The Winter Solstice Celebration (WSC), a production of the songs and scripts in the book A Winter Solstice Singing Ritual by Stasa Morgan-Appel and Julie Middleton has been a co-production of DVPN (now under the aegis of Pagan Arts Initiative) and SpiralSong Feminist Vocal Ensemble since 2001. We are proud and honored to have worked with both authors that first time, and with Stasa through last year, and we are continuing in partnership with the capable and talented Jennifer Sheffield as the current music director for SpiralSong and WSC.

The experience is a smoothly woven flow of songs, spoken words, and narration that carries the audience -- at the level of involvement each wishes to choose -- from the deepest dark of the Longest Night to the bright promise of spring to come. It climaxes with the spoken and sung story of Kore (Persipone/Persephone), daughter of Demeter (who brings winter to the world in grief for her missing daughter) and granddaughter of Hecate, whose restoration of Kore to her mother heralds the return of light and growth after the cold and dark is done.

This year's performances, three in all, were for me the best ever. The personal difference was that I was the narrator for the first two performances, and I must tell you that observing the ritual performance from the sidelines as the stage manager -- as powerful an experience as I'd yet encountered -- paled in comparison to being directly involved in it. Indeed, the final performance with Karen Schlechter and Bob Bruhin as co-narrators (another first for all of us) was even more profound for me as a result of my better understanding of the narrator's role in the performance and the energy cycle it creates.

This year marked the use for the first time of the Unitarian Fellowship of West Chester's beautiful worship and meeting space. It also saw our return to two venues that have welcomed WSC in the past, the Main Line Unitarian Church in Devon, and the Chestnut Hill United Methodist Church (CHUM). CHUM is a remarkable space, acoustically rich and active (even the guitar needed no amplification), and we were warmly welcomed to it by both the energy of the place and the people who worship there.

Next winter, for 2006, we will explore a return engagement to West Chester, and the possibility of our first performance in a New Jersey venue. I sincerely hope to see you at a performance then.

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