MIRANDA OLSON
Special to The Leader
Step right up, and get your tickets! Brought to you by the Music Industry Program and HAIL! Fredonia Records, “Arctic Song,” a musical by Grammy-winning artist Denny Laine, is premiering in the U.S. for the first time and is coming to campus. If you enjoy concerts and support green issues, you won’t want to miss this performance on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m. The concert will be held in Rosch Recital Hall, which means everyone will have the chance to attend on campus.
Tickets can be purchased at the ticket office. Tickets are $15 to the public, but students can bring their Fredonia student ID with you when you purchase your ticket and only pay $10.
Music industry students at Fredonia have carefully planned the concert, which means students will also be featured in roles ranging from musicians to graphic designers creating material for the concert. This is a great opportunity for everyone watching or participating.
“Arctic Song” will take the audience through 16 songs/chapters based on the mission to end global warming. The songs are rich, cultural and support a good cause. “Arctic Song” was created to spread awareness of global warming, a problem we’ve heard about for years.
It takes a twist and creates a story between two main characters, an extraterrestrial being and a Siberian environmentalist. Together, with several threatened animal species of the Arctic region, they embark on a magical adventure bringing attention to the rest of the planet. They are trying to find the magical crystal, also referred to as “Arctic Song,” whose power helps them to magically complete their mission. With the help of the magic crystal, the alien and environmentalist journey into the past to the Brazilian rainforest, the Japanese Inland Sea and to the populations of endangered species, such as siberian tigers, whales, polar bears and many others.
“Arctic Song” is the brainchild of Laine, an English musician, songwriter, singer and original member of Moody Blues, serving as lead singer of the band’s first big hit “Go Now” in 1964. Laine was also a member of Wings with Paul McCartney from 1971 to 1981.
During an interview with Chicago Concert Reviews, Laine stated, “I’ve also got an environmentally themed musical project for the stage called ‘Arctic Song,’ and it’s primarily about the north and the problems of the ozone layer, and then it sort of covers the rest of the world later on in the musical.”
Laine continued, “I call it a sort of ‘space odyssey meets the environment problems of the earth’ … I’ll be doing different types of shows, and then with this musical, I’ll be involved in all the directing and producing and all the back room stuff, and I’m trying to put that together. Having new material is a very important thing for me,” said Laine.