Music
Freedom: The Untold Story of Moses
A new musical
Here are a few of the songs. Big thanks to Judy Porter, Kathryn Taylor, and Leah Yorkston for their stellar vocal performances! A big thanks to Zola Kruse for playing Miriam in the song "Home". Enjoy!
PDX Playwrights hosted a cold reading of act one on April 4, 2023. Photo credit: Max Smith
About
Story, music and lyrics by Chari Smith
This rousing rock musical brings one of civilization's most iconic tales to life, portraying the Hebrew prophet Moses not just as the destined leader of his people, but as a young man torn between royal privilege and stark injustice. Freedom transcends the scriptural story of Moses by illuminating the experiences of those around him—from his mother’s heart-wrenching sacrifice to Pharoah’s sinister ambitions—taking us on an emotional journey of love, loss, and liberation, making it a powerful and thought-provoking musical experience.
Research on Ancient Egypt and the Torah provides a general guideline for the development of the story.
To stay up to date on this project, please follow Chari on Instagram or Facebook
Recordings
Reading: PDX Playwrights
Book Club – Part of the Portland Mini Musical Festival, Fertile Ground 2020
Story, music and lyrics by Chari Smith
A group of women in varying stages of their adult lives, come together under the pretense of discussing a book. The book never gets discussed, but wine is imbibed, secrets are shared and support is given. It is a heartfelt tribute to the power of friendship among women, no matter what their age.
In 2020, Chari’s two worlds - music and program evaluation - collided. The results are the following two projects.
Evaluation as Jazz with Michael Quinn Patton
Music composed and performed by Chari Smith
In the beginning of the pandemic, program evaluation pioneer and expert Michael Quinn Patton released comfort pandemic music. These were videos with his lyrics set to known songs.
These were designed to “help us get through this pandemic crisis with a little comfort, levity and wisdom.”
Chari and Michael collaborated on this original video, with an original jazz composition serving as the backdrop to Michael’s words of wisdom.
American Evaluation Association (AEA) conference 2020 Opening Keynote Speaker
Story, music and lyrics by Chari Smith
Chari wrote Shine your Light for the opening plenary session she did at the American Evaluation Association (AEA) annual conference. The song was inspired by the conference theme ‘shine your light’, that program evaluators shine our light to reveal truths that were once unknown.
Special thanks to Aimee White, AEA 2020 President, Anisha Lewis, AEA Executive Director, Jayne Kramer, AEA Marketing & Communications Manager, and AEA Phil Montwill, Senior Graphic Designer for working with me to create an inspiring video that blends music and stories about program evaluation.