Project Overview
“an important and indeed vital project" … "Choral Tales could make a major difference as we strive toward a world we could leave in good conscience to our children, and to the children who will follow."
~ Dr. Ervin Laszlo, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize
“An enemy is simply someone whose story you have not heard yet.”
~ old Jewish proverb
Painting, "Namaste," by Heidi Bradbury, representing four stories of the Choral Tales project - from Tanzania, Scotland, China, and Mexico. The artist was inspired to combine animals from the four tales into a single mandala form.
~ a vibrant journey toward healing, unity and peace ~
Inspiring folk tales from around the world, presented in original music and dance,
building bridges across cultures, celebrating the diversity and oneness of humankind
Learning to see all of humankind as one family is the key to success in tackling the world’s great challenges — from peace to climate change. At the root of most of humanity’s ills lies the ingrained habit of seeing people as the “other” when their appearance and culture are different from our own. Often this results in rejection, unequal treatment, lack of empathy, or cold indifference, making it hard to work together to solve challenges, whether on a personal, local, national, or global scale.
Meanwhile, at the root of nature’s ills lies an idea that is also causing grave problems for humanity: consumerism — the myth that human happiness comes not from our inner spiritual life but from ever greater levels of material consumption. Materialism and consumerism are the mindset driving rampant deforestation, pollution, soil degradation and climate change around the world, pushing a million species to the brink of extinction.
The arts have a unique ability both to illumine our minds and touch our hearts. Through the arts, the Choral Tales Project aspires to do its part to bring healing, unity and peace by engaging the public with compelling stories that help to dissolve prejudices, promote human unity, foster a harmonious relationship with nature, and transition toward a sustainable mindset. The project was founded by Ludwig Tuman, who serves as its artistic director and composer.
Using original choral music and dance, Choral Tales is an ongoing project that presents inspiring folk tales from cultures around the world. Both light-hearted and serious, the selected stories are gems which speak in the authentic voice of the world's peoples and draw on a timeless body of wisdom.
The choir tells each story through song, while on the same stage the story is acted out in dance.
Each story has its own theme, such as compassion, generosity, human rights, equality of women and men, kindness to animals, and living in harmony with nature.
Each story also represents one of the many cultures in the world. Taken together, the works of the Choral Tales Project illustrate humanity’s common aspirations, and foster an appreciation both for cultural diversity and for the oneness of humankind.
The first three productions are based on tales from Scotland, China, and Tanzania. Many more are planned, resulting eventually in a colorful cross section of humanity.
The project records the Choral Tales performances as videos. The videos are then promoted to these Audiences:
— people concerned about issues such as peace, race, social justice, nature preservation, and climate change
— discussion groups and conferences dealing with the above issues
— teachers in primary, middle and high schools dealing with the above issues or with the arts
— story tellers
— young adults who enjoy choral music or dance, or both
— cultural creatives interested in the arts and in the world’s cultures
— people who regard themselves as world citizens, who see humanity as one family, and the world as a single home
The videos and scores are also promoted to Performing Ensembles:
— community choirs, concert choirs
— dance companies
— the music and dance departments of colleges and universities in the US and abroad.
See Full Overview Here
The Choral Tales Project is recorded by the renowned Chamber Choir of California State University, Long Beach, directed by Dr. Jonathan Talberg. The choir is shown here in an international competition in Wales, where they won the Choir of the World Award.
© Ludwig Tuman 2019