Animals have always been at the core of circus performances. They have also featured in church services, nativity plays, operas and more, but when the stars of WindReach Recreational Village join forces with the Bermuda School of Music (BSM) for a special family concert on October 7, it will be a "first" for Bermuda.

Inspiration for the innovative Bermuda event originated with BSM's Ryan Ellis, who had participated in several performances of the 'Missa Gaia' at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Manhattan.

In addition to the musicians and choir, the annual performance celebrating the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals, includes elephants, camels, horses and more, as well as dogs and cats brought by the concertgoers themselves. "It is really an incredible event for the New York City community, and draws thousands of people and their pets every year," Mr. Ellis says.

Impressed by Bermuda's beauty, and its friendly people, Mr. Ellis thought it would be a fine thing to repeat here, and WindReach was more than happy to co-operate. In fact, part proceeds from the concert will benefit the popular Warwick facility.

"Being a new resident of Bermuda, I found the Island so beautiful — the water, the sky, the trees and everything that Nature exudes all around us — that I said, 'This is the perfect place for this great musical to be performed. The Island is just too darned beautiful not to'.

"Animals symbolise Nature, and all of us are living together on this great Earth, so we thought that this music needed to co-exist among animals, and WindReach seemed to be the perfect place."

"It is a great concept, and also good for two charities to come together. We are very excited," WindReach events and programme coordinator Jeanne Flath says.

Composed by Grammy Award winning composer Paul Winter, the music of 'Missa Gaia', or Earth Mass, has the textural theme of Mother Earth, and all animals as God's creatures. It is a ceremony of harmony among human beings and Nature which to Mr. Ellis made perfect sense for a local production.

"I envisaged a celebration that was ecumenical and ecological — one that celebrates all life on Earth — and I wanted to feel the Earth power of African and Brazilian percussion as a complement to the serene voices of the choir," is how Mr. Winter summed up his Earth Mass.

The music of 'Missa Gaia' features many "seed" themes taken from Nature, during which listeners will hear the recorded sound of whale song (ironically recorded by Dr. Roger Payne with Bermudian Frank Watlington many years ago, as Mr. Ellis later discovered), a wolf call, harp seals and more.

Presenting the work will be an instrumental ensemble consisting of piano, guitar, cello and soprano saxophone; a percussion ensemble, and the Bermuda School of Music Treble Choir.

"A lot of the music is inspired by Afro-Cuban or West African rhythms as well as Brazilian rhythms, so it requires a lot of percussion instruments, and we will have at least three percussionists playing a variety of exciting instruments with their hands," Mr. Ellis says.

The children's choir, whose singers are aged seven to 12, is part of the BSM's community outreach programme.

Because it is underwritten by several sponsors, the children are taught free of charge, and they rehearse twice a week.

'Missa Gaia' will be performed at WindReach on Sunday, October 7 at 5 p.m. Food will be available for sale, and there will be hot dogs and hamburgers for the children.

Tickets ($20 for adults, $10 for children up to age 18, family tickets $50) are available from the Bermuda School of Music on Trott Road, and also Pulp & Circumstance on upper Queen Street.

In the event of rain, the programme will be moved indoors.