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New York Philharmonic, The Crossing, and YPC premiere ‘unEarth’

World Premiere
June 1-3

unEarth
New York Philharmonic
Jaap van Zweden, conductor
with soprano Else Torp, The Crossing (men’s ensemble),
and Young People’s Chorus of NYC
stage direction by Anne Kaufman
scenic projection design by Lucy MacKinnon
sound design by Jody Elff
lighting design by Ben Stanton
[event link]

 

[IMAGE] unEarth preview article

(click to read NY Times feature on unEarth)

Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic for orchestra, men’s chorus, and children’s chorus, Julia Wolfe’s unEarth is a large-scale work that addresses the climate crisis…

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Maya Beiser and friends premiere ‘Spinning’

From May 10-13, Peak Performances in Montclair, NJ presents cellist Maya Beiser and friends in a new evening-length work by Julia Wolfe called “Spinning”, which celebrates the work once performed by hand by women. Music has long been a vital part of the craft — both as a propelling force and as a distraction. To pay homage to the human dignity of this “women’s work,” Wolfe and Beiser create a sonic universe for three cellos and voice performed by Beiser with Melody Giron and Lavena Johanson featuring multimedia projections imagined by the innovative artist Laurie Olinder…

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news

Fire in my mouth nominated for 2 Grammy awards

Fire in my mouth, conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden, is nominated for two Grammy awards:

Best Contemporary Classical Composition (Julia Wolfe)

Best Engineered Album, Classical (Bob Hanlon and Lawrence Rock, engineers; Ian Good and Lawrence Rock, mastering engineers). Lawrence Rock is Audio Director of the New York Philharmonic; Ian Good is Assistant, Digital Platforms & Experience at the New York Philharmonic.

Fire in my mouth, co-commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, is a searingly vivid evocation of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire…

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Berlin Philharmonic premieres ‘Pretty’

Pretty Berlin Philharmonic
world premiere
Kirill Petrenko, conductor
June 8, 9, 10

Berlin Philharmoniker Digital Concert Hall

June 8-10, conductor Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic gave the world premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Pretty. Co-commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic, Houston Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Pretty was the third premiere of Wolfe’s in as many weeks — beginning May 25 in San Francisco with the west coast premiere of Her Story, and then June 1-3 with the New York Philharmonic’s world premiere of unEarth

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Her Story

[Her Story] has 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.
The New York Times, September 2022

 

Julia Wolfe’s Her Story is a 40-minute oratorio for 10 women’s voices — with stage direction by Anne Kauffman and production by Bang on a Can…

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interviews

Classing Rock, or Rocking Classical?

March 11, 2003

Julia Wolfe is a composer who is as influenced by the songs of Led Zeppelin as she is by the symphonies of Beethoven. As one of the most acclaimed young composers in New York, she has managed to expand on the definition of what a string quartet can be. This weekend the members of the innovative electric and acoustic string quartet, Ethel, will be performing string quartets by both Ms. Wolfe and John Zorn. Today, she is in our studios to talk about her newest music…

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riSE and fLY :: Colin Currie at Southbank Centre

On September 17, Colin Currie reprises his performance of riSE and fLY at London’s Southbank Centre, this time with conductor Ricardo Castro and the Youth Orchestra of Bahia.

Inspired by New York City street beats and the rhythms of American work song, Julia Wolfe’s riSE and fLY is a dazzling work commissioned by the BBC Concert Orchestra for Colin Currie.

Borrowing the title from a chain gang work song, Wolfe’s intention is to “take Colin to a new place and to bring something earthy and visceral to the orchestra – to break with formality and get down and dirty.”

The result is a thrilling evocation of street drummers, accordionists, singers, Chinese stringed erhus and the folk tradition of body percussion that fully encapsulates the festival’s title, Metal, Wood and Skin…

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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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Her Story world premiere September 15

read New York Times review from the premiere

listen to NPR interview with Wolfe about Her Story

Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, a 40-minute, theatrical work for orchestra and women’s chamber choir, received its world premiere September 15-17 with the Nashville Symphony and conductor Giancarlo Guerrero. The world premiere is followed by performances in 2023 from co-commissioners Chicago Symphony Orchestra (January 6–7), Boston Symphony Orchestra (March 16–18), and San Francisco Symphony (May 25–27); National Symphony Orchestra concerts will be announced at a later date…

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