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 CHESTORY
506 Elm Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
CHESTORY@gmail.com
CHESTORY BROCHURE -
pdf 333kb
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A group of Chesapeake
artists, scientists, and
citizen activists,
educators, poets, writers
and waterfolk gather around
a hope: That it is possible
to change the quality of the
story driving us and our
culture toward a deeper,
more joyful and life-giving
relationship with the place
in which we live.
We think that art, song, and
story can help us connect
with the deep spiritual
experience of the Chesapeake
chapter in the on-going
story of the Universe. |
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Singing
the Chesapeake - Children's Songs by Tom Wisner
with songs also by Teresa Whitaker & Mark Wisner
New
Songbook/ CD Set release
December 12, 2012
This long awaited collection of children’s songs
by Tom Wisner, “Bard of the Chesapeake,” shares
the living, streaming echoes of a unique,
lifelong dedication and creative act of service
– Wisner’s deep commitment to environmental
education and awareness, which he shared through
many art forms, but especially through music.
Like all great
artists, Tom Wisner, who died in April 2010, was
drawn to a few central themes: the natural
wonder of the Chesapeake Bay, the mystery of our
own unity within the life web of nature, the
flowing water of generations, and our vital
connections with the natural world. These themes
are reflected in his songs, such as “Made of
Water,” “Dribus Go the Rain,” “Talked to the
Heron,” “Sunshine,” and “Dredgin’ is My
Drudgery.” The book also includes songs by long
time collaborator Teresa Whitaker and Tom’s son,
Mark Wisner.
 Tom
wrote many songs, but the ones in this
collection are those he sang often with children
and groups of educators throughout the
Chesapeake Bay region. The songs themselves are
celebrations of imagination and wonder, and what
it means to be ...
Read Entire Press Release
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$19.95 + $3 s&h
ISBN: 978-0-9849636-2-1
Music Songbook & CD |
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Gather 'Round Chesapeake: Tom Wisner's Vision
When Tom Wisner, the Chesapeake Bay 'Bard' died
in April 2010, he'd already given us living
treasures: dozens of recorded Chesapeake songs,
stories and radio shows. Now, Sara Ebenreck
Leeland, co-founder and partner with Tom in the
Chestory (Center for the Chesapeake Story)
project, has published a book that collects
Tom's written reflections on the powerful
insights that guided his work. Gather 'round
Chesapeake: Tom Wisner's Vision is a collection
of Wisner's writing, from short celebratory
poems to analysis of how our cultural ways of
thinking about 'nature' results in the
destruction of our waters-and what an
alternative 'Come Full Circle' way of living
might be like.
A
few entries, like the 'Wade-in poem' are
familiar to those who knew Tom Wisner, but Tom's
writing about his own creative process, his
sketching of a personal Chesapeake mythology,
his reflections on connecting art to the
sciences in education, his 4-page imagining of
riding a blue heron's back on the journey from
Texas to the Nanjemoy rookery, and over a
hundred other pages of writing-are all new.
Leeland searched 30 years of Wisner's journals
and other notes, lengthy records of e-mail
correspondence and other unpublished writing.
The result is both visionary and simple. |
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"Thanks to water for its grace,
For singing on the roof when it
rains"
"Spiritual learning comes backwards.
You begin mostly in the dark,
choosing paths from impulse
by following your heart.
Then, much later, truths begin to
emerge,
...and you learn why you did those
things."
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$10 + $3 s&h
ISBN 978-1461191803
140 pages, b/w
65 illustrations
with color cover |
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Tom Wisner's drawings and
photos appear here to complement the text. Photos of Tom
by Pennsylvania photographer Margo Coffin Groff deepen
the sense of Tom's presence in his words. Introductions
are by Sara E. Leeland.
In the works are: a
songbook of Tom Wisner's songs for children; a songbook
of additional Tom Wisner songs; a digital-archive of
Wisner's regional stories & songs. For more
information, contact:
Chestory@gmail.com.
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REVIEW of "Gather 'Round
Chesapeake" ... |
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Vision of the Chesapeake Region
by Carol Harvat, Staff Writer for
SoMdNews.com
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September 4, 2012
Dominion Awards Grant For
New Environmental Curriculum
Pictured left to right: Mark
Reaser, Director of LNG Operations, Concetta Laskey,
Joan Clement, CHEARS - Board of Directors and Doug Alves, CMM Director
Dominion has awarded a $10,000 K-12 Education grant for the development
of an environmental education curriculum inspired by Tom Wisner’s Center
for the Chesapeake Story Collection (Chestory). The
Calvert
Marine Museum (CMM), in partnership with the
Chesapeake Education,
Arts, and Research Society (CHEARS), and
University of
Maryland Center for Environmental Science at the Chesapeake Biological
Laboratory (CBL) will work with selected teachers in Calvert and St.
Mary’s counties to create hands-on classroom-based lesson plans that
focus on local environmental science.
Tom Wisner (1930-2010), co-founder of Chestory, was a poet, folklorist,
artist, singer, and Maryland’s first environmental educator. He spent
most of his career helping students and audiences make connections with
the Chesapeake Bay. Wisner left behind a lifetime of work including
interdisciplinary educational activities, lessons, programs, artwork and
music. Through a grant from the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the Chesapeake
Conservation Corps program, CMM and CHEARS partnered to hire Concetta
Laskey, who organized, catalogued and archived Wisner’s collection. In
April 2012, the Chestory Virtual Archive became a reality at the Calvert
Marine Museum and is available at
http://www.chesapeake-envliteracy.com/CVA.
Dominion’s support will provide not only for the creation of
environmental education lesson plans, but for the piloting of this
curriculum in the classroom. Eventually this will be shared with other
teachers and available online. |
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Continuing
Tom Wisner's Legacy
 Since
Tom's passing in early April, 2010, a group of people close to
Tom have been working to carry on his legacy and make his work available
to others. There have been a number of performances by the people who
performed with Tom: Frank Schwarz, Teresa Whitaker, John Cronin and Mac
Walter, and other concerts are being planned. Tom wasn't done creating
music when it was his time, and another CD of his recordings and those
of others is being considered.
Folks are also working on
cataloging Tom's creative work; charting and publishing his music; and
displaying his children's collages and his own art work. An art show
called "The Art of Healing the Chesapeake - A Tribute to Tom Wisner" was
shown in May and June at the New Deal Cafe in Greenbelt, Maryland as
part of the Greenbelt Green Man Festival. The show will move to other
venues around the region. If you would like more information about this
show or know of other venues, contact
chestory@gmail.com.
Jeff Place from the
Smithsonian Folk Life Collection has developed a wonderful webpage and
video about Tom's life and work at:
http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/tom_wisner.aspx. Other
films and multimedia products about Tom's life, his connection to place
and his approach to providing environmental education with children are
in the discussion phase as well as plans to create information sites
about Tom on My Space, Wikipedia, etc.
Tom's central vision was
to create a "virtual archive of Chesapeake story and song" -- including
not just Tom's work, but the work of many other area artists, musicians
and story tellers. A small group met with Tom in January of this year to
discuss a way to move forward with this vision. After his work has been
catalogued, the next step will be to bring this vision to reality.
Tom Wisner
CD Sales
Tom's last two CD's -"Follow
on the Water" (a two CD set completed by Tom in January 2010) and "Made
of Water" - are available at local venues (Annapolis
Maritime Museum,
Calvert
Marine Museum and Bay Books in California, MD) and on the Chestory
website www.chestory.org. If you know of other
local retailers who would like to sell Tom's CD's, please contact
chestory@gmail.com. Tom's first
two CD's, "Chesapeake
Born" and "Come
Full Circle" (songs for children) can be ordered through Smithsonian
Folkways Recordings at:
http://www.folkways.si.edu/. Eventually, Tom's last two CD's
will also be transferred to the Smithsonian.
Tom Wisner was an award
winning song writer, folk singer, story teller and educator, who spend
his life looking for ways to help people connect with the Chesapeake
Bay. He passed away on April 5, 2010 in Prince Frederick, MD. In 2000,
Tom created Chestory, the Center for the Chesapeake Story, to "bring the
artist in each of us into the story of our Chesapeake community of
life." Chestory recently became a project of
Chears, the
Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society, and its mission will
continue on their sponsorship.
Chestory - The
Center for the Chesapeake Story
(a project of Chears - the
Chesapeake Education, Arts and Research Society -
www.chears.org )
Joan Clement, Coordinator
506 Elm Ave
Takoma Park, MD 20912
www.chestory.org
chestory@gmail.com
301-775-5368
Chestory is bringing the
artist in each of us into the story of our Chesapeake community of life.
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