ABC AudioThe Who‘s Pete Townshend will take part in the U.S. premiere of his wife Rachel Fuller‘s Animal Requiem, an orchestral piece she composed in honor of pets that she and others have lost. The performance takes place Saturday, October 26, in Los Angeles at the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA.
Townshend will be singing Paul McCartney‘s classic Beatles tune “Blackbird” at the event, which also will feature the Hollywood Studio Orchestra, L.A.’s Tonality Choir, two opera singers and a narrated segment by actress and animal-rights activist Jane Lynch.
Fuller, who’s worked with Townshend on a number of projects — including orchestrating the Classic Quadrophenia album and shows — tells the Los Angeles Times that she wrote Animal Requiem after six of her pet dogs died of old age over the course of five years.
According to a description of the piece, in addition to remembering lost pets, it’s also meant to honor people who care about the well being of animals.
“Animals are a huge comfort and extraordinary company,” Fuller says in a statement. “They’re non-judgmental, they love you unconditionally…Being able to say a proper goodbye gives you some form of closure. I thought we should have that for our animals.”
People who attend the L.A. performance are invited to post photos of their departed pets on a board at the venue. Fuller set up a similar board at Animal Requiem‘s world premiere in January at London’s St. James Church.
A studio recording of the piece, featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Choir of London and U.K. tenor Alfie Boe, was released in the U.S. in early October. Boe also took part in Classic Quadrophenia.
Tickets for Saturday’s performance are available at Ticketmaster.com.
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