On Wednesday, we had the next-to-final rehearsal of The Future of Life and I met the trombone player. I had hoped to work with him during my composing phase, but I never made contact. However, he is spot-on with his interpretations.

The chorus had progressed a whole lot since the week before. Some of the hardest moments are the spoken phrases, solo and group, and they are no longer sounding so tentative. I have coached them to call out their text as if they were at a rally. We’re talking about preserving the species of the world, after all! How much will it cost “only 28 billion!” if we do something now; “trillions, trillions, 33 trillion” if we wait and have to “recreate, manufacture, reinvent what Mother Nature used to provide.”

It is ironic to grin when the chorus shouted strongly and forcefully “we are inside a bottleneck of overpopulation and wasteful consumption”. It’s a very, very serious topic, but I was really pleased artistically with their rendition.

Tonight’s the dress rehearsal, and Sunday October 28 at 4pm is the performance in Lexington, MA. I hope to see you there!