A site-responsive choral song cycle designed for outdoor performance in a woodland setting, aiming to foster deep connections between people and nature through an immersive, interactive experience. Developed in partnership with Wentworth Castle Gardens. 

Written by composer Lillie Harris and writer-director Laura Attridge, in collaboration with Echo, the piece will take its inspiration from ritual and ceremonial forms, as well as larger-scale choral works in the Christian tradition such as Haydn’s Creation. Sing The Trees will take a humanist approach to exploring what an accessible, inclusive, secular celebration of our relationship with - and place within - nature might look like for the 21st Century.

Work examples from Echo Vocal Ensemble

Work examples by our artistic collaborators

HERE - a song by Lillie Harris with text by Laura Attridge

Music by Lillie Harris. Text by Laura Attridge.

Commissioned by Glyndebourne, Create Music (prev. East Sussex Music), and St Michael and All Angels church, Berwick

• Concert premiere: December 2022
• Recordings inaugurated at the church: February 2023

‘Here’ is the second song in a three-song-cycle for mixed-ability children’s voices. It’s about arriving at, being inside, and leaving St Michael and All Angels church, Berwick. ‘Here’ is set inside the quiet, still sanctuary of the church – finding a moment of inner contemplation to reflect on the building’s history and spirituality, on what led us here, on all the people who have stood there before us, and to enjoy the natural light and colours of the church’s famous paintings.

HERE

Here.

I am here,

where my winding journey has led me;

where the tread of my feet falls still

and soft on the chilled, quiet stone, finding

a reflection of colour and light,

an echo of sound and silence.

Here.

You are here,

where so many journeys meet;

where so many feet have stood before:

many footsteps across this floor, leaving

a reflection of colour and light,

an echo of sound and silence.

Here.

We are here,

where our journeys will always meet;

and the places our feet have stood before

come together to be so much more, creating

a reflection of colour and light,

an echo of sound and silence.