"Melody and the Missing Music" - A Children’s Theatrical Show Set in Queens. This Sunday

The Forest Hills Choir, who commissioned this piece written and composed by Queens notables, David Ezra Stein and Sunny Knable, has recruited students of Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Academy to be part of the youth choir to perform in the show. The show also features professional musicians and a marionette puppet.

ABOUT MELODY

Melody and the Missing Music is a brand new musical score, featuring sixteen songs in a variety of choral genres, is designed for performance in a school theater.

David Ezra Stein, the New York best-selling children’s author (www.davidezrastein.com) created the charming story, and it was set to music by award-winning composer, Sunny Knable (www.sunnyknablecomposer.com), an assistant adjunct professor at LaGuardia community college. Both creators are residents of Queens, New York. Community group The Forest Hills Choir (www.fhchoir.org) commissioned Melody under the inspired leadership of Ben Arendsen.

THE MELODY STORY

Melody is a young composer who takes inspiration from long walks in the Queens Botanical Gardens with her dog, Maestro. The animals in the Gardens help to create exactly the atmosphere she requires to create beautiful music. One fine day she has just put the finishing touches to a symphony and returns home to her apartment to e-mail the brand new score to her director. But her cat, Krumholz, has other ideas…

THE MELODY CAST AND STAGING

Melody has been created in a way to enable groups of different sizes and ambition to be able to undertake a project. The standard design is feasible on most school stages that have an available piano. Three professional musicians lead the production as Musical Director, Piano Accompanist, and Melody. An Adult Choir of Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses, a Unison Youth Choir aged 9-13, and an Audience Choir aged 5-7 offer musical support.

Members of these groups can fulfill the solo roles, add sound effects, and in the simplest staging Youth Choir members can take the roles of Maestro and Krumholz with the help of simple costumes and some make-up.

More information regarding "Melody and the Missing Music" can be found at www.melodymissingmusic.org

Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church is located at 70-01 Kessel Street in Queens. The entrance of the parish hall is on Juno Street between 70th and 71st Avenues.