The Lenten cantata, "Once Upon A Tree", has inspired all of us in the Cathedral Choir. Our hearts have been touched, our spirits lifted and lives changed.

          What you hear in this cantata represents countless hours of work by the choir. Our weekly and special rehearsals have been punctuated by a spirit that words cannot describe.

          You will hear the enthusiasm in the voices. You will sense the excitement in the presentation. You will feel the season of Lent as you have rarely felt it portrayed in your lives.

          Take with you the beauty of the music. Take with you the meaning of the cross and the life that was represented many years ago and lives within us today.

Forward

At the beginning of "Once Upon A Tree", Luke feels unworthy to set his pen to the story of the cross.

Nothing we can say about this story of Christ can add to it or make it more meaningful. The story stands alone; its power is intrinsic. When you hear the story in this cantata, our hope is that your life will be inevitably changed.

This is the story of LIFE that leads us through the range of human experience, through the celebration of the triumphal entry, the struggle of Gethsemane, the tenderness of a mother's grief and the anger in the face of injustice.

The story takes us to the depth of human suffering and lifts us to the ultimate victory over death. If the biblical account of Jesus' death and resurrection was simply a work of literature, its dramatic power could stand beside the greatest of Shakespearean plays. But to those who would believe, it transcends literature and defines the meaning of life itself and leads the way to eternal life.

So now, we come to tell the story that has been told millions of times. We hope you experience with us the events of the cross and be ready to be changed by the story that begins...

Pepper Choplin, Composer