PIAS Teamed up with VBCS for ‘Voices on the Water’ Concert Event
The Vero Beach Choral Society’s spring 2013 concert, “Voices on the Water,” was transformed into a multi-media, multi-sensory event in collaboration with the Pelican Island Audubon Society (PIAS) and paid tribute to local lagoon recovery efforts. On April 5 and 7, choristers delighted the ears in song while the lagoon wildlife of photographer George Bollis engaged the eyes and sign language teacher Katie (Diehl) Canteenwalla spoke with her hands in the language of the deaf.
It all took place at Trinity Episcopal Church, under the baton of Choral Society Artistic Director Dr. Jason Hobratschk. “The health of the Indian River Lagoon is an immediate concern of mine....” said Hobratschk, who has a bachelor’s degree in environmental science along with a PhD in Musicology. The Texas native added that he has been “smitten” with the natural beauty of Vero Beach since moving here in 2010 from Munich, Germany, where he was a Fulbright scholar.
The repertoire Hobratschk selected for the chorus included the much-loved Loch Lomond; an inventive choral renditions of the ever-popular The Erie Canal and Over the Rainbow; Tomás Luís de Victoria’s Ave Maris Stella (“Hail Star of the Sea”); and Aaron Copeland’s gorgeous arrangement of At the River as well as the beloved American folk song Shenandoah.
A newly reconfigured, 12-voice Madrigal Ensemble also sang unaccompanied to three water-themed pieces: the folk song Flow Gently, Sweet Afton, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Just as the Tide was Flowing, and Orlando Gibbons’ most famous The Silver Swan.
At The River, Shenandoah, and Over the Rainbow were visually enhanced by a video presentation of Bollis’s photography. The entire musical program was interpreted by Vero native Canteenwalla, an American Sign Language teacher from Orlando.