Lorelei Ensemble Gives Northeast Premiere Performance of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story with BSO Led by Giancarlo Guerrero on March 16 to 18

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leah Rankin | Morahan Arts and Media
leah@morahanartsandmedia.com | 646.378.9386

Lorelei Ensemble Gives Northeast Premiere Performance
of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story with Boston Symphony Orchestra,
Led by Giancarlo Guerrero on March 16 to 18

New Work Written for Lorelei Ensemble & Orchestra Commemorates
History of Women's Fight for Equality in America
and the Ongoing Struggle for Equal Rights

Additional Boston-Area Performances Include Suzanne Bocanegra: Honor
at the Institute of Contemporary Art on February 10; and
Our Journey with the Boston Ballet on April 6-16

www.LoreleiEnsemble.com

Boston, MA (January 20, 2023) – Vocal ensemble Lorelei Ensemble—recognized across the globe for its bold and inventive programs that champion the extraordinary flexibility and virtuosity of the human voice—features in three major Boston-area productions this spring. After nationally-acclaimed premieres in Nashville and Chicago, Lorelei Ensemble performs the Northeast premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Her Story with the Boston Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Giancarlo Guerrero on Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, March 17, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.; and Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. at Boston Symphony Hall. The New York Times described Her Story following its Nashville premiere as having “a ferocity that is literally written into the score, but also an absence of resolution as it looks back to suffrage with one wary eye toward the future steps this country still needs to take for something resembling true equality.”

Written for Lorelei Ensemble and co-commissioned by the BSO, Her Story invokes the words of historical figures and the spirit of pivotal moments to pay tribute to the centuries of ongoing struggle for equal rights for women in America. The 30-minute piece for orchestra and women’s vocal ensemble incorporates text from throughout the history of women's fight for equality, ranging from a letter written by Abigail Adams, to words attributed to Sojourner Truth, to public attacks directed at women protesting for the right to vote, to political satire, and is the latest in a series of Wolfe's compositions highlighting monumental and turbulent moments in American history and culture, and the people—both real and imagined, celebrated and forgotten—that defined them. The world premiere performances with the Nashville Symphony were recorded for a forthcoming album release.

Lorelei Ensemble joins artist Suzanne Bocanegra and actor Lili Taylor in Honor at the Institute of Contemporary Art on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. Honor masquerades as an artist talk but reveals Bocanegra’s current fixation—and aesthetic engagement with—one of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s greatest tapestries, the colossal Honor?(from the series The Honors), measuring almost 19 by 25 feet. Directed by Geoff Sobelle the performance weaves Bocanegra’s personal narrative with an artist’s interpretation of the 16th century tapestry, featuring celebrated film and theater actor Lili Taylor in the title role of “The Artist” alongside Lorelei Ensemble in a performance of Ríu, Ríu, Chíu arranged by David Lang.

In a collaboration with Boston Ballet, Lorelei Ensemble takes the stage alongside Boston Ballet dancers in Our Journey - two insightful contemporary works that reflect our curiosity about the world and our shared desire for human connection from Thursday, April 6 to Sunday, April 16, 2023 at the Citizens Bank Opera House. The program features the world premiere of a new work created by lauded choreographer Nanine Linning to the music of Debussy’s La Mer and choral work Les Sirenes performed live by Lorelei Ensemble and the Boston Ballet Orchestra, punctuated by newly created musical compositions by composer Yannis Kyriakides. The work highlights haute couture designer Yuima Nakazato, visual and new media artist Heleen Blanken, and award-winning lighting designer Brandon Stirling Baker. Also on the program is Justin Peck’s epic ballet Everywhere We Go.

Performance Details:

Her Story
Boston Symphony Orchestra
Lorelei Ensemble
Giancarlo Guerrero, conductor
Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 7:30pm
Friday, March 17, 2023 at 1:30pm
Saturday, March 18, 2023 at 8:00pm
Symphony Hall | 301 Massachusetts Ave. | Boston, MA
Tickets: $20-$147
Ticket link: https://www.bso.org/events/gorecki-wolfe

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

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.

Suzanne Bocanegra: Honor
Lorelei Ensemble
Friday, February 10, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
Institute of Contemporary Art | 25 Harbor Shore Drive | Boston MA 02210
Tickets: $15 for members students / $25 for nonmembers
Ticket Link: https://www.icaboston.org/events/suzanne-bocanegra-honor

Credits:
Written and Created by: Suzanne Bocanegra
Performed by: Lili Taylor
Directed by: Geoff Sobelle
Video by: Derrick Belcham
Costume photos by: Thibault Jeanson and Georgia Nerheim
LA Tour Director: Rachel Park
LA Musicians Contractor and Music Director: Lesley Leighton
Wardrobe Supervisor: Theodora Bocanegra Lang
Design and Technical Director: Joey Wolfslau
Producer: Sandra Garner, Lingua Franca Arts
Ríu, Ríu, Chíu arranged by David Lang

Our Journey
Boston Ballet
Lorelei Ensemble
Boston Ballet Orchestra
Citizens Bank Opera House | 539 Washington Street | Boston, MA 02111
Thursday, April 6, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 7, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 9, 2023 at 1:30 p.m.
Thursday, April 13, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 14, 2023 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 15, 2023 at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April, 2023 16 at 1:30 p.m.
Tickets: $39-$164
Ticket Link: https://www.bostonballet.org/performance/our-journey/

Program:
World Premiere - Nanine Linning (Choreography); La Mer and Les Sirenes by Claude Debussy
Everywhere We Go - Justin Peck (Choreography); Music by Sufjan Stevens

Credits:
Costume designer: Yuima Nakazato,
Visual and new media artist: Heleen Blanken
Lighting designer: Brandon Stirling Baker

About Lorelei Ensemble
Heralded for its “full-bodied and radiant sound” (The New York Times) and “stunning precision of harmony, intonation, and... spectacular virtuosity” (Gramophone Magazine), 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 mission, curating culturally-relevant and artistically audacious programs that stretch and challenge the expectations of artists and audiences alike. Recognized for its rich and diverse vocal palette, the ensemble is celebrated for its compelling delivery of Willer's “exact, smooth, and stylish” programming. (The Boston Globe).

Lorelei Ensemble is creating a living repertoire for a living audience, working with today’s leading composers to commission more than 65 new works that expand and deepen the repertoire of sounds, timbres, words and stories that women use to reflect and challenge our world. This new repertoire for women’s and treble voices demands fierce flexibility and openness from each artist and listener, allowing unparalleled music making that is born from the unique position of power and cultural influence that women hold. Collaborating composers include David Lang, Julia Wolfe, George Benjamin, Kati Ago´cs, Lisa Bielawa, Kareem Roustom, Jessica Meyer, Christopher Cerrone, Sungji Hong, Reiko Yamada, Peter Gilbert, Scott Ordway, James Kallembach, John Supko, and many more. Current projects and commissions include Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, Christopher Cerrone’s Beaufort Scales, and works in progress by Katherine Balch, Elijah Daniel Smith, Angélica Negrón, and Ayanna Woods.

Recordings document and preserve the work of Lorelei and its collaborators for future artists and audiences. On the New Focus, Sono Luminus, Cantaloupe, and BMOP Sound labels, Lorelei has recorded the music of living composers Kati Ago´cs, Peter Gilbert, James Kallembach, David Lang, Jessica Meyer, and Scott Ordway, as well as historical repertoires from William Billings, Guillaume Du Fay, Alfred Schnittke, To¯ru Takemitsu, the Turin Codex and the Codex Calixtinus. Recent releases include James Kallembach’s Antigone: The Writings of Sophie Scholl (New Focus Recordings, 2022) Named Critic's Choice by Opera News, David Lang’s love fail (Cantaloupe 2020), described as “a work that channels poignancy through harmonic and melodic clarity” (The Road to Sound), and Impermanence (Sono Luminus 2018), about which WQXR raved, ”Utterly gorgeous...The group’s...probing interpretations of works both ancient and modern makes for instantly affecting listening.” Forthcoming are two EPs featuring works by Jessica Meyer and Scott Ordway (exp. 2023, New Focus Recordings), and a full-length album featuring Christopher Cerrone’s Beaufort Scales (exp. 2023, Cold Blue).

Lorelei Ensemble maintains a robust national touring schedule, including collaborations with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, Boston Modern Orchestra Project, 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 Church Wall Street, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts.

Committed to education, Lorelei is empowering young artists to be our next creative leaders through its work with rising performers and composers at children’s choirs, high schools, and colleges and universities across the country. Cultivating both individual and collaborative artistry, Lorelei helps young artists hone their skills to become flexible, perceptive, and open-minded musicians. Past residencies include work with singers, ensembles, conductors and composers at the Eastman School of Music, 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, Princeton Girlchoir, and the Connecticut Children’s Chorus.

Founded in Boston in 2007, Lorelei Ensemble’s artists are based across the United States and maintain active performing and teaching schedules.

*Photo of Lorelei Ensemble at the top of release by Nashville Symphony

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