discovereaston.com
discovereaston.com
Easton, MD - On Sunday April 2nd pedestrians in downtown Easton were treated to an unusual sight and sound. Over 80 singers stood in front of the Talbot County Courthouse to produce a professional video performance of the song “Wheels of a Dream”.
They were part of a collaboration between Easton Choral Arts Society and the Chester River Chorale. The sound part of the video was recorded the previous Saturday.
Both groups are directed by Artistic Director Alexis Renee Ward. Both groups are preparing for their spring concerts at the end of April. “Wheels of a Dream” will be featured on both of those programs.
The song is from the musical “Ragtime”, which takes place in New York in the early 1900s. A time of great affluence for some, many immigrants arriving from Europe, women who were seeking equal rights, and Black people whose families had descended from slaves and went to the cities to find work, homes and justice.
“Wheels of a Dream” uses the newly invented automobile (available to many ordinary people due to Henry Ford’s assembly line) to symbolize opportunity for people who had lived in poverty and oppression. It speaks of new horizons, greater understanding between people from different backgrounds and opportunities not just for the people of those times, but for future generations of their children.
It seemed appropriate for this project to be filmed in front of the statue of Maryland’s own groundbreaker, abolitionist Frederick Douglas – one of the most influential voices for democracy and equality in history.
When completed, the video will be posted on Facebook and the websites of both choruses. Visit the groups’ websites to view the video and for more information about their concerts:
