This past Saturday, June 25, Seattle’s “City Cantabile Choir” held their Orca Sing annual concert in conjunction with the Friday Harbor Whale Museum, and Friends of the San Juans. While Orca’s were not within sight, hopefully they were within earshot and could appreciate the performance as much as those, who lined the rocks around Lime Kiln Lighthouse.

While the music was for the orcas, the message was for the people controlling the fate of the planet and society. “Orca” Annie Stateler and Oden Lonning opened the show and displayed a rainbow flag with two orcas that she had made in solidarity with the LGBT community. She pointed out that mankind could learn a lot from killer whale society. She said that killer whales are extremely altruistic, show a lot of compassion, are socially bonded, and take very good care of their family members.

“And dare I say it Grannie J-2 is not homophobic. I’m sure that does not exist in killer whale society” Stateler said.

City Cantabile Choir Director Fred West led the choir after Stateler and Lonning were finished. The choir closed the show with their rendition of the Duke Ellington classic Take the “A” Train The choir was joined by cellist Gretchen Yanover from Seattle throughout the show. She closed with a dreamy melody to wish the whales a good night.

West mentioned how the show has become ceremonial for the choir. He bemoaned how humanity has become obsessed with things like the Brexit and the presidential election consume the attention of so many people. Yet, there are evolved sentient animals living in a world under the surface of the water that we have yet to fully understand or even attempt to connect with.

“One year we were singing here and the orcas went right on by and they kind of lingered for a little bit,” West said. “We could hear them vocalizing through the hydrophones here, and they were right in tune with us. It was incredible.”

While West may be correct that humans are blinded from the beauty and wonder around them, a crowd settled into the rocks with West to take a moment and appreciate the beauty.