ANNOUNCING THREE NEW NCFO EVENTS:
  - "Lifetime" Science Oratorio Performances
  - Reception for Visiting Composer David Haines
  - Sneak Previews at Cambridge Public Libraries

Dear Friends of Family Opera,

Who would think an oratorio about science could be funny, informative,
interesting, catchy and beautiful?  You will when you hear the North
Cambridge Family Opera Festival Chorus perform the American premiere
of "Lifetime: Songs of Life and Evolution" by David Haines.

Each song in this brilliant, 90-minute piece addresses a distinct
subject area along the timeline of evolution, from the origins of life
on Earth, through the creation of biodiversity through natural
selection, the classification of life and geologic eras, to the threat
of extinction facing so many species today.


     SCIENCE ORATORIO PERFORMANCES

A chorus of more than 100 adults and children will perform "Lifetime",
accompanied by a slideshow of artwork created by the children in the
chorus, as part of the first ever, city-wide Cambridge Science
Festival.  This is a great way to learn about the theory of evolution
while enjoying a fun family outing.

Please come to one of our three FREE concerts:

   Saturday April 21 at 1:00 PM (NEW TIME):
        Kresge Auditorium, MIT,
        48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge

   Friday April 27 at 6:00 PM:
        Morse School Auditorium,
        40 Granite Street, Cambridge

   Sunday April 29 at 4:00 PM:
        Peabody School Auditorium,
        70 Rindge Avenue, Cambridge


       RECEPTION FOR DAVID HAINES

You are also invited to a reception for the composer, David Haines
(who is visiting Cambridge from Devon, England) on Sunday April 22
from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Christ Church, Zero Garden Street, Cambridge
(Harvard Square).

The reception will include a lecture and performance by David Haines
("Teaching Science through Vocal Music"), and will conclude with
afternoon tea featuring delicious homemade pastries and a selection of
fine teas.

Tickets to benefit the NCFO Festival Chorus are $25 for adults and $10
for children and are available at www.FamilyOpera.org or from Dina
Mardell at 617-492-4095.


      SNEAK PREVIEWS AT CAMBRIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARIES

During school vacation week, David Haines will be visiting the
CAMBRIDGE LIBRARIES for a sneak preview of "Lifetime". He will sing
some of the songs (with audience participation), focusing primarily on
animal-related songs: bees, bats, habitats, migration, hedgehogs,
flying creatures...Come request your favorites and sing! His library
schedule for the week:

   Tuesday, April 17th at 4:00pm:
        Main Library - Broadway

   Wednesday, April 18th at 10:30am:
        Central Square Branch - Pearl Street

   Wednesday, April 18th at 6:30pm
        O'Neill Branch - Rindge Avenue

   Thursday, April 19th at 3:30pm
        O'Connell Branch - Sixth Street

David Haines is an accomplished composer of vocal music and an
educator who has worked for over two decades teaching music, singing
and science to children. His opera "The Puzzle Jigs" was performed by
the North Cambridge Family Opera in 2003.  In addition to his 14 other
operas, he has written dozens of songs which convey specific aspects
of scientific knowledge, or simply celebrate the awe and wonder felt
by those who study the natural world.  His songs range from simple
ditties aimed at very young children, through "equation" songs
intended to help teenagers learn core curriculum material, to complex
choral pieces conveying the exquisite beauty of the process of
evolution by natural selection.

For more information about David Haines and his work, visit
www.davidhaines.co.uk. For more information about NCFO and "Lifetime"
performances, please visit www.FamilyOpera.org

The NCFO Festival Chorus presentation of "Lifetime" is funded in part
by the Cambridge Arts Council, Massachusetts Cultural Council, New
England Foundation for the Arts, and Council for the Arts at MIT, and
is presented in partnership with the Cambridge Department of Human
Services Community Schools Division