Composer Julia Wolfe takes you to the coalmines of Pennsylvania, near the town where she grew up, in a place that the composer experienced as the Wild West for a long time. Her poignant Anthracite Fields honors the miners and their families who literally fueled America’s wealth for decades, at the cost of their own health. As in many of her works, Wolfe unearths a piece of American history that is not found in school textbooks or collective memory. For this compelling work for choir and augmented ensemble, the Flemish Radio Choir and Bart Van Reyn join forces with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, for whom Wolfe wrote the piece in 2014.
Composer Julia Wolfe takes you to the coalmines of Pennsylvania, near the town where she grew up, in a place that the composer experienced as the Wild West for a long time. Her poignant Anthracite Fields honors the miners and their families who literally fueled America’s wealth for decades, at the cost of their own health. As in many of her works, Wolfe unearths a piece of American history that is not found in school textbooks or collective memory. For this compelling work for choir and augmented ensemble, the Flemish Radio Choir and Bart Van Reyn join forces with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, for whom Wolfe wrote the piece in 2014.
Bozar Hall M Rue Ravenstein 23 1000 ,
BRUSSELS Composer Julia Wolfe takes you to the coalmines of Pennsylvania, near the town where she grew up, in a place that the composer experienced as the Wild West for a long time. Her poignant Anthracite Fields honors the miners and their families who literally fueled America’s wealth for decades, at the cost of their own health. As in many of her works, Wolfe unearths a piece of American history that is not found in school textbooks or collective memory. For this compelling work for choir and augmented ensemble, the Flemish Radio Choir and Bart Van Reyn join forces with the Bang on a Can All-Stars, for whom Wolfe wrote the piece in 2014.
Julia Wolfe’s mesmerizing cantata Her Story dramatically explores the historic struggle for women to secure equal rights. Scored for large orchestra and women’s voices, with stage direction by Anne Kauffman, scenic design by Jeff Sugg, and production by Bang on a Can, you won’t want to miss one of the cultural events of the year in Mississippi. Performed with the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony and Chorus, led by Dr. Gregory Wolynec.
PROGRAM
Maurice Ravel – Pavane pour une enfante défunte
George Gershwin – An American in Paris
Julia Wolfe – Her Story
In advance of the concert, the School of Music will host a public panel discussion Wednesday, March 25, at 6:30 p.m. in Marsh Auditorium on the Hattiesburg campus. Admission is free.
The discussion will feature Wolfe alongside several distinguished scholars: human rights historian Allida Black; Heather Marie Stur, co-director of the Dale Center for the Study of War & Society; and Rebecca Tuuri, co-director of the university’s Center for the Study of the Gulf South. The conversation will explore themes of history, women’s voices and social change.
In 1911 the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in New York City caught fire. 146 clothing workers died in the blaze – most of them immigrant women and children who perished in dangerous, inhuman working conditions. Their story is told in Fire in my mouth, a large-scale oratorio for orchestra and female voices by Julia Wolfe.
Performed by the Belgian National Orchestra, Fire in my mouth’s themes of immigration, injustice, precarity and industrial neglect resonate strongly today. Gemma New Conductor / Vlaams Radiokoor Choir / Children’s and Youth Choirs of La Monnaie
In 2006 the downtown theater renegade Richard Foreman, who penned over 50 plays and nine operas across five decades, teamed up with renowned experimental composer Michael Gordon for a new collaboration. What came was a bitingly funny post-rock opera skewering the superficial pressures of society. Now, in its New York debut as part of Next Wave 2025 and Prototype Festival, What to wear is remounted for the first time in 20 years, returned to its original Richard Foreman staging by Big Dance Theater co-founders Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar. In Foreman and Gordon’s pageant of seductiveness gone wrong, beauty gives way to something more transcendent—and our contemporary world of fast fashion and influencer culture renders their acerbic critiques still cutting and relevant as ever. A collaboration between BAM, Beth Morrison Projects, Prototype, and Bang on a Can, this historic re-staging honors Foreman’s trailblazing legacy, and confirms Gordon’s ceaseless musical vitality.
Direction, Libretto and Production by Richard Foreman
Music by Michael Gordon
Music Direction by Alan Pierson
Creative Direction by Paul Lazar and Annie-B Parson
Featuring Bang on a Can All-Stars
David Lang’s newest work – before and after nature – is a monumental meditation on how people might imagine the world, both before and after human existence. Featuring the electric Bang on a Can All-Stars and chamber choir, and with stunning video/visual design by Tal Rosner, before and after nature explores how people interact with the natural world, concentrating particularly on the things we don’t really see or understand.
This performance includes the Penn State Concert Choir under the direction of Dr. Christopher Kiver.
Marin Alsop
Washington, DC
Written for Lorelei Ensemble, 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, representation, and access to democracy for women in America.
Women artists take center stage in these concerts! Pianist Hélène Grimaud brings “astonishing proficiency and poetic sensibilities” (The Washington Post) to Brahms’s First Piano Concerto; 19th-century composer Louise Farrenc’s surging, Romantic First Symphony beguiles with mystery and melody; and Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Julia Wolfe’s Pretty is a raucous, rhythmic romp.
World Premiere performance of David Lang’s before and after nature with video design by Tal Rosner!
Performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the LA Master Chorale, conducted by Grant Gershon.
“before and after nature is a meditation on the natural world, both before human existence and after humans are gone.”
Link to program notes
Bang on a Can All-Stars and Nashville Symphony perform Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power! Conducted by Giancarlo Guerrero.
3 performances: January 24-26. With visuals by Jeff Sugg.
Julia Wolfe describes Flower Power, inspired by the 1960s counterculture movement, as “about optimism, idealism, psychedelia, breaking with convention, and a little bit of love and peace.”
Program also includes Beethoven’s Seventh.
Julia Wolfe’s Fire in my mouth for orchestra and choir will be performed in Sweden by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (Santtu-Matias Rouvali conductor), Göteborgs Symfoniska Damkör, and Damer ur Göteborgs Symfonikers Vokalensemble.
Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero conducts the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Lorelei Ensemble in Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, a new work that captures the passion and perseverance of women who have led the fight for representation and gender equality. A 40-minute theatrical experience, the piece is the latest in a series of compositions by Wolfe that highlights monumental and turbulent moments in American history.
Conductor Giancarlo Guerrero conducts the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Lorelei Ensemble in Julia Wolfe’s Her Story, a new work that captures the passion and perseverance of women who have led the fight for representation and gender equality. A 40-minute theatrical experience, the piece is the latest in a series of compositions by Wolfe that highlights monumental and turbulent moments in American history.
Conductor Marin Alsop leads the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in three pivotal works by 21st-century women composers including Her Story, a CSO co-commission by Julia Wolfe that captures the passion and perseverance of women who have led the fight for representation and gender equality. A 40-minute theatrical experience for orchestra and women’s vocal ensemble, the piece is the latest in a series of compositions by Wolfe that highlights monumental and turbulent moments in American history.
Cutting-edge cellist Maya Beiser and “America’s most astonishing choir” (The New York Times), The Crossing, form a fearless partnership to present Travel Guide to Nicaragua, a New York premiere by Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon. The evening-length work, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall, tells the story of Gordon’s family’s journey from Poland to Nicaragua, beginning with his grandfather and concluding with Gordon’s childhood in the jungle on the outskirts of Managua.
Bang on a Can and Joe Hisaishi Company co-present Music Future Vol.9!
Program:
Joe Hisaishi: 2 Dances for Large Ensemble,* performed by the Bang on a Can Festival Ensemble
Nico Muhly: Selections from Drones & Viola and Drones & Piano, performed by Nadia Sirota, viola, and Nico Muhly, piano/drones
Nico Muhly: Roots, Pulses,* performed by the Bang on a Can Festival Ensemble
Joe Hisaishi: Viola Saga,* performed by Nadia Sirota, viola, and the Bang on a Can Festival Ensemble
*US premiere
Bang on a Can’s special discount code for half-price tickets is: MFD39879
The world premiere of HER STORY, by Julia Wolfe!
Performed by Lorelei Ensemble and the Nashville Symphony
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, representation, and access to democracy for women in America.
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.
Her Story was 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.
The 2018 Carnegie Hall performance of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize–winning Anthracite Fields was one of the season’s most unforgettable events. Inspired by the lives of Pennsylvania coal miners, Wolfe uses oral histories, interviews with miners and their families, speeches, and children’s stories in moving musical tableaux that depicts their plight. Hear this “major profound work” (Los Angeles Times) for the first time or be moved by it once again.
Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer is a moving retelling of “John Henry,” a classic American ballad of man versus machine. Based on hearsay, recollection, and tall tales, the piece features exquisite vocal writing complemented by Appalachian folk instruments, such as wooden bones, mountain dulcimer, banjo, clapping, and clogging.
Cal Performances at Home premieres a new film, Steel Hammer, based on the acclaimed oratorio by Julia Wolfe. Steel Hammer is a meditation on over 200 versions of the “John Henry” folk ballad. The various versions—based on hearsay, recollection, and tall tales—reveal both the evolution of the story, as well as the timeless tale of human versus machine.
The video premiere is May 6 at 7pm PT/ 10pm ET. It will be available on demand through August 4.
[More info coming soon about how this program will be adapted due to the pandemic.]
Bang on a Can fellows and faculty and guest luminaries of experimental music converge to create an eclectic supermix of over 30 concerts in 3 days, taking over every space in and around MASS MoCA. In the words of the reviewer for the Boston Globe “nothing could have prepared me for the whirlwind…”
PROGRAM
Friday, July 31, 8:30pm
Steve Reich: Electric Counterpoint performed by Taylor Levine
Todd Reynolds: Outerborough performed by Todd Reynolds
Gregg August: Trio for Violin, Piano and Bass (with acknowledgements to Yambú, Guaguanco and Abakua) performed by Gregg August, Vicky Chow, Todd Reynolds
Philip Glass: Piano Etudes (selections), performed by Vicky Chow
Zoë Keating: solo set
Saturday, August 1, 8:30pm
Robert Black: Possessed solo improvisation
Julia Wolfe: Compassion performed by Vicky Chow
Michael Gordon: Light Is Calling performed by Arlen Hlusko
Don Byron: solo set
Louis Andriessen: Workers Union performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars
Thurston Moore: Stroking Piece #1 performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars
Two evenings of innovative, unexpected, ear-expanding and LIVE music, Bang on a Can & Friends’ eclectic program features the Bang on a Can All-Stars with special guests Don Byron, Zoë Keating, Gregg August, Todd Reynolds and music by Louis Andriessen, Philip Glass, Michael Gordon, Thurston Moore, Steve Reich, and Julia Wolfe. It’s our first live music event since March — back to back nights of a fully loaded out-of-this-world sound.
PROGRAM
Xavier Bonfill: Yes for No (premiere)
Matias Vestergård: …Through its Darkness (premiere)
Julia Wolfe: Flower Power (Scandinavian premiere)
Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Jessica Cottis, present the Scandinavian premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power on the 2020 Pulsar Festival.
PROGRAM:
Gerald Barry: Viola Concerto
Julia Wolfe: Flower Power
Bang on a Can All-Stars and the RTE Orchestra present the Irish premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power as part of the New Music Dublin series at the National Concert Hall!
PROGRAM
John Adams: The Chairman Dances
Julia Wolfe: Flower Power (UK premiere)
Steve Martland: Horses of Instruction
Philip Glass: Symphony no. 3
Bang on a Can All-Stars and the BBC Concert Orchestra, Bramwell Tovey, conductor, present the UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power at the Southbank Centre!
Bang on a Can and the Jewish Museum present Nicole Mitchell! Nicole Mitchell’s trio Matape, with Val Jeanty and Chad Taylor, creates ancient future soundscapes informed by the African diaspora through flute, Afro-Electronica, and percussion. This season’s Bang on a Can performances celebrate the unique power of artist’s voices, and Mitchell, emerging from Chicago’s innovative music scene in the late 90s, continues that theme.
(Photo by Kristi Sutton Elias)
The Los Angeles Philharmonic (conducted by John Adams) and the Bang on a Can All-Stars join forces for the world premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Flower Power, inspired by a radical revolutionary moment – the late 1960’s – a time when experimental ideas and questions permeated all parts of the political, social, and artistic landscapes. This shift brought new spiritual and intellectual explorations, a breakdown of social norms, psychedelic visions, artistic explosion, and a greater and more open expression of love and peace. In Flower Power, Wolfe draws on the optimism and energy of this moment in history. With visuals by Jeff Sugg.
Musiktage / Staatsoper Hannover Hanover,
Germany map Dallas Symphony - Moody Performance Hall map Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields with the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Verdigris Ensemble Chorus!
LA Opera Off Grand - Ace Hotel Los Angeles,
CA map David Lang returns to the LA Opera with the west coast premiere of his intimate work for baritone, piano and chamber ensemble – the loser – starring baritone Rod Gilfry
Music, libretto and stage direction: David Lang
Text adapted from the novel by Thomas Bernhard, translated from German by Jack Dawson
Scenery: Jim Findlay
Costumes: Suzanne Bocanegra
Lighting: Jennifer Tipton
Two shows, Feb 22 and Feb 23
Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields with the National Forum of Music Choir, led by Agnieszka Franków-Żelazny in Wroclaw, Poland!
Also on the program:
Michael Gordon, For Madeline
David Lang, Little Match Girl Passion
2 shows! January 12 and 13
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and Cantus Domus, Ralf Sochaczewsky, conductor, will perform Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields in Berlin, Germany!
Open Space KC Kansas City,
MO map Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize winning Anthracite Fields comes to Kansas City! We are delighted to be partnering with Open Spaces and the KC Chorale.
Kennedy Center Washington,
DC map The Bang on a Can All-Stars reunite with the Choir of Trinity Wall St, conducted by Julian Wachner, for this performance of Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields in Washington DC!
This event is part of the Kennedy Center’s annual new celebration DIRECT CURRENT–an immersive showcase for cutting-edge contemporary arts and culture with a focus on interdisciplinary creations.
Grand Theater Gronigen,
Netherlands map Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer-prize winning oratorio Anthracite Fields will be presented on the Autumn Strings Festival in Prague! The Bang on a Can All-Stars will be joined by the Martinů Voices, conducted by Lukáš Vasilek.
Ford Theater Los Angeles,
CA map We call it Road Trip. The tank is full, the top is down, and we have our collective hand on the dial for a euphoric musical journey celebrating 30 years of Bang on a Can. Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe flood the waves with an original mash-up of wind-in-your-hair tunes that capture the sublime exhilaration of freedom and possibility. Performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars, with stunning scenic design by projection artist CandyStations (Sufjan Stevens, St. Vincent) and stage direction by Michael Counts, “Road Trip” is a tribute to journeys of all sorts, and the people who make them. There is a road, but it is no simple highway.
World premiere!!
The All-Stars perform selections from the new collaboration between Michael Gordon, David Lang, and Julia Wolfe – Road Trip! As well as classics from their repertoire – sunray, cheating lying stealing, and Lick. Klaipeda Festival in Lithuania.
This engagement is supported by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation through USArtists International in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and Julia Wolfe will be in residence at Drew University April 24-26!
Monday 24 April
7-9PM Steel Hammer – An Inside Look: A Discussion with Julia Wolfe and the Bang on a Can All-Stars on the Making of Steel Hammer
In this lecture demonstration Julia Wolfe and the Bang on a Can All-Stars will perform music and discuss the building of this new work which explores the quintessential American worker ballad John Henry, and its implication for labor history then and now. Q&A following the talk.
Tuesday 25 April
1:15-3:45PM Open Reading of Student Works (For the class: Special Topics in Documentary Expression, co-taught by Julia Wolfe and Associate Professor of Art Rebecca Soderholm) and Q&A with the musicians.
Wednesday 26 April
3:30-6:30PM Open rehearsal for 8PM concert, plus Q&A with the musicians
8PM: The Bang on a Can All-Stars perform Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer
All events are free and open to the public!
Roebling Wire Works 675 South Clinton Avenue,
Trenton,
NJ 08611 map Presented as part of Westminster’s Transforming Space project, the All-Stars and the Westminster Choir perform Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer prize winning oratorio Anthracite Fields, in the monumental space of the Roebling Wireworks in Trenton, NJ. Staging for this performance by Doug Varone!
Pre-Performance Talk for both April 21 and 22 shows at 7:15 p.m – Julia Wolfe, conductor Joe Miller and historian and preservationist Clifford Zink will present a talk about Anthracite Fields, the significance of the performance site and the Transforming Space project before each performance. Coal from the Anthracite mines played a vital role in Trenton’s industrial success, which inspired the slogan “Trenton Makes, the World Takes.”
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and SITI Company perform Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer on the Arts and Ideas Festival in New Haven, CT
Directed by Anne Bogart
Music & Lyrics by Julia Wolfe
Original text by Kia Corthron, Will Power, Carl Hancock Rux, and Regina Taylor
music performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars
play performed and created by SITI Company
Lighting Design by Brian H Scott
Scenic & Costume Design by James Schuette
Choreography by Barney O’Hanlon
Sound Design by Andrew Cotton and Christian Frederickson
photo: Richard Termine
Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Danish National Vocal Ensemble, conducted by Ralf Chaczewsky perform Julia Wolfe’s Anthracite Fields at the Queens Hall at Black Diamond, the brand new extension of the Danish National Library.
Disney Hall Los Angeles,
CA map The West Coast Premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize winning Anthracite Fields! Performed by the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the LA Master Chorale, with visual designs by Jeff Sugg.
On November 14, Julia Wolfe returns to the anthracite coal region in Pennsylvania, which inspired her Pulitzer prize-winning oratorio, Anthracite Fields. In order to share the piece with the community that gave her such invaluable assistance in its creation, Wolfe will give a talk at the Anthracite Heritage Museum in Scranton, and the public is invited to take a tour of the Lackawanna coal mine. That evening, the Bang on a Can All-Stars and the Choir of Trinity Wall Street, conducted by Julian Wachner, will perform Anthracite Fields at the brand-new Allan P. and Marian Sutherland Kirby Center for Creative Arts at the historic Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, PA. The piece is illuminated by the visual projections of scenic designer Jeff Sugg.
This part of Pennsylvania coal region is two and a half hours from Philadelphia and New York City. Perfect for a day trip!
Nov 14 Schedule:
Lackawanna Coal Mine tours available from 10am to 2:45pm
3:15-4:45pm: Anthracite Heritage Museum visit and talk with Julia Wolfe (admission is free on Nov 14)
6:30pm: Pre-Concert talk at the Kirby Center, Wyoming Seminary
7:30pm: Concert (A portion of the proceeds from the concert are to benefit the Anthracite Heritage Museum.)
The Bang on a Can All-Stars bring Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer to New York featuring special guest vocalists Katie Geissinger, Emily Eagan, and Molly Quinn.
Inspired by Wolfe’s love for the music and lore of Appalachia, Steel Hammer is based on over 200 versions of the John Henry ballad, exploring the subject of human vs. machine in the quintessential American legend.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and guest vocalists Emily Eagen, Katie Geissinger, Daisy Press perform Julia Wolfe’s mesmerizing evening-length art ballad Steel Hammer as part of the Bang on a Can Summer Festival @ MASS MoCA.
Wolfe’s Steel Hammer is inspired by her love for the legends and music of Appalachia, and culls from both the music and oral traditions of the region. The text is taken from over 200 versions of the John Henry ballad – based on hearsay, recollection, and tall tales – and explores the subject of human vs. machine in this quintessential American legend. Steel Hammer stretches the standard instrumentation of Bang on a Can All-Stars with wooden bones, mountain dulcimer, banjo, and more, to evoke the rich instrumental colors of Appalachia. The New York Times calls it a “wild hybrid” and an “obsessive study of the song’s many versions.”
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval give the Swedish premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars continue their European tour, giving the UK premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer with Trio Mediaeval alongside Terry Riley’s Tread on the Trail.
The Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval reunite, giving the Belgian premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer.
Also on the program is Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports.
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall New York,
NY map The premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer, a new work co-commissioned by Maria and Robert A. Skirnick, Carnegie Hall and Bang on a Can, and performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval.
Dekelboum Concert Hall at the University of Maryland College Park,
MD map The premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer, a new work co-commissioned by Maria and Robert A. Skirnick, Carnegie Hall and Bang on a Can, and performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval.
Philips Center at the University of Florida Gainesville,
FL map The premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Steel Hammer, a new work co-commissioned by Maria and Robert A. Skirnick, Carnegie Hall and Bang on a Can, and performed by Bang on a Can All-Stars and Trio Mediaeval.
