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For immediate release: March 11, 2025 Contact Olivia Porada, Administrative Manager for Choral Music, [email protected]  HARVARD-RADCLIFFE CHORUS PREMIERES MAJOR WORK BY BOSTON AREA COMPOSERSpring Concert Features Oratorio by Linda J. Chase, Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory Faculty March 11, 2025 (CAMBRIDGE, MA): The Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus (HRC), one of Harvard’s Holden Choruses, performs For Our Common Home: Resounding Ecojustice on Saturday, May 10 at Sanders Theatre on the University campus. The 8:00pm program will be conducted by HRC’s music director, Edward Elwyn Jones, Gund University Organist and Choirmaster at The Memorial Church, Harvard University. Although earlier versions of the work have been presented and recorded, HRC’s performance marks the premiere of the full score as revised by the composer in 2025. In addition to the 120-voice mixed choir, For Our Common Home features solo vocalists and instrumentalists Farayi Makek, J’adon Brooks, Heiraza, and Abigale Reisman with jazz artists Stan Strickland, John McGee, John Lockwood and George Lernis. Composer/flutist Linda J. Chase teaches Ecomusicology and Music, Spirit & Transformation at Berklee College of Music, and Interdisciplinary Improvisation at New England Conservatory. Her oratorio was inspired by Pope Francis’ 2015 encyclical, Laudato Si’, a call to caring for the earth and an echo of the teachings of St. Francis of Assisi. The libretto was curated and edited by the distinguished Harvard Divinity School theologian Dr. Harvey Cox, who commissioned the composition in 2020. Dr. Cox’s insights on the shaking of the spirit inspired her first oratorio, The City is Burning. Chase is the recipient of multiple awards for her work including a Japan Foundation Fellowship (2011) which coincided with the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster. In response, she composed music based on poetry by Izumi Shikibu and Ono no Komachi leading to a collaboration with poet/translator Jane Hirshfield. Chase has held artist residencies at the Old Cambridge Baptist Church (2017-18) Grand Canyon National Park (2012) and the Morris Graves Foundation (2002). Her chapter A Contemplative Pedagogy of Listening published in the Routledge Handbook of Grassroots Climate Activism (2024) addresses climate justice issues in ways that are relevant and applicable to musical artists. Running approximately 100 minutes, the scope and scale of For Our Common Home would alone make its performance a noteworthy event for HRC. “It is a rare opportunity,” said Jones, “to present a work that is so timely, critical, and creative in its messaging. It is an honor to perform this piece and an imperative for our audiences to hear it.” The music itself blends classical, jazz, gospel, and klezmer idioms, with vocal styles ranging from whispered text to full-throated anthems. A preview of the work took place at NEC in 2021, followed by a recording and performance in 2022, and subsequent revisions to the entire score. Chase is now “especially thrilled to have HRC bring For Our Common Home to the general public through a complete performance at Sanders.” Concert tickets are available at the Harvard Box Office: $25 general admission, $15 senior citizens, $5 EBT cardholders, students free. Free parking for concert goers will be available at the Oxford Street Garage. Directions to parking and Sanders Theatre can be found online. -- Founded in 1979, the Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus is made up of 120 undergraduates, graduate students, faculty, staff, and community members. The ensemble presents two major choral-orchestral performances per year exploring a wide range of repertoire spanning the baroque, classical, romantic, 20th century, and present-day music. Members represent a variety of musical backgrounds and experience levels. Comments are closed.
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