The Crossing Returns to Carnegie Hall in October

Three-time GRAMMY Award-winning professional chamber choir The Crossing, led by conductor Donald Nally and dedicated to new music, will continue its 20th season on Friday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m. with a return to Carnegie Hall for the New York Premiere of Can We Know the Sound of Forgiveness in Zankel Hall.

Inspired by James Drake’s epic drawing of the same title, Can We Know the Sound of Forgiveness is a groundbreaking merging of music, visual art, dance, and spoken word that unfolds in five movements, with a score by Carnegie Hall’s 2024–2025 Debs Composer’s Chair Gabriela Ortiz, text and lyrics by award-winning author Benjamin Alire Sáenz, and 24 singers of The Crossing, conducted by Donald Nally. The multidisciplinary collaboration also features master flutist Alejandro Escuer in a prominent role, dancers of the Alvin Ailey School choreographed by Harrison Guy, and a percussion quartet of alumni of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami.

The immersive performance tells its story from the perspective of “the Earth, the Land, the Soil, the Sand,” which “do not demand our daughters and our sons as sacrifices.” Through a journey from violence and conflict to healing and forgiveness, this unique production, directed by Steve Jiménez, seeks to encourage hope in divisive times.

Two days before the New York Premiere, a workshop preview performance of Can We Know the Sound of Forgivenesscomes to Philadelphia, on Wednesday, October 16 at 7:00 p.m. at The Performance Garage. Tickets are available for $35.

Renowned for performing music that addresses social, environmental, and political issues, “America’s most astonishing choir” (The New York Times) reflects on hallmarks of its remarkable evolution over the course of its 2024-2025 season, with recordings, performances, world premieres, groundbreaking collaborations, academic residencies, and adventurous development of new works. Can We Know the Sound of Forgiveness reflects the tone of the entire season, asking in Ortiz’ works, “Can the Earth forgive us – can we forgive each other – for the violence we impose on it?” The three choral works in the concert-length pastiche – Tierra Parte 1, Tiera Parte 2, and Rio Bravo – demand every virtuosic skill and emotive nuance of The Crossing.

Learn more about the Crossing at https://www.crossingchoir.org/about