WAHPETON, N.D. (AP) - A music-loving orangutan at a zoo in southeastern North Dakota is getting another opportunity to play with a world-traveling band.
Talukan from the Chahinkapa Zoo played a recorder - with the help of Lead Zookeeper Addy Paul - during a performance with the New York Kammermusiker group last year.
The double-reed chamber music ensemble has three upcoming performances in Wahpeton, with one scheduled at the zoo, the Wahpeton Daily News (https://bit.ly/2sqraWc ) reported.
Several musicians will be visiting the zoo before the June 27 performance to get acclimated with him, zoo director Kathy Diekman said.
Diekman said orangutans can show their feelings and emotions through their face. Zoo staff train with Talukan regularly and they believe he has a love of music, she said.
“We train with him every day. Of course, it’s all voluntary. If he wants to train, if he does want to perform next week, he can. I hope it’s something he feels like doing,” she said.
The music group is known for their experimental and improvisatory performances, said the group’s director director Ilonna Pederson.
“The first time we were here, it was interesting,” Pederson said. “Now he’s getting more used to us. The first time, he was in a state of shock.”
The program will have Norwegian and other Scandinavian music, as well as music by Bach, Handel, Haydn and Mozard, Pederson said in a press release.
After paying regular zoo admission, there is no additional charge for the concert, Diekman said.
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Information from: Wahpeton Daily News, https://www.wahpetondailynews.com
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