ChucKed Elephant Letters Overture

Background

Elephant Letters (2015-16) is an in-progress children's opera that I was commissioned to write by author and librettist G.A. Bradshaw. The opera is based on a children's book, The Elephant Letters, by Bradshaw. The story tells of two elephant cousins living in Africa, Billy and Kani, who are separated through poaching when they are young. Billy is transported to a zoo, and the story focuses on the exchange of letters between the two elephants. Already translated from English into Swahili, Korean, and Chinese, the story teaches its audiences about the elephant poaching crisis, conservation, and the animals of Africa.