The Nature Conservancy and Fulcrum Point Collaborate To Create Concert That Will Unite Art and Nature

CHICAGO -- March 5, 2007 --The Nature Conservancy in Illinois and Fulcrum Point New Music Project will join together March 13 to hold a unique concert that will illuminate fire’s natural role in the prairie state. The event will feature the world premiere of "Phoenix Rising," a piece commissioned by the Conservancy. Video and audio from a prescribed burn at the Conservancy’s Nachusa Grasslands preserve in North-central Illinois will accompany the musical performance.

The Nature Conservancy in Illinois is marking its 50th anniversary in 2007. As part of the yearlong celebration, it commissioned composer Paul Oehlers to create an original piece of music that interprets the role fire plays in maintaining natural areas.

“This is a collaborative effort between musicians and conservationists,” said Brenda Shapiro, Trustee for The Nature Conservancy and co-chair of the Illinois 50th Anniversary Outreach Committee. “Through this performance, art and nature are coming together in a really wonderful way,” she noted. Shapiro, a long-time friend of Fulcrum Point Artistic Director Stephen Burns, facilitated the connection between the two organizations.

The concert is the second in Fulcrum Point’s fire series, which is part of their five-year program, “Essential Art: Essential Elements,” that has previously explored water, earth and wind. “‘Out of the Ashes’ traces the cycle of life, death and rebirth using cultural, spiritual and natural situations as sources for inspiration,” said Burns.

The Nature Conservancy in Illinois is working to protect Nachusa Grasslands, a 2,500-acre prairie, wetland and woodland located near Franklin Grove, Ill. Specially trained volunteers from throughout the region help the Conservancy conduct prescribed burns. Periodic fire is essential to the health of many natural areas including Illinois’ forests, savannas and grasslands.

Video and audio from a prescribed burn conducted at Nachusa Grasslands in fall 2006 will be incorporated into the concert. The video was produced by filmmaker Jerry Smith.

“Out of the Ashes,” begins on March 13 at 7:30 p.m. at the Harris Theatre for Music and Dance,
205 E. Randolph Drive, Chicago. Audience members are invited to a complimentary reception courtesy of Fox & Obel, Great Lakes Brewing Co. and Vin DiVino. Tickets are $20 each or $10 for seniors/students and may be purchased at the Harris box office or in advance by calling (312) 334-7777.

For more information about The Nature Conservancy in Illinois and additional 50th anniversary events, please go to: nature.org/Illinois. Northern Trust is the lead benefactor of The Nature Conservancy in Illinois' 50th anniversary celebrations.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.