The Crossing to Return To Montana For Residency July 24 – August 1

Grammy-winning new-music choir The Crossing, led by conductor Donald Nally, will return to its summer home in Montana this July for its annual residency in partnership with the Warren Miller Performing Arts Center (John Zirkle, Executive Director) in Big Sky. The week includes three performances: a program co-presented with Tinworks Art on Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 7:00pm at Story Mill in Bozeman featuring Ayanna Woods' SHIFT, David Lang's in nature, and the U.S. premiere of a new choral arrangement of Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet by Gavin Bryars; The Crossing's acclaimed pandemic-time immersive experience The Forest on Friday, July 30 at 7:00pm at the Jack Creek Preserve in Big Sky; and a reprise of the Story Mill program in a high alpine meadow above the Gallatin Canyon at Cache Creek Outfitters on Saturday, July 31, 2021 at 7:00pm.

On Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 7:00pm, The Crossing and Tinworks Art at Story Mill co-present an acoustic program that includes the US premiere of Gavin Bryars' Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet, a choral arrangement of his 1971 looped composition of the same name in which an unknown homeless man sings his recollection of a Gospel hymn. Ayanna Woods' SHIFT, a composition that contemplates reimagining our American monuments and their myths, will include the world premiere of the third and final movement of this brief trilogy. Finally, David Lang's in nature, will receive its first live performance; it was commissioned by The Crossing and WMPAC and premiered in a version in which only four of the 24 singers were in person.

On Friday, July 30, 2021 at the Jack Creek Preserve, The Crossing performs The Forest, an immersive and intimate experience featuring the 24 singers of The Crossing, situated in the sounds and sights of the trees, while audience members walk, socially distanced, through the soundscape and landscape. The Forest focuses on the symbiotic relationship between individual trees and the forest - a metaphor for the relationship between each singer and the ensemble. The libretto is formed from The Crossing singers' reflections on their isolation during COVID-time, overlaid with texts from Scott Russell Sanders' essay Mind in the Forest. The music was composed by conductor Donald Nally and assistant conductor Kevin Vondrak. There will be timed entrances between 7:00-8:00pm and a bonfire from 8:00-9:00pm.

Under the guidance of in-house sound designer Paul Vazquez, The Crossing developed an amplification system, ECHOES (Ex-Covid Haptotropic Optimistic Electrophonic Sound), to present The Forest in accordance with social distancing guidelines. Each ECHOES kit allows singers to stand and safely sing 30 feet from each other and from the audience while listeners walk along a well-worn, mostly flat path of approximately .75 mile lined with speakers. Though the work captures the isolation of singers during the pandemic, ECHOES paradoxically allows The Forest to be intimate and personal. The 30-minute, intimate experience attempts to reestablish those currently-broken relationships between singers and audience members, and tells The Crossing's story - a story of a planet in crisis, its people and its forests in peril, and yet, in that curiously human way, a story of hope and a way forward. Watch the world premiere of The Forest and read the libretto.

On Saturday, July 31, 2021 at 7:00pm, The Crossing performs its final 2021 residency event, a reprise of the Story Mill program, this time using ECHOES kits, perched on top of the Gallatin Canyon at Cache Creek Outfitters.

Program Information

The Crossing at Story Mill
Tuesday, July 27, 2021 at 7:00pm
Story Mill | 799 Hillside Lane | Bozeman, MT
Tickets: $15 basic ticket; $40 support-the-arts ticket
Link: www.tinworksart.org/events/the-crossing-choir-performance

Program:
Gavin Bryars - Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971/2021) [US Premiere Arrangement]
Ayanna Woods - SHIFT (2020)
David Lang - in nature (2020)

The Forest
Friday, July 30, 2021 with staggered entrances from 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Jack Creek Preserve, 1206 Jack Creek Rd | Ennis, MT 59729
Vehicle Entrance Passes: $30 per car
Link: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35512/production/1063476

Program:
Donald Nally and Kevin Vondrak - The Forest (2020)

Note: The Forest experience is available by reservation only, entering at timed intervals between 7:00-8:00pm. With listening, stopping, and exploring, audiences can expect it to take about 30 minutes to experience The Forest. The Jack Creek Road is a private road, and upon ticket purchase, instructions about how to access the property will be provided in a follow-up email.

The Crossing at Moose Creek
Saturday, July 31, 2021 at 7:00pm
Gallatin Canyon at Cache Creek Outfitters | Moose Creek Rd | Gallatin Gateway, MT
Tickets: $50
Link: https://ci.ovationtix.com/35512/production/1063479

Program:
Gavin Bryars - Jesus' Blood Never Failed Me Yet (1971/2021)
Ayanna Woods - SHIFT (2020)
David Lang - in nature (2020)

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