Celebrate all things botanical during concert at St. Bede’s on May 3

Another dry winter has come and gone, but miraculously nature prevails, heralding the arrival of spring with bursts of pink cherry blossoms and the vivid green of new, budding leaves. While drought is a time to conserve water, it is also a time to appreciate — perhaps more deeply than ever — the richness and beauty of the natural world around us.

The Collage Vocal Ensemble invites you to join in a celebration of all things botanical at St. Bede’s Church (2650 Sand Hill Road) in Menlo Park on Sunday, May 3 from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Suggested donation is $15.

The chorus will present a varied and entertaining program of choral and small ensemble works: romantic English part songs by Holst, Bridge, and Vaughan Williams; Eric Whitacre’s lush and thrilling Three Flower Songs; close-harmony jazz standards by Cole Porter and Joseph Kosma; Broadway hits from Lucy Simon’s The Secret Garden and Bernstein’s Candide; plus, songs by Jean Ritchie, the Andrews Sisters, Paul Rudoi, Wade Hemsworth, Michael Hennagin, Stephen Chatman, and Chauncey Olcott.

CVE is particularly proud to present one of the first public performances of Water Lilies, an ethereal setting of the Sara Teasdale poem by Bay Area composer, Raymond Chen. All net proceeds from the concert will be donated to the Music in the Schools Foundation.

The Music in the Schools Foundation is dedicated to promoting the intellectual, social, and cultural development of underserved students of the Ravenswood City School District. The organization provides classroom and after-school music instruction in East Palo Alto for almost 1,500 students in pre-school through fifth grade.