A Concert in Word and Song with Peter and Bethany Yarrow
Week of March 2, 2024
An Evening Concert with Peter and Bethany Yarrow
Singing Workshop with Bethany Yarrow
Over the past few years, Bethany has been translating a song cycle of traditional music for the Orixás, the great pantheon of Afro-Brazilian deities that embody the forces of nature. Born in Brazil from the meeting of African archetypes, indigenous cosmologies and Judeo-Christian beliefs, the songs call on the healing forces of the wind, water, forest, fire, mineral and animal kingdoms, the celestial bodies and all the guardians of sacred knowledge. They are invocations connected to an original source of life and love that have the power to heal, activate, dissolve prejudice, and remind us of our shared responsibility to protect the Sacred and this beautiful Earth that we call home.
Peter Yarrow’s commitment and life’s work have been framed by his awareness that music of conscience can be extremely effective when used as a source for inspiring and uniting efforts to heal and create a better world. As a performer and social activist, Peter has used music in just that way, bringing people together to create a more just, peaceful, and compassionate society. Through such efforts, beginning in the early 1960’s, the music of Peter, Paul and Mary became, for literally millions of people, the genesis of their activism and commitment to advancing positive social change. Peter’s gift for songwriting has produced some of the most moving songs in the Peter, Paul & Mary repertoire including “Puff, the Magic Dragon,” “Day is Done,” “Light One Candle,” and “The Great Mandala.” One of Yarrow’s efforts is focused on the non-profit, Operation Respect (OR) with its classroom-based program called “Don’t Laugh at Me” (DLAM) that utilizes music and the arts combined with social/emotional learning curricula for elementary and middle school children, now utilized in over 20,000 schools worldwide. Peter believes that DLAM and other such programs that build community and catalyze positive attitudinal and behavioral change, can enable today’s children to break the cycle of hatred, bias, racism and bullying, helping them to envision and create a more just and peaceful world.
Bethany Yarrow has continued the family tradition of uniting people’s spirits and hearts through music. She is a water protector, song carrier, earth activist, mother, and co-executive director of the Waterfall Unity Alliance, an indigenous led not-for-profit which, in 2022, facilitated the first farm landback and rematriation project in New York State. www.waterfallunityalliance.org