Grammy-Winning Choir, The Crossing, Announces 2018-2019 Season: Aniara

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katlyn Morahan | Morahan Arts and Media
katlyn@morahanartsandmedia.com | 610-914-3152

The Crossing Announces 2018-2019 Season: Aniara 

Season includes debuts at New York Philharmonic and Peak Performances; world premiere of choral-theater Work Aniara: fragments of time and space; and world premieres by Julia Wolfe, Gavin Bryars, Michael Gordon, Thomas Lloyd, and Toivo Tulev

PHILADELPHIA, PA (June 18, 2018) — Winner of the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, The Crossing, with conductor Donald Nally, today announces its 2018-19 season, titled Aniara. The season—which is centered around exploring mankind’s place in the universe, the relationships between humans, navigating through space and life, and the passage of time — features The Crossing’s New York Philharmonic and Peak Performances debuts, the world premiere of the choral-theater work Aniara: fragments of time and space; and world premieres by Gavin Bryars, Michael Gordon, Thomas Lloyd, and Toivo Tulev.

The season kicks off on Sunday, September 16, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. with a performance at FringeArts in Philadelphia as part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, featuring a world premiere from Ted Hearne, co-commissioned by Park Avenue Armory and The Crossing, together with Toivo Tulev’s setting of Walt Whitman’s “A child said, what it the grass?,” a rare performance of David Lang’s depart for 3 cellos and women, plus works by Louis Andriessen, Benjamin C.S. Boyle, Sebastian Currier, Suzanne Giraud, Gabriel Jackson, David Shapiro, and Kile Smith. The program, Arms and the Man, explores themes of nationalism and war, victory and loss, and joy and despair; it is also performed at New York’sPark Avenue Armory on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. and Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. in an expanded concert experience that winds through the Armory’s historic reception rooms.

The Crossing makes its debut at Peak Performances at Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ on Saturday, September 29 at 7:30 p.m.with a program entitled the national anthems, in collaboration with the strings of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). The concert explores where patriotism ends and nationalism begins, and looks at the ways humans use words to describe desires, fears, and needs as pertaining to homelands, human relationships, and homelessness. The program is anchored by David Lang’s the national anthems together with Ted Hearne’s Consent and What it might say, in addition to Caroline Shaw’s To the Hands, an exploration of diaspora and displacement.

The Crossing presents the world premiere of Gregory Spears’ The Tower on Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. at The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia. The new work, on texts of Thomas Merton and Denise Levertov, explores the relationship between technological innovation and its dangers that can often lead to haunting sociological change. The concert also includes other works written for The Crossing, including Joel Puckett’s I enter the earth (2015) and a new work by James Primosch set to an excerpt from Marilynne Robinson’sHousekeeping.

On Friday, December 14, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Rittenhouse Square, Philadelphia, PA, The Crossing gives its annual Christmas concert, The Crossing @ Christmas, presented by Annenberg Live. The concert is in memorial of Jeffrey Dinsmore, co-founder of The Crossing, and features a major world premiere by Gavin Bryars, composer of The Fifth Century, for which The Crossing won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance. The Crossing @ Christmas is repeated on Sunday, December 16 at 5:00 p.m. at The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill.

The Crossing makes its New York Philharmonic debut performing the world premiere Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth on Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, January 25, 2019 at 8:00 p.m., and Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. at David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, led by New York Philharmonic Music Director Jaap van Zweden. The work is based on the garment industry in New York at the turn of the 20th century, specifically focusing on the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City — which killed 146 garment workers, most of them young, female immigrants — and how women’s protests instigated changes in labor laws. The performances are part of New York Stories: Threads of Our City, the New York Philharmonic’s exploration of musical expressions of the immigrant experience.

David Lang’s the little match girl passion and music by Louis Andriessen, Eriks Ešenvalds, Ted Hearne, and Gabriel Jackson are featured in The Crossing’s five-city tour on Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at Holloway Hall at Salisbury University; Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at The Delaware Art Museum; Friday, February 8, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at Pfleeger Concert Hall at Rowan University;Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. at Baldwin Auditorium at Duke University; and Sunday, February 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Leighton Concert Hall at Notre Dame University.

On Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. at The Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, The Crossing presents the world premiere of Thomas Lloyd’s In the Light, a choral-theater work for 20 voices. In the Light explores the strange and oppressive culture of a Cape Cod religious community with an internationally recognized choir, examining the desire to belong and the fear of exclusion. This is the second choral-theater work Lloyd has composed for The Crossing; his previous work Bonhoeffer, written for The Crossing, was nominated for a 2017 Grammy Award.

The Crossing returns to the LA Philharmonic for the orchestra’s 100th anniversary season in its new music marathon, Noon to Midnight onSaturday, June 1, 2019. The Crossing will perform a world premiere by Toivo Tulev with additional works representing its history and future, and will be the only vocal ensemble appearing in this new music festival.

The Crossing gives the world premiere performance of the choral-theater work Aniara: fragments of time and space, with five performances –Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 7:30 p.m., Friday, June 21, 2019 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., andSunday, June 23, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. – at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Philadelphia. Based on the epic science fiction poem of the same name by Nobel Prize-winner Henry Martinson, Aniara explores the relationships humans have to each other, to Earth, and to the passage of time, while following the physical and emotional voyage of a group that has left a dying earth and is thrown permanently off course, heading toward the constellation Lyra. The new work was developed with the Klockriketeatern of Helsinki over a period of three years, and is composed by Robert Maggio, with artistic direction by Dan Henriksson and Donald Nally and featuring Beijing Opera-inspired choreography and dance by Antti Silvennoinen of Wusheng Company, costumes by Erika Turunen, scenic and lighting design by Joonas Tikkanen, and sound design by Nick Tipp.

To close the 2018-19 season, The Crossing returns to The Big Sky Choral Initiative for a 2-week residency July 15-28, 2019 at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Gallatin Gateway, Montana. The Crossing will join composer Michael Gordon and filmmaker Bill Morrison in their second year of collaboration on a new work specific to this unique gathering at Big Sky. This work draws on the history, beauty, and expanse of Montana as inspiration for this extended composition for unaccompanied choir and film. The residency will culminate in several performances of this developing work, details to be announced.

“Aniara is a season of questions: periodic pauses in a year of self-reflection, a view of our world from the inside, as we race through space with the progress of a bubble in glass. The 24 voices of The Crossing will perform new works that look at conflict, change, regression, spirituality, hope, cultures of oppression, cultures of love, a dying earth, and the search for meaning in a world that has no tomorrow,” said The Crossing’s conductor Donald Nally. “These questions will propel us across the country, from our home in Philadelphia, to join like-minded ensembles, venues, and festivals with greater breadth than ever before. We sing for understanding, for clarity, for authenticity.”

Program Information

Of Arms and the Man
with Thomas Mesa, Arlen Hlusko, and Sujin Lee, cellos 

Program includes the world premiere of Of Arms and the Man by Ted Hearne, plus works by Louis Andriessen, Benjamin C.S. Boyle, Sebastian Currier, Suzanne Giraud, David Lang, Gabriel Jackson, David Shapiro, Kile Smith, and Toivo Tulev.

Sunday, September 16, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.
The Philadelphia Fringe Festival
FringeArts
140 N Columbus Blvd
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tickets: Visit fringearts.com or call (215) 413-1318.

Park Avenue Armory
Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, September 20, 2018 at 7:30 p.m. 
Board of Officers Room
643 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10065
Tickets: Visit armoryonpark.org or call (212) 933-5812.

Ted Hearne’s new work is a co-commission by Park Avenue Armory and The Crossing.

the national anthems
with the strings of the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE)

Ted Hearne            Consent
                              What it might say

David Lang             the national anthems
Caroline Shaw       To the Hands

Saturday, September 29, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Peak Performances
Montclair State University
Alexander Kasser Theater
1 Normal Avenue
Montclair, NJ 07043
Tickets: Visit peakperfs.org or call (973) 655-5112.

The Tower
World premiere of Gregory Spears’ The Tower and James Primrosch’s Housekeeping, with additional works by Joel Puckett and Toivo Tulev

Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
8855 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Tickets: crossingchoir.org
 

Pre-concert talk with Donald, Gregory, and James takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Burleigh Cruikshank Memorial Chapel.

The commissioning of Gregory Spears’ The Tower by Cantori New York, The Crossing, Notre Dame Vocale, and Volti was made possible by the support of the Ann Stookey Fund for New Music (www.annstookeyfund.org).

The Crossing @ Christmas 
The Jeffrey Dinsmore Memorial Concert

Featuring an evening-length world premiere by Gavin Bryars

Friday, December 14, 2018 at 8:00 p.m.
Presented by Annenberg Center Live
Church of the Holy Trinity
1904 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Tickets: Visit annenbergcenter.org or call (215) 898-3900

Sunday, December 16, 2018 at 5:00 p.m.
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill
8855 Germantown Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19118
Tickets: Visit crossingchoir.org.  

Pre-concert talk with Donald Nally takes place on Sunday at 4:00 pm in the Burleigh Cruikshank Memorial Chapel.

Fire in my mouth 
New York Philharmonic
Jaap van Zweden, conductor 

The Crossing’s New York Philharmonic debut, featuring Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth

Thursday, January 24, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, January 25, 2019 at 8:00 p.m. 
Saturday, January 26, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
David Geffen Hall
10 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023
Tickets: Visit nyphil.org or call (212) 875-5656.

The Crossing on Tour

David Lang’s the little match girl passion plus music by Louis Andriessen, Eriks Ešenvalds, Ted Hearne, and Gabriel Jackson

Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Holloway Hall Auditorium at Salisbury University
1101 Camden Avenue
Salisbury, MD 21801
Tickets: Visit salisbury.edu/performingarts or call (410) 543-6228

Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
The Delaware Art Museum
2301 Kentmere Parkway
Wilmington, DE 19806
Tickets: Visit delart.org or call (302) 571-9590

Friday, February 8, 2019 at 7:00 p.m.
Pfleeger Concert Hall at Rowan University
North Campus Drive
Glassboro, NJ 08028
Tickets: Visit rowan.tix.com or call (856) 256-4545.

Saturday, February 9, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Baldwin Auditorium at Duke University
1336 Campus Drive
Durham, NC 27705
Tickets: Visit tickets.duke.edu or call (919) 684-4444.

Sunday, February 10 at 2:00 p.m.
Leighton Concert Hall at Notre Dame University
DeBartolo Performing Arts Center 
100 Performing Arts Center
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Tickets: Visit dpactickets.nd.edu or call (574) 631-2995.

In the Light

Featuring the world premiere of Thomas Lloyd’s In the Light, a choral-theater work for 20 voices

Saturday, March 30, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, March 31, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.
Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral
23 South 38th Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Tickets: Visit crossingchoir.org.

Noon to Midnight
Presented by the Los Angeles Philharmonic

Featuring a world premiere by Toivo Tulev with additional works from The Crossing’s repertoire.

Saturday, June 1, 2019, between 12:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m.
Walt Disney Concert Hall
111 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Tickets: Visit laphil.org or call (323) 850-2000

Aniara: fragments of time and space

The world premiere of a choral-theater work developed in collaboration with Klockriketeatern, Helsinki

Robert Maggio, composer
Dan Henriksson and Donald Nally, artistic directors
Antti Silvennoinen, choreographer
Erika Turunen, costumes
Joonas Tikkanen, scenic and lighting designer
Nick Tipp, sound designer

Thursday, June 20, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, June 21, 2019 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 3:00 p.m.
Saturday, June 22, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 23, 2019 at 4:00 p.m.
Christ Church Neighborhood House
20 North American Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Tickets: crossingchoir.org  

Major support for Aniara: fragments of time and space has been provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.

The Crossing at Big Sky

During its annual residency, The Crossing will join composer Michael Gordon and filmmaker Bill Morrison in their second year of collaboration on a new work for unaccompanied choir and film.

July 15 to 28, 2019
The Warren Miller Performing Arts Center
45465 Gallatin Road
Gallatin Gateway, MT 59730
Tickets: Visit bigskyconservatory.org.

About The Crossing
The Crossing is a professional chamber choir conducted by Donald Nally and dedicated to new music. Consistently recognized in critical reviews, the ensemble regularly collaborates with some of the nation’s most accomplished ensembles and creative composers. It is committed to working with creative teams to make and record new, substantial works for choir, most often addressing social issues. Highly sought-after for collaborative projects, The Crossing’s first collaboration was as the resident choir of the Spoleto Festival, Italy, in 2007. Regular collaborators include the International Contemporary Ensemble, American Composers Orchestra, Network for New Music, Lyric Fest, Piffaro, PRISM Saxophone Quartet, Toshimaru Nakamura, Beth Morrison Projects, and Allora & Calzadilla. Upcoming collaborations include the National Gallery in Washington, the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, Northwestern University, Harvard University, and the Park Avenue Armory. The Crossing holds an annual residency at the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center in Big Sky, Montana. 

The Crossing has presented over sixty commissioned world premieres from some of the world’s leading composers, including Michael Gordon, Lansing McLoskey, John Luther Adams, Kile Smith, David Lang, Ted Hearne, Caroline Shaw, David T. Little, Robert Maggio, Gavin Bryars, Thomas Lloyd, and Hans Thomalla. With a commitment to recording their commissions, The Crossing has thirteen commercially-released recordings, with more due later this year. 

Winner of the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Choral Performance, The Crossing, with Donald Nally, is the American Composers Forums’ 2017 Champion of New Music. They are the recipient of the 2015 Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence, three ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming, as well as the Dale Warland Singers Commission Award (with composer Joel  Puckett) from Chorus America. Donald Nally was awarded the 2017 Michael Korn Award and the 2012 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneurial Zeal for his work with The Crossing.

About Donald Nally
Donald Nally is responsible for imagining, programming, commissioning, and conducting at The Crossing. He is also the director of choral organizations at Northwestern University where he holds the John W. Beattie Chair of Music. Donald has served as chorus master at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Welsh National Opera, Opera Philadelphia, and for many seasons at the Spoleto Festival in Italy. He has also served as music director of Cincinnati's Vocal Arts Ensemble, chorus master at The Chicago Bach Project, and guest conductor throughout Europe and the United States, most notably with the Grant Park Symphony Chorus, the Philharmonia Chorus (London), the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and the Latvian State Choir (Riga).

Donald, with The Crossing, is the American Composers Forum 2017 Champion of New Music; he received the 2017 Michael Korn Founders Award from Chorus America. He is the only conductor to have two ensembles receive the Margaret Hillis Award for Excellence in Choral Music: in 2002 with the Choral Arts Society of Philadelphia and in 2015 with The Crossing. Collaborations have included the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Lincoln Center, Mostly Mozart, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, the Barnes Foundation, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE), the American Composers Orchestra, and The Big Sky Conservatory in Montana where The Crossing holds an annual residency. In the 2017-18 season, he collaborates as guest director with Lisson Gallery (London), The Cathedral Choral Society (Washington, D.C.), Haymarket Opera (Chicago), David Lang’s The Mile Long Opera (on the High Line in New York City), and is visiting resident artist at the Park Avenue Armory.  

*Image at top of release by Becky Oehlers

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