News
unEarth — UK premiere
January 21, 2026
unEarth
BBC Symphony
23 January 2026
UK premiere
Martyn Brabbins, conductor,
BBC Singers (male chorus)
soprano Else Torp
National Youth Voices and
Finchley Children’s Music Group
stage direction by Anne Kaufman
scenic projection design by Lucy MacKinnon
lighting design by Ben Stanton
Asher Lloyd Ehrenberg, associate director
Produced by Bang on a Can
Kenny Savelson, executive producer
[event link]
![[IMAGE] Julia Wolfe's unEarth](https://mcusercontent.com/67441ca74ccaac699656b26c5/images/9d5f59ec-1e60-246a-f346-b16034eb69df.png) |
On Friday, 23 January, conductor Martyn Brabbins leads the BBC Symphony, soprano Else Torp, with the BBC Singers (male chorus), National Youth Voices and Finchley Children’s Music Group in the UK premiere Julia Wolfe’s unEarth.
Commissioned and premiered in 2023 by the New York Philharmonic, unEarth is a large-scale work for orchestra, men’s chorus, and children’s chorus that addresses the climate crisis.
Written in three movements, unEarth is realized with spatial staging and scenic design projected on a large circular screen. The first movement, Flood, is a sonic and textual reference to the ancient flood story. The second movement, Forest, gathers the word for “tree” from a wide range of languages spoken around the world and interlocks them into a rhythmic web, representing the interdependence within the forest ecosystem. This is followed by the eerily prescient words of Emily Dickinson’s Who Robbed the Woods. The third movement, Fix It, takes its language from the science of climate change, words of protest, and thoughts gathered from conversations on climate change with the Young People’s Chorus of New York (ages 8–18.)
Wolfe continues:
| As with my previous large-scale “subject” works — like Her Story, Fire in my mouth, and Anthracite Fields — unEarth was developed with in-depth reading and extensive research. While earlier works have addressed historical crises that have clear resonances with the present, the subject of climate change is now. I am inspired by the great discovery, invention, and creativity of scientists working in the field, of writers articulating the terrifying details of the crisis, and by the many activists, young and old, who are calling out to the public. While art cannot solve the crisis, my hope is that this poetic plea engages the listener in this urgent conversation. |