FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 19, 2022

CONTACTS: 

Dr. Quint Harris, Cahaba Chamber Chorale 
Call: 205-381-2265   Email: [email protected]

Katie Shaddix, Cahaba River Society

Call: 205-322-5326  Email: [email protected]

Cahaba Chamber Chorale Presents Premier Concert WATER in Partnership with Cahaba River Society

BIRMINGHAM, AL. Newly created Cahaba Chamber Chorale presents WATER, a concert in partnership with the Cahaba River Society. This premiere concert will take audiences on an aural and visual journey that explores the ways humans interact with the most precious compound on earth. The performance will feature choral music from the Renaissance to the Modern era, including traditional African American spirituals originating in the Appalachian region, accompanied by Cahaba River video imagery by award-winning filmmaker Hunter Nichols.

What: WATER, premiere concert of the Cahaba Chamber Chorale
conducted by Dr. Quint Harris (Artistic Director) & Dr. Lee Wright (Assistant Conductor) in partnership with the Cahaba River Society
When: Sunday, November 13, 2022 at 3:00pm
Featuring: Music by Cahaba Chamber Chorale with the Cahaba River Strings & Cathedral Brass of Birmingham, Cahaba River videography by filmmaker Hunter Nichols, and commentary from Ron Carson, founder of the Appalachian African American Cultural Center
Where: Indian Springs School Town Hall Concert Hall, 190 Woodward Drive, Indian Springs, AL 35214
Tickets & Info: www.cahabachamberchorale.org/events

• $50 VIP Reserved Seat *
• $20 General Admission
• $5 Student

Cahaba Chamber Chorale, the vision of Quint Harris, DMA, is a professional vocal ensemble that was formed to serve our community and region, bringing together people and celebrating the common bond we have through the traditions of choral music and song. As humans, our spirits are awakened through the power of music, moved by the lyricism and our senses engaged unexpectedly by the experience.

For the inaugural concert, Harris expressed, “Shared human experiences using the platform of water has been my inspiration for creating a concert around an aural and visual interpretation of how water flows through our lives in a multitude of ways. The Cahaba River, being one of the most biodiverse places on the planet, is the perfect example of how water can take many individual and varied components and unify them. Water connects us all and provides life. The Cahaba River connects our community and provides us all with clean drinking water. These are things we all have in common. Since Cahaba Chamber Chorale was created to unite through the common experiences in our lives, we hope to provide a glimpse of our commonalities at our premier concert, WATER.”

Cahaba Chamber Chorale debuts with sixteen accomplished singers and twelve instrumentalists. “As a professional singer, I have the great privilege of making my living through art — and experiencing the joy of collaboration,” described Dr. David Tayloe, a tenor in CCC and  Voice Professor at the University of Alabama. “With our unique voices, styles, and backgrounds, the individual aspects of the Cahaba Chamber Chorale are able to unify and create a stunning sound that transcends time and space. It is these moments that bring performers great joy and contentment – to physically feel the connection created by sound. As a musician is in their finest element, we achieve what we call a state of flow – nothing better describes our connection than the theme of our premiere concert, WATER. Water can be harsh, it can be beautiful, but most of all – it gives life. I hope this concert is able to provide a nurturing and life-filling experience as it does for the performers.”

Throughout the performance, Cahaba River imagery created by Hunter Nichols will flow in accompaniment to the exemplary choral music presented by the chorale. The center piece for the concert will be “Water Night” composed by Eric Whitacre. As a prelude to this piece, extended narrated video footage of the Cahaba River will project. Highlighted themes will include the spiritual journey experienced through water, water as a metaphor for love gained and lost, and water as the spark for lament or epiphany.

“People protect places they feel connected to, and inspiring connections to the Cahaba is an essential part of our work,” said Beth Stewart, Cahaba River Society Executive Director. “Art and music are powerful ways for humans to find kinship with nature and with each other. We hope this partnership with the Cahaba Chamber Chorale deepens the relationship that music lovers have with their Cahaba River.”

* VIP ticket holders are invited to a Pre-Concert Conductors Forum, including special guest Ron Carson, founder of the Appalachian African American Cultural Center, who will provide historical background on some of the pieces. Mr. Carson has dedicated his life and work to the collection and preservation of the narratives, experiences, and artifacts of historical import to the Black people of Appalachia.

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About Cahaba River Society:
Cahaba River Society leads our community to restore and protect the Cahaba River watershed and its rich diversity of life. The Cahaba is a major source of our region’s drinking water. The diverse lives depending on the Cahaba include the people of the Birmingham metro area and Alabama’s Black Belt as well as the River’s globally significant biodiversity of freshwater life.

Cahaba River Society is an educator, expert resource, and collaborative partner for science-based, practical solutions. We inspire river stewardship by connecting people with the Cahaba for education, recreation, arts and volunteerism, and have served over 41,800 youth with education in the river. We restore the river by promoting green Infrastructure and advocating for better policies and practices for clean water, natural flows, and diverse, healthy wildlife and people.

Learn more at www.cahabariversociety.org

About Cahaba Chamber Chorale:
The Cahaba Chamber Chorale is a professional vocal ensemble located in central Alabama. The organization was founded in March 2022 by Founder and Artistic Director, Quint Harris, DMA. It is our goal to elevate Alabama’s rich tradition of choral music and the choral art for a higher purpose, showcasing the diverse breadth of talent in our region — fostering the human spirit through education, advocacy, and performance of choral music, while singing together to build community. The ensemble is comprised of professional singers, vocalists, teachers, and professors across the Southeastern U.S. that are united through the power of music.

Learn more at www.cahabachamberchorale.org.