RiverSing welcomes fall with voice and light

The third annual RiverSing, a free and open-to-the-public event celebrating the first day of autumn and the beauty of the Charles River parklands, will be held Sept. 21 along the Weeks Memorial Footbridge linking Allston and Cambridge. Presented by the Revels and the Charles River Conservancy, the theme of this year’s RiverSing is “Bridging the Charles with Voice and Light.”

From atop the footbridge, Revels music director George Emlen and giant puppets Oshun and Poseidon (created by Underground Railway Theater and the Puppet Collaborative) will lead those gathered along both banks in participatory singing.

This year’s RiverSing will feature five well-known area choruses: Nick Page’s Mystic Chorale, Musica Sacra, the Halalisa Singers, Sharing a New Song, and children from the Boston City Singers. Additionally, the vocal ensemble Libana will bring its 25-year world music performing experience to bear on the evening with its thrilling antiphonal Balkan-style call-and-response singing.

Participants are encouraged to bring a bell of any variety, large or small, to accompany the official 40-pound bronze RiverBell from atop the bridge. Also on hand, Rhode Island musician Steven Jobe’s reverberating “gong-drum” will float in on an illuminated Chinese dragon boat, and the Swiss Alp Horns.

Lyrics for the evening’s songs can be obtained in advance by e-mailing riversing2006@yahoo.com. Family friendly, RiverSing 2006 will run from 6 to 7:30 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.revels.org, or call (617) 972-8300.