Narrator

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 Last Friday I served as narrator for the resident chorus winter concert. 

 The concert featured 10 pieces. The most unique song was about a pet hippopotamus and the woman who cared for it. While the song was sung, another resident walked her hippo around the stage, telling its humorous but ultimately tragic tale.

 

 My role was to introduce each song with a note or comment that linked a diverse set of music into a theme inspired by the poem of Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things.

 

I didn't write the material, the resident leader of the chorus wrote it and allowed me to put it into my own words.

 

There are 30 + residents in the chorus and all are serious about the music. They enjoy signing, but know more about the notes, measures, and bars than I ever will. 

 

There was a song from the Mikado, a work based on the 23rd Psalm, a tune from Pete Seeger, and a round about a woman's lame, tame crane.

 

The night of the show the Center for the Arts and Education hosted a nice crowd that enjoyed the music and the beautiful pictures of wildlife shared by a resident who is an accomplished photographer. 

 

I've served as an emcee a few times and this was different than those gigs. As an emcee, you inject yourself into the program with opinions, comments, and humor; A narrator is more like reading a story where you provide the setting and important notes but let the program speak for itself. I enjoyed myself and would be happy to do it again some time.