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Fire in my mouth in Edinburgh

Julia Wolfe’s critically-acclaimed Fire in my mouth receives its UK premiere at the Edinburgh Festival August 21, by Marin Alsop and the Philharmonia Orchestra — with Anne Kauffman (director), Jeff Sugg (scenic, lighting, video and production designer) and Márion Talán (costume designer).

Premiered in January 2019 by the New York Philharmonic, Fire in my mouth is based on the garment industry in New York at the turn of the century, with a focus on the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire and its aftermath…

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Philadelphia Orchestra + National Symphony give premieres

Her Story with the Nashville Symphony © Kurt Heinecke

This week, February 27 through March 1, two recent Wolfe works for orchestra receive commissioner premieres: Her Story (for orchestra and women’s vocal ensemble) is performed by conductor Marin Alsop, the National Symphony Orchestra and Lorelei Ensemble. Pretty, is performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra, led by Music and Artistic Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Her Story [VIDEO] (1-min excerpt) Boston Symphony perfoms Her Story Her Story (1-min video excerpt) performed by
Boston Symphony with Lorelei

Co-commissioned by the Nashville Symphony, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, and National Symphony Orchestra, Julia Wolfe’s Her Story is written for orchestra and women’s vocal ensemble …

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Flower Power premieres with LA Phil and 3 European orchestras

Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power had three European premieres before the pandemic (each featuring the Bang on a Can All-Stars): London, February 28, 2020 with the BBC Concert Orchestra; Dublin, March 28, 2020 with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra; Copenhagen, March 5, 2020 with the Danish Radio Symphony.

The work received its world premiere January 18-19, 2020 at Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles by the LA Philharmonic, with conductor John Adams and the Bang on a Can All-Stars…

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Steel Hammer film premiere at Cal Performances at Home (streaming)

Cal Performances at Home premieres Steel Hammer, a new film featuring the acclaimed oratorio by Julia Wolfe. Film will be available on demand through August 4.

Described by The Boston Globe as “[an] epic explosion and reconstruction of the folk ballad,” Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer is a meditation on over 200 versions of the John Henry legend, with voices and the Bang on a Can All-Stars, along with mountain dulcimer, wooden bones, banjo, harmonicas, clogging, and body percussion…

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Oxygen performance video premiere :: Carnegie Hall residency

Julia Wolfe’s 2021-2022 Carnegie Hall Debs Composer’s Chair residency commences with the video premiere of Oxygen, a rapid-fire composition for 12 flutes. Written during the pandemic and filmed in October 2021, Oxygen features an all-star cast of flutists coming together to collaborate after more than a year of artistic isolation. The work was commissioned by the National Flute Association and premiered in March 2021 at the Blair School of Music, led by flutist Molly Barth…

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Julia Wolfe named 2016 MacArthur Fellow

Julia Wolfe has been named a 2016 MacArthur Fellow. The MacArthur Fellows Program awards unrestricted fellowships to “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.”

Go to macfound.org for more information.

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Composer Residency: Univ of Michigan, Jan 20

On January 20, Julia Wolfe joins the U-M Contemporary Directions Ensemble, directed by Oriol Sans, for an evening of conversation and performances of her small ensemble works.

This concert is part of a week-long residency by Ms. Wolfe (a U-M alum) to develop Fire in my Mouth, an evening-length orchestral work co-commissioned by UMS with the New York Philharmonic, Cal Performances and the Krannert Center.

This event is free and open to the public; no tickets required…

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