How does your garden grow? With music!

You may have heard them in the wind at 3:30 p.m., if you were walking by the Wicker Park Lutheran Church last Saturday, but if you had stepped inside and sat in the nearly filled pews, you would have been treated to a superb performance of the Wicker Park Choral Singers.

This group of about forty singers were invited by the Wicker Park Garden Club to perform at the Summer Music Series in 2008. The quality of this performance in the park was a surprise and a delight to the milling crowds. This informal performance was followed by a full-length concert in the Wicker Park Lutheran Church two weeks later. Under the direction of Mark Tomasino, this choral group has grown and become an exciting addition to the cultural scene of the neighborhood.

The themes of their performances have ranged from holiday occasions to the simple joys of life, and have been performed with a complex and delicate artistry that is surprising and wondrous. Saturday's performance of "How Does Your Garden Grow," was a perfect example.

Themes of death and rebirth, disappointment and hopeful expectation, and the never-ending march of time, were all presented through the tones of overlapping voices resonating in the rafters. Of particular note was the performance of Eric Whitacre's Cloudburst, complete with thunderstorm effects and pouring rain, performed by percussion instruments and audience participation (hand clapping, finger napping, and patting thighs). Other selections ranged from the sixteenth century to the present, from William Bryd to Leonard Bernstein, performed in the chorus's uniquely crafted way, providing an experience that carried us all away...

Concert goers received a packet of seeds ready for planting

The garden club was particularly honored by Mark Tomasino's dedication of the performance of Benjamin Britten's Five Flower Songs to Doug Wood and the garden club for their years of support to the Wicker Park Choral Singers.

At this performance, the Wicker Park Garden Club collaborated with the Wicker Park Choral Singers and donated seed packages containing mixed lettuce greens for all in the attendance. Audience members were asked to take the seeds home and plant them. In addition, the group offered a 'green table' of information that ranged from how to create a rain garden, water conservation, vegetable gardens, information on the Bloomingdale Trail, and how to get involved in the garden club's weekly gardening sessions and lectures.

Choir during rehearsal in Wicker Park Lutheran Church

Wicker Park Singers is committed to producing concerts that are inspiring, accessible, and free to the public.  Don't miss their next performance, checkout their website for news and up and coming performances.  Or follow them on Facebook.

You'll be glad you did.