A Note From the Director
Happy Summer, friends!
In these hot summer days, the draw to be near the water is palpable. I feel it even in my choice of music around the house: “Lake Place Playlists,” “River Day Soundtrack” – both have been on heavy rotation in my home nestled conspicuously in the city. Minnesotans hear a call to go dance in the waves, run from the shore into the lake, or even just float down the lazy river. We hear the same call, Minnesota, and we sing your song today.
Waterways are not only our playground for the summer, they have been the lifeblood of our part of the world for centuries. From the water-born fur trade that linked the Ojibwe and the French-Canadian Voyageurs to the power of St. Anthony Falls that turned on the lights in the Washburn A Mill in Minneapolis, water is also a way and source of life and abundance. It helps grow our food, and cool our bodies. Water is and has been everywhere and meant everything, at different times.
So, today we pause to listen to a loving homage of all things “water” - stories of lakes, rivers, water mills, oceans and sunken cities, heartache and joy of being on the water, that ever-present desire to get out of the city and put one’s body near the water. Today, you are invited to touch and play with water – you may even be sprinkled with a bit of mist – to experience firsthand what a droplet, or a wave, can look like in your hands. This element that is indeed inside and part of us can seem commonplace, until you let your imagination probe the workings of that tiny droplet, or let nostalgic glimpses of better times on the water invite heightened emotions.
Sing the water with us today. As Minnesotans, we have earned a bit of a summer splash. Even if the rush of water overtakes us at times, we music-makers vow to be your humble guides on the water, and invite you to join us as we solidly Stand in that River of goodness and joy.
Sincerely,
Adam Reinwald, Artistic Director