Choral Arts of Chattanooga will be joined by an array of guests -- Chattanooga Girls Choir, Dave Walters Trio, Richard Henson on percussion and Clint Schmitt on soprano sax, plus a few calls of the wild -- in a performance of "Missa Gaia (Earth Mass)" on Sunday, April 27. The concert starts at 4 p.m. at Brainerd United Methodist Church, 4315 Brainerd Road.
The mass is written for choir and solo voices, accompanied by string, woodwind and percussion instruments and integrating the audio recordings of wolves, whales, dolphins and harp seals.
"Missa Gaia" was composed in 1980 by seven-time Grammy-winning saxophonist Paul Winter, integrating world music with songs from the wild to celebrate the Earth as a sacred space. Since then, the mass has been performed annually at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City for the Feast of St. Francis, the blessing of the animals.
Choral Arts is offering the program as a musical celebration of the Creator and the creation, in a belated observance of Earth Day, which was Tuesday, April 22. The program includes additional music by Paul Halley.
An auditioned adult chorus, Choral Arts performs under the direction of Keith S. Reas. LuAnn Holden is the artistic director for the Chattanooga Girls Choir.
Admission is $15. For details, call Sandy Shaw at 706-398-3557, email choralarts.chattanooga@gmail.com or visit the group's Facebook page.