Voices of Ascension Launch New Artistic Initiative ASTRONAUTICA: VOICES OF WOMEN IN SPACE

Voices of Ascension, New York City's Grammy-nominated professional choral organization, is launching a new artistic initiative with Astronautica: Voices of Women in Space. This newly commissioned work of music, voice, and video has a score by nine women composers, and a libretto drawn from the words of sixteen women astronauts who have traveled in outer space and seen the world from a dramatic new perspective. It is curated by Voices of Ascension ensemble member Hai-Ting Chinn and will be performed by three women singers, Trio Triumphatrix. Astronautica is an artistic evocation of the transformation that happens when one sees our small planet set against the endless blackness of space. The world premiere will take place online on Wednesday, January 27, 2021 at 7 PM. Ticket holders will also be able to watch the event On Demand. For tickets and information, visit www.voicesofascension.org.

Astronautica inaugurates Voices of Ascension's new artistic program for vocal chamber ensembles, Voices of The New. It is dedicated to exploring new horizons, ideas, and diverse, culturally responsive connections. The goal is to create compelling vocal performances, where audiences are invited to experience professional singing in innovative contexts.

This first offering in the Voices of The New series was delayed because of COVID. Originally scheduled to premiere in May of 2020 at National Sawdust and The Flea Theater, Astronautica has made a fluid, inspired transformation to an online presentation through its multimedia interweaving of voices, music, images, and NASA footage.

"I am simply thrilled that with Voices of the New we have this new way to intimately showcase talents from within our own ensemble and from beyond it," stated Voices of Ascension Artistic Director Dennis Keene. "Hai-Ting Chinn has sung with Voices for years, and her creativity is boundless in curating this project. The excerpts I have heard from Astronautica are extraordinary. I invite you to, quite simply, be transported at the online premiere."

During her research, Astronautica curator Hai-Ting Chinn was struck by multiple reports from astronauts of the sense of euphoria many experienced in space. "It's called The Overview Effect," Chinn explained. "Seeing our planet from space, from outside the life-sustaining atmosphere, creates a profound shift in perspective, a heightened sense of our common humanity, and, quite simply, awe. Isn't this what we strive for as singers, and for our audiences? More than ever, we want to create a transformative and unifying experience, through the power of music and the human voice."

As a recent Artist in Residence at HERE Arts Center in New York City, Chinn created and performed Science Fair: An Opera With Experiments, a staged solo show of science set to music. With Astronautica, the American mezzo-soprano has taken her interest in science to new heights. Astronautica is conceived as a through-composed suite of songs with video projections. The nine composers are Renée Favand-See, Jennifer Jolley, Elaine Lachica, Gilda Lyons, Rashonda Reeves, Kamala Sankaram, Jane Sheldon, Bora Yoon, as well as Chinn herself. Each composer selected her own text from the words of women who have traveled in space, words that convey the astronauts' sense of awe, inspiration, and discovery.

The creative team for Astronautica includes the performers of Trio Triumphatrix: soprano Lindsay Kesselman, mezzo-soprano Hai-Ting Chinn, and contralto Kirsten Sollek, as well as filmmaker Elena Mannes. "Astronautica is truly a work for our time," said Mannes. "It's been a privilege to contribute to a production that lifts us out of a world of chaos and confusion and inspires us with a vision of courage and limitless possibility for humanity on and beyond our earth."

Women astronauts are continuing to shatter glass ceilings in the cosmos. In February astronaut Christina Koch set a record for the longest stay in space by a female astronaut, 328 days. Previously, with Jessica Meir, she was part of the first all-woman spacewalk.

View the teaser video for Astronautica at www.voicesofascension.org/astronautica.

For information about the performers, visit the Trio Triumphatrix website: www.triumphatrix.com.

This creation of Astronautica is made possible with generous support from The Sorel Organization (www.SorelMusic.org), which is dedicated to expanding opportunities for women in music.

Tickets to the online world premiere of Astronautica are $15. They are available online at www.voicesofascension.org.