Special Event - ORCA SING

Orca Sing is a special event that occurs annually on the Saturday closest to the summer solstice. The City Cantabile Choir, directed by Fred West, are our hosts at Lime Kiln Park on San Juan Island. We gather to celebrate and pay tribute to the Southern Resident Killer Whales.

Orca Sing 2008

The 2008 Orca Sing was honored by the attendence of our honored guests: a superpod of over 55 of the Southern Resident Killer Whales, representing J Pod plus members of K and L pods. Details, including photos, were published in the August 2008 issue of the ACS/PS newsletter, the Whulj.

Orca Sing 2006

A Choral Requiem for Tsux’iit (Luna), 1999—2006
By Ann Stateler, ACS/PS Vice President

On June 17, Tsux’iit/Luna was in the hearts and minds of everyone who attended the evening Orca Sing concert at Lime Kiln State Park on San Juan Island. This year’s Requiem for Tsux’iit (Luna) was transcendent, and a testament to the young kakawin’s (killer whale’s) radiant character that hundreds of people gathered in his memory.

The choral program featured beautiful music from Africa, Europe, Ecuador, and original compositions by the City Cantabile Choir, directed by Fred West. Odin and I spoke a few words and sang a Tlingit song to honor Tsux’iit and his relatives. Words cannot adequately describe how we felt when we saw a whale breach and knew that orcas were approaching as we sang. Ruffles (J1) soon appeared, leading a graceful procession of J Pod by the park.

Joe Olson hooked up a speaker so we could listen for calls on the hydrophone array at Lime Kiln during the concert. We heard orcas vocalize, commenting favorably on the music, we hope. It seems the concert resonated with the killer whales. Somewhere Tsux’iit was smiling at this lovely tribute.

Earlier in the day, The Whale Museum hosted a Summer Solstice Orca Symposium, also honoring the memory of Tsux’iit/Luna. The morning session featured informative presentations by Bob Otis, Dave Bain, Kelly Balcomb-Bartok, and Rich Osborne. The illuminating and poignant afternoon session was dedicated to Luna, with presentations by Astrid van Ginneken, Kari Koski, and Suzanne Chisholm.

Orca Sing is sponsored by ACS/PS, City Cantabile Choir, Friends of the San Juans, People for Puget Sound, and The Whale Museum. We are also thankful for support from the San Juan County Parks Department.

City Cantabile Choir, right before J-pod spotted J-pod with cruise ship Odin Lonning & Ann Stateler, tribute to Tsux’iit Odin Lonning & Ann Stateler, tribute to Tsux’iit Odin Lonning & Ann Stateler, tribute to Tsux’iit Odin Lonning & Ann Stateler, tribute to Tsux’iit Odin Lonning & Ann Stateler, tribute to Tsux’iit Suzanne Grant, Fred West, Ann Stateler, Odin Lonning Ruffles at sunset Ruffles at sunset Orca Sing 2006 attendees and Choir members watching for orcas

Photos courtesy Joe Olson and Bonnie Gretz. Slide show best appreciated by users with high speed connections and a display area of 1024 pixels wide (or wider). Users with slower connections may have to wait until the 2nd time through the show to see all the photos in their entirety. Users with smaller monitors or running their large monitors at lower resolutions may need to scroll their screen area to the right see the entire photo.