The concert will begin at 7:30pm, and the doors will open at 7pm, giving attendees an opportunity to explore the aquarium exhibits before the concert. Audience members will be seated under the life-sized, suspended blue whale in the grand hall, with the three-story, 142,000-gallon Blue Cavern exhibit, featuring a Southern California kelp forest with leopard sharks, moray eels and giant sea bass as the backdrop for the chorale.
The program will feature the world premiere of “Chorale of the Jellies,” a collaboration by composer Eddie Freeman and computer scientist/musician Marty Quinn.
Quinn, founder of the Design Rhythmics Sonification Research Lab, used digital video footage of the jellies’ movement, translating it into sounds, then composer Freeman used the sounds to make musical patterns. The work was arranged for the choir from their original Aquarium of the Pacific-commissioned work “Symphony of the Jellies.”
Another oceanic highlight will be “Om for Chorus and Whale” by Mark Barville, founding director of the Long Beach Chorale. This piece with whale-song accompaniment was first performed by the chorale at the gala opening of the Aquarium of the Pacific in 1998.
“I’m thrilled to be directing this enchanting concert of the sea,” said Beth Syverson, assistant director and pianist for the Long Beach Chorale. “Putting together a program that is filled with unique pieces, underscored with various multimedia elements, was terrific fun. Not just whales and jellies fill our program, but penguins, mermaids and octopuses will also have their moment in the sun, along with ocean-themed folk songs from Japan, Cuba, Italy and Missouri. Your head will be swimming in water metaphors by the time we’re done performing these Songs in the Key of Sea.”
Refreshments are available for purchase, provided by the Aquarium of the Pacific concession, and the aqueous evening will conclude with a silent auction. Ticket prices include Aquarium admission and are $30 for adults, $18 for students with ID and children ages 3 to 11, $25 for Aquarium members, and $15 for member students and children. Tickets can be purchased online at aquariumofpacific.org or at the Aquarium box office. For more information, call the Long Beach Chorale at (562) 427-1931 or the Aquarium of the Pacific at (562) 590-3100.
