An Invitation to Sing
Dear Singers,
Revels is planning something new for the month of June. We will be participating in Cambridge River Festival, a long-established festival on the banks of the Charles River, scheduled for Saturday, June 5. Our job will be to open up the day’s festivities with a parade and a song. My esteemed colleague Paddy Swanson and I are dusting off a song we used in the 2005 Summer Revels with new words and a new musical arrangement. The song – and the entire festival – honors the late storyteller Brother Blue. It is based on the tune “African Marketplace,” which the 2nd Line Social Aid and Pleasure Society Brass Band will play with us (as they did in 2005). Our old friend Janice Allen will lead you and the audience in song.
As you may have surmised, we need you – both to march in the parade and to sing the song. We expect our part to be quick and fun. The River Festival parade is scheduled to begin at Winthrop Park in Harvard Square at 11:30 am, so you should arrive at the park no later than 11:00 am to get organized. I expect your part in the event to be over by 12:15 pm at the very latest.
I have scheduled a rehearsal for Thursday, June 3, from 7 to 8:30 pm at St. John’s Church (80 Mt. Auburn Street, Watertown MA), which you should attend if you plan to participate. I will post the music, both in PDF and mp3, so you can arrive at the rehearsal with the song under your belt.
I welcome all singers with part-singing experience to this fun event. Children are welcome to join both the parade and the chorus, as long as they are accompanied by parents or other responsible adults.
Please let us know if you think you can join us for this new collaboration. Email Lynda Johnson at ljohnson@revels.org.
Happy spring to all!
George Emlen
