Choral Chameleon Premieres “Step Into the Night”

New York’s Choral Chameleon premieres “Step Into the Night,” a new 12-movement choral work with a jazz quartet on Saturday evening, February 26 at the Unitarian Church in Westport. The performance begins at 8:00. Doors open at 7:30.

Saxophonist Jeff Walton and The Brad Whiteley Trio will also appear.

Tickets for the performance are $25, available online and at the door.

Inspired by Rumi, Tagore, Miller Williams, Paramahansa Yogananda, Charlie Parker, and Wynton Marsalis, “Step Into The Night” was written by Dr. Edward Thompson, the Minister of Music for the Unitarian Church in Westport.

“While I wrote it during the pandemic,” said Dr. Thompson, “it is not about the pandemic. It is about the ability to view one’s shadow as a source of inspiration.”

The work is said to contain elements of both the classical tradition and the jazz world, drawing on “an inter-genre collaboration between Bachian choral textures and smoky jazz harmonies.”

“This is not a classical work,” said Dr. Thompson. “It is not a jazz work. It is a fusion of the two worlds which means you will hear both counterpoint and improvisation, simplicity and virtuosity, color and richness, solos and ensembles, voices and instruments, and a host of other qualities.”

Choral Chameleon is composed of twelve professional singers with diverse musical backgrounds. Known for adventurous programming, the group has premiered more than 180 new choral works since its founding in 2007.