Nov. 5-7: Boston's Lorelei Ensemble and Boston Symphony Orchestra Give Northeast Premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Katy Salomon | Morahan Arts and Media
katy@morahanartsandmedia.com | 863.660.2214

 
Lorelei Ensemble and Boston Symphony Orchestra Give
Northeast Premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story 

Part of a Commissioning Consortium to Include the Nashville Symphony, San
Francisco Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra & National Symphony Orchestra 

A New Work Premiering Fall 2020 that Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Ratification of
the 19th Amendment and the First Vote for American Women on November 2, 1920  

“impeccable musicality” – The Boston Globe 

www.LoreleiEnsemble.com
 

Boston, MA (May 1, 2020) – Nationally acclaimed Boston-based vocal artists Lorelei Ensemble and the Boston Symphony Orchestra perform the northeast premiere of composer Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, a 40-minute piece for orchestra and women’s vocal ensemble, on Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 8:00pm; Friday, November 6, 2020 at 1:30pm; and Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 8:00pm at Symphony Hall under the direction of conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. The program also includes Henryk Górecki’s Symphony No. 3 "Symphony of Sorrowful Songs" featuring Polish soprano Iwona Sobotka.

The 2020-2021 premiere performances of Her Story are co-commissioned and co-presented by the Boston Symphony Orchestra alongside the Nashville Symphony led by Giancarlo Guerrero (Thursday, September 10, 2020 at 7:00pm; Friday, September 11, 2020 at 8:00pm; and Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 8:00pm), the San Francisco Symphony led by Giancarlo Guerrero (Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 8:00pm and Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 8:00pm), the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Marin Alsop (Friday, February 26, 2021 at 8:00pm and Saturday, February 27, 2021 at 8:00pm), and the National Symphony Orchestra led by Gianandrea Noseda (Thursday, March 4, 2021 at 7:00pm; Friday, March 5, 2021 at 8:00pm; and Saturday, March 6, 2021 at 8:00pm). The world premiere performances with the Nashville Symphony will be recorded for a forthcoming album release on Naxos.

Lorelei Artistic Director Beth Willer has been planning the collaboration with Wolfe since 2017, and is looking forward to bringing the piece to Boston: “It is an incredible opportunity to work with Julia on a project that is sure to make a lasting impact, both artistically and culturally. We are especially thrilled to be premiering this piece in our home-town, almost exactly 100 years after the first women’s vote on November 2, 1920.” 

Written for Lorelei Ensemble to commemorate the centennial of the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment, which granted women the right to vote, Her Story is the latest in a series of Wolfe's compositions highlighting monumental and turbulent moments in American history and culture. That the piece is having its world premiere in Nashville is no accident: Tennessee was the 36th and final state needed to ratify the 19th Amendment, and the world premiere comes mere weeks after the centennial of the August 18, 1920 ratification vote. NPR describes Julia Wolfe as "our labor documentarian, tackling historic issues that resonate today... By marrying history and music, Wolfe forces us to look to our past to protect our future." The immersive, visual performances will be directed by Anne Kauffman with scenic and lighting design by Jeff Sugg, costumes by Marion Talan, and produced by Bang on a Can.

"Though we have yet to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment, women have been battling for equality from the beginning of the nation,” writes Wolfe. “Her Story captures the passion and perseverance of women refusing subordination, demanding representation, and challenging the prejudice and power structures that have  limited women’s voices. The dynamic vocal artists of Lorelei Ensemble team up with 5 major American orchestras to tell this important yet much neglected thread of American political history.” 

The impetus of the piece stemmed from Lorelei Ensemble Artistic Director Beth Willer’s longstanding admiration of Wolfe’s work. She highlights the composition’s importance in this particular moment in our history, stating, “I have been absolutely captivated by the work of Julia Wolfe since conducting her Pulitzer-prize winning work, Anthracite Fields, in 2017. Her ability to uncover and curate the diverse voices surrounding both common and spectacular events in the history of our great nation makes her an ideal creator and collaborator for this project. I envision this piece as a celebration of the power and influence of American women in achieving equality and justice for all American citizens, slated for premiere upon the centenary of the first women’s vote (November 2, 1920). It is an incredible opportunity to work with Julia on a project that is sure to make a lasting impact, both artistically and culturally.”

Her Story was co-commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Nashville Symphony, the National Symphony, and the San Francisco Symphony and with the generous support of Linda and Stuart Nelson.

Performance Details
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Lorelei Ensemble
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Thursday, November 5, 2020 at 8:00pm
Friday, November 6, 2020 at 1:30pm
Saturday, November 7, 2020 at 8:00pm
Symphony Hall | 301 Massachusetts Ave | Boston, MA 02115
Tickets: Season subscriptions will be available starting May 11 via 888-266-1200 or www.bso.org. Individual tickets go on sale in August. 

Program:
Julia Wolfe – Her Story [Northeast Premiere, BSO Co-Commission]
Henryk Górecki – Symphony No. 3, Symphony of Sorrowful Songs
     Iwona Sobotka, soprano 

About Lorelei Ensemble
Heralded for its “warm, lithe, and beautifully blended” sound (The New York Times), “impeccable musicality” (Boston Globe), and unfailing display of the “elegance, power, grace and beauty of the human voice” (Boston Music Intelligencer), Lorelei Ensemble is recognized across the globe for its bold and inventive programs that champion the extraordinary flexibility and virtuosity of the human voice. Led by founder and artistic director Beth Willer, Lorelei has established an inspiring artistic vision, curating culturally-relevant and artistically audacious programs that stretch and challenge the expectations of artists and audiences alike. Comprising nine women, the ensemble is celebrated for its rich and diverse vocal palette, and enticing delivery of Willer’s “exact, smooth, and stylish” programming (The Boston Globe). 

Driven by its mission to advance and elevate women’s voices, and to enrich the repertoire through forward-thinking and co-creative collaboration, Lorelei is committed to bringing works to life that point toward a “new normal” for vocal artists, and women in music. The ensemble frequently collaborates with composers from the U.S. and abroad, delivering more than 60 world, U.S. and regional premieres since its founding in 2007. Collaborating composers include David Lang, Julia Wolfe, George Benjamin, Kati Agócs, Lisa Bielawa, Kareem Roustom, Jessica Meyer, Christopher Cerrone, Sungji Hong, Reiko Yamada, Peter Gilbert, Scott Ordway, James Kallembach, and John Supko. Recent recordings include David Lang’s love fail (Cantaloupe, 2020), and Impermanence (Sono Luminus, 2018) featuring the premiere recording of Peter Gilbert’s Tsukimi, motets of Guillaume Du Fay, and selections from the Turin Manuscript and the Codex Calixtinus.

Lorelei Ensemble maintains a robust national touring schedule, including recent collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, A Far Cry, and Cantus, and performances at celebrated venues across the country, including Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Tanglewood Music Center, Boston's Symphony Hall, Trinity Wall Street, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. Education is an important and integral part of Lorelei’s work, including residencies with young artists at Harvard University, Yale University, Duke University, Bucknell University, University of Iowa, Cornell University, Luther College, Vassar College, Macalester College, Mount Holyoke College, Connecticut College, Hillsdale College, Keene State College, Gordon College, the Pennsylvania Girlchoir, and the Connecticut Children’s Chorus.

In 2020-21, Lorelei Ensemble proudly presents the world premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, in performances with five co-commissioning orchestras: the Nashville Symphony (Giancarlo Guerrero), the San Francisco Symphony (Guerrero), the Chicago Symphony (Marin Alsop), the National Symphony Orchestra (Gianandrea Noseda), and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Guerrero). Written for Lorelei Ensemble to commemorate the centennial of the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment, Her Story is the latest in a series of Wolfe's compositions highlighting monumental and turbulent moments in American history and culture. Additional appearances in 2020-21 include The National Gallery, Eastman School of Music, Princeton University, Duke University, and a performance of Holst’s The Planets at the Tanglewood Music Center with the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Thomas Adès). Learn more at www.loreleiensemble.com. 

About Julia Wolfe
Julia Wolfe draws inspiration from folk, classical, and rock genres, bringing a modern sensibility to each while simultaneously tearing down the walls between them. 

The 2019 world premiere of Fire in my mouth, a large-scale work for orchestra and women's chorus, by the New York Philharmonic with The Crossing and the Young People's Chorus of New York City, received extensive acclaim — one reviewer called the work "a monumental achievement in high musical drama, among the most commandingly imaginative and emotively potent works of any kind that I've ever experienced." (The Nation) The premiere recording of Fire in my mouth is released on Decca Gold, and was recorded live during the world premiere. The work is the third in a series of compositions about the American worker: 2009’s Steel Hammer, which examines the folk-hero John Henry, and the 2014 Pulitzer Prize-winning Anthracite Fields, a concert-length oratorio for chorus and instruments, which draws on oral histories, interviews, speeches, and more to honor the people who persevered and endured in the Pennsylvania Anthracite coal region. Mark Swed of the LA Times wrote Anthracite Fields "captures not only the sadness of hard lives lost...but also of the sweetness and passion of a way of daily life now also lost. The music compels without overstatement. This is a major, profound work."

Wolfe’s music is distinguished by an intense physicality and a relentless power that pushes performers to extremes and demands attention from the audience. She has written a major body of work for strings, from quartets to full orchestra. Her music has been heard at venues throughout the world and has been recorded on Cantaloupe Music, Teldec, Point/Universal, Sony Classical, and Argo/Decca.

In addition to receiving the Pulitzer Prize, Wolfe was a 2016 MacArthur Fellow, she received the 2015 Herb Alpert Award in Music, and was named Musical America's 2019 Composer of the Year. She is on faculty at the NYU Steinhardt School and is co-founder/co-artistic director of New York’s legendary music collective Bang on a Can. Her music is published by Red Poppy, Ltd. (ASCAP) and is distributed worldwide by Ricordi/Universal Music Classical. Learn more at www.juliawolfemusic.com. 

*Photo of Lorelei Ensemble at the top of release by Allana Taranto, Ars Magna Studio. Photo of Julia Wolfe by Peter Serling. 

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