The Esoterics: The Palms
Free ($20 suggested donation)
Commissioned for the RAMOS festival in Lisbon in 2018, The Esoterics' founding director Eric Banks composed As palmeiras ("The palms").
Cultures around the world and through various eras of human history have used the palm tree to symbolize royalty, salvation, bounty, luxury, fertility, and exile. Also, the worldwide demand for palm oil has resulted in an environmental crisis.
For this concert-length cantata, Banks has collected poems, adages, proverbs, and articles – about the palm tree and its various fruits, and has presented these texts in various choral textures. "The palms" almost traverses the entire globe (longitudinally) – it starts in California, heads east, and ends in Tahiti. In 37 vignettes, Banks' composition sets texts from 33 countries in 24 different languages. It is a fascinating study of an unlikely subject, and creates a resounding, world-opening experience in concert.
The Esoterics will offer THREE performances of "The palms". The running time of the piece is about 75 minutes. Our Seattle performances will be in an "open-dress rehearsal" format, with two performances on the same evening. Our Olympia concert is sponsored by the St John's Concert Series. The suggested donation for each performance is $20.
For this concert, there will be no tickets issued in advance.
COVID-19 Protocols: We are requesting that our audience members please wear a mask in order to attend the concert. The ensemble will be singing unmasked (all members are fully vaccinated, boosted, and will be tested on the concert day). Our performance space in Seattle has a maximum capacity of 80 people.