LOCAL STUDENTS JOIN COUNTERPOINT TO PERFORM PREMIERE OF SIX DEGREES
Photo caption: Vermont's professional a cappella group Counterpoint will perform in Manchester on April 25 with students from BBA and Maple Street school.
Students from Burr and Burton Academy and Maple Street School will join the professional a cappella group Counterpoint to perform the world premiere of Six Degrees on Thursday April 25, 6:00 pm, at the First Congregational Church, Manchester. Tickets are available in advance at Northshire Bookstore for $10 and at the door on the day of performance for $15 (students $5 with ID). The title Six Degrees refers both to the cataclysmic result of the warming of the planet by six degrees Celsius, which would effectively end life on our planet, as well as to the "six degrees of separation" that connect all of humanity. Six Degrees continues a legacy of activism through music begun by Counterpoint founder Robert De Cormier (1922-2017), who strove to deliver a message of peace and justice through his compositions and arrangements of folk music.
Climate change is on everyone's lips and is evident all around us. Temperatures all over the globe are reaching unprecedented levels and in the past few years, our country has experienced the most destructive wildfires and extreme weather events in recorded history. Through music, narration, and video, Six Degrees brings a crucial environmental message to a new generation, educating students of all ages how climate change threatens our survival and how green alternatives, renewables, and sustainability can address these dangers. Throughout the school year, Counterpoint has presented several school workshops, reaching thousands of students all over Vermont. The state tour will continue with further workshops, plus public concerts in Fairlee on Thursday May 23 and in Weston on Sunday July 14.
Six Degrees comprises three musical sections. The first incorporates indigenous and contemporary folk music from all six inhabited continents and relates to specific cultural, social and environmental issues linked to the natural elements of earth, air, fire and water. The middle section climaxes with the depiction of a catastrophic warming of six degrees C, followed by an optimistic musical presentation of "turning the world around": mitigating global warming through green technology, energy efficiency, renewables, and sustainability. The work concludes with a joyous medley of world music celebrating humanity in balance with nature, in which the performers and audience are encouraged to care for the earth. For more information about Six Degrees, go to www.counterpointchorus.org, call (802) 540-1784 or email contact@counterpointchorus.org Thursday April 25, 6:00 – 7:00 pm, First Congregational Church, Manchester, VT.