Santa Fe New Music Presents Pahayokee — A Plea for LIfe
Thursday, February 25, 2010, 7:00 p.m.

Tipton Hall, Santa Fe Art Institute, College of Santa Fe Campus

Pahayokee — A Plea for LIfe

Pahayokee:A Plea for Life  is a dramatic oratorio that describes the current plight of the River of Grass, the Florida Everglades. The work, composed by Jack Tamul, is a fervent plea to save one of the most unique environments on Earth.  Pahayokee combines traditional and sacred song forms with ambient recordings of birds, frogs and insects and the inspirational singing of baritone John Boehr.  The natural sounds are not mere background – they are an integral part of the structure and impact of the piece, and the effect created is that the vocalist is singing in and with the soundscapes of the Everglades. Tamul's score puts the listener into the middle of a sawgrass prairie or a tropical hammock, and human voice, piano and natural sounds combine to create a new voice – the voice of the Glades that is calling out to be saved from destruction.

ARTISTS

Jack Tamul (composer)    From 1976 to 2003,  Jack was the Music Director for JTM studios in Florida. The studio produced original music for and sound for museum exhibits, planetarium shows, multi-media presentations, TV, radio and film. Some of the clients of the Studio were Orlando International Airport, PBS, International Red Cross,  Exxon Mobil Space Theater, Florida Ballet, Jacksonville Symphony and the State of Florida. Jack is now dedicating his time and resources to compose and produce works with environmental themes.

James T. Miller (Pahayokee text), is an attorney, environmental activist and sound recordist who grew up just outside of  the Everglades. Over the last 40 plus years , he has made hundred of trips into the Everglades. The Florida Naturalist Magazine, an adjunct of Audubon Magazine , published his article, “The Aesthetics of the Everglades” and Snowy Egret, the nation’s oldest nature publication, published his article  “Disney and the Duskies”, about the extinction of the Dusky Seaside Sparrow.  

John  Boehr  (baritone) has sung roles with The Palm Beach Opera, The Santa Fe Opera, The Tanglewood Music Festival, The Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Fairbanks, Austin Lyric Opera and The Minnesota Opera.  He returned to The Minnesota Opera in 2009 to sing the role of Figaro in their production of The Barber of Seville. In 2008 he performed Dandini in La Cenerentola with both Austin Lyric Opera and Opera Fairbanks. For the summer seasons of 2006 and 2007, Mr. Boehr sang with the Santa Fe Opera as a member of the prestigious Apprentice Artist program. In spring 2007 he was chosen to sing the role of Carlo in the Santa Fe Opera's premier of a new work by John Kennedy entitled Trinity. Other roles from 2005 to 2007 include the role of Osmano in the Pittsburgh Opera's production of L'Ormindo; Sciarrone in Tosca and the notary in Don Pasquale with the Palm Beach Opera; and the role of Masetto in Don Giovanni at the Tanglewood Music Festival, conducted by James Levine. Earlier roles have included Bob in The Old Maid and the Thief with Salado Opera; Papageno in The Magic Flute, Bel Core in the Elixir of Love, and Guglielmo in Così fan Tutte with the Baylor Opera Theater. Mr. Boehr received his Bachelor of Music from Baylor University, where he studied under Dr. Jon Van Cura. Mr. Boehr has won numerous prizes at vocal competitions sponsored by the Dallas Opera Guild, Palm Beach Opera and the Metropolitan Opera Council Southwest Regional Auditions, among others. Mr. Boehr is currently working with the New York City Opera covering the title role in Don Giovanni and will be performing the role of Tapioca in the Austin Lyric Opera production of L'Étoile in 2010.

David Boehr (piano) received a Bachelor of Music in Piano from the University of  Nebraska at Omaha, studying under Clarke Mullen. He has been a member of the Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra since 2004. His most recent chamber music performance was the Rachmaninoff Sonata in G minor for cello and piano at Bellevue Washington, September ,2009. He  does volunteer work at retirement centers. David is the proud father of  Operatic Baritone, John Boehr.

Jack, John, David and I are from different backgrounds and professions but we have banded together to use art to save what is left of our sacred and precious natural environments. We fervently believe that we will save and protect only what we love and cherish, and that art is the best means to reach the hearts and minds of our fellow citizens about environmental issues. Jack and I have witnessed during our years in Florida the systematic and ceaseless destruction of most of the Glades and many other unique  ecosystems. The time to think of only our local area is over – we all know about a global economy but we need to think and act on a global environment.  We must realize that  the Santa Fe Canyon and the Rio Grande are directly and inextricably tied with Taylor Slough and The Dwarf Cypress Forest in the Everglades. The time to act is now, and we believe that Pahayokee:A Plea for Life is one beginning of the journey.