A Passion for the Planet

September 26, 2026 - March 13, 2027

Geoffrey Hudson’s A Passion for the Planet is an hour-long oratorio on the subject of climate change. Blending scientific prose, poetry, and sacred texts from many faiths, the libretto traces an arc from beauty and gratitude into darkness and out again into hope.
A Passion for the Planet is scored for chorus of mixed voices, children’s chorus, soprano and baritone soloists, and instrumental ensemble (12 players). There are eleven movements; in the finale, performers and audience members join together to sing a simple chorale tune.

Tony Thornton conducted the 2019 premiere of A Passion for the Planet with Illumine Vocal Arts Ensemble, the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus, and soloists Dashon Burton and Alisa Pearson. Videos of the premiere have more than 3,700 views on Youtube. After a Covid-enforced hiatus, live performances resumed in 2023, when Chris Shepard led CONCORA in a Hartford, CT performance. In 2024, Matthew Mehaffey and the Oratorio Society of Minnesota presented two performances of the Passion in Minneapolis.
Beginning in 2026, the Passion travels to all the New England states:

After three performances in Maine by Classical Uprising, under the baton of Emily Isaacson on March 21 in BRUNSWICK, March 28 in PORTLAND, and March 29, 2026 in BANGOR, CONCORA, under the baton of Artistic Director, Chris Shepard, embarks on a New England tour in the Fall of 2026 with 15 partners and counting. Performances take place in MA, CT, VT and NH, where CONCORA partners with hundreds of singers across to region to showcase the power of collective solutions to the intersecting crises facing us:

Saturday, SEPTEMBER 26, 2026 at 7 PM – FLORENCE
BOMBYX Center for the Art and Equity, Massachusetts 
Tickets