Current Projects

Chamber Theater & Storytelling

FRONT ROW SEAT (2023 - )

Rarely is a Chamber Theater production so deeply collaborative and infused with the energy and insights of the whole company - Front Row Seat is just that. Carolyn Surrick wrote of the survival of a small church in Baltimore which started as a book, became a play, and was brought forth in a series of workshops in 2023. Created by five musicians, two actors, and director Steve Robman, this is a remarkable look at the nature of faith and community in 2020, as the pandemic and political instability darkened the world. The first performance was at A Noise Within Theater in Pasadena, California. Produced by Flower Pot Productions.

THE TWELVE WILD GEESE (2024- )

This incredible story of a princess and her brothers has been told around the fire for hundreds of years from Ireland to Norway, from Myanmar to Denmark. It was published in a collection of Irish folk tales by W. Butler Yeats, and has now been refashioned by David Novak and Ensemble Galilei. The Twelve Wild Geese centers around the universal questions of loyalty and courage, love and hope. The marrying of music with storytelling, the experience of watching art be created, the joy in silliness, all combine to create a beautiful and evocative landscape, speaking to us all in a way that is profoundly meaningful.

In the Beginning - Words & Music (1999-2014)

ANNA’S GARDEN (touring 1999-2014)

Hilarious and beautiful, Anna’s Garden, written by Carolyn Surrick and R.W. Berky, had its first performances in front of hundreds of students in numerous schools in Rochester, MN. With this, the original foray into music and storytelling, Ensemble Galilei started a deep dive into what music can do when artfully combined with graceful text. Produced by Carolyn Surrick. 

A WINTER’S NIGHT (touring 2003-2011)

On a hunch, we invited Neal Conan to join us for our annual Winter Solstice/Christmas Concert at St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. With stories from Paul Auster’s “I Thought My Father was God”, music, and poetry, this show was the first of many in a long and extraordinary partnership with Conan. His voice, his demeanor, and his brilliant mind proved to be a perfect match for the six women he joined on stage. The audience immediately embraced his presence, which never changed. Produced by Carolyn Surrick.

Now, with Photographs – Beauty, Adventure & History (2004-2015)

A UNIVERSE OF DREAMS (touring 2004-2012)

Working with the Hubble Space Telescope Institute, using Hubble pictures, with poems by Stanley Kunitz, Jim Harrison, Michael Glaser and others, and a retelling of the Navajo Creation Myth, accompanied by music carefully curated for this project, A Universe of Dreams was Ensemble Galilei’s first project using pictures, music, and narration. A purely beautiful and graceful piece of art, it premiered at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles, California. Produced by Carolyn Surrick. This music can be heard on ALTA.

FIRST PERSON: STORIES FROM THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (touring 2007-2010)

In partnership with The National Geographic, using photographs drawn from the their library of over a million photos, with texts by Matthew Henson, Gretel Ehrlich, Jacques Cousteau, George Mallory, Ibn Battuta, and others, and music ranging from medieval dances to Bach, from Scottish traditional music to new compositions, this was a thrilling production. The first performance at the National Geographic in Washington, D.C., featured narrators Neal Conan, Bill Pullman, and Liane Hansen, and internationally acclaimed master hand drummer, Glen Velez. Produced by Greg McGruder at The National Geographic. This music can be heard on From the Edge of the World.

FIRST PERSON: SEEING AMERICA (touring 2010-2015)

In collaboration with The Metropolitan Museum of Art, with photographs from their collection including works by Ansel Adams, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Dorothea Lange, Arthur Rothstein, Robert Frank and others, with text by Frederick Douglass, Lucille Clifton, Abraham Lincoln, Jim Harrison, Studs Terkel and others – this was an astonishing show. Iconic black and white photographs, powerful words, and crazy great music, the project featured Lily Knight and Neal Conan, and premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Produced by Carolyn Surrick. This music can be heard on A Change of Worlds.

Because it Matters - Journalists & Music (2018-2019)

BETWEEN WAR AND HERE (touring 2018-2019)

With uilleann pipes, fiddle, Celtic harp, recorder, banjo, bodhran and viola da gamba, poetry from Surrick’s stunning book, Between War and Here, and memoir written by Neal Conan and Anne Garrels, two of NPR’s most storied war correspondents (our narrators) this powerful partnership between journalists and musicians explored honor, courage, loss, and hope. An extraordinary work of art, it served to reach and move audiences by transforming their understanding of those who have served, and those who have witnessed. The first performance was in Southern California at Soka University. Produced by Flower Pot Productions. This music can be heard on Flowers of the Forest.

Our actors, journalists, and storytellers have included:

Actors/Narrators involved in the creation of these special projects:

Executive Producers:

Greg McGruder – The National Geographic Society
Lindsey R. Nelson – Flower Pot Productions
Carolyn Surrick – Ensemble Galilei

Musicians involved in the creation of these special projects:

Directors:

James Hanrahan – First Person: Stories from the Edge of the World
Steve Robman – Front Row Seat
Casey Stangl – First Person: Seeing America