THE MONTH OF MODERNS to Close The Crossing's 21st Season with World Premieres

Four-time Grammy Award-winning professional choir, The Crossing, conducted by Donald Nally, concludes its 2025-2026 Season in June with The Month of Moderns, a series of live concerts across numerous venues in Philadelphia. The bold month of new music features several commissioned world premieres composed by Nicole Lizée, Nathalie Joachim, and Peter Boyer, alongside partnerships with ArtPhilly, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Highmark Mann Center to celebrate the 250th anniversary of American Independence.

Donald Nally notes, “The occasion of celebrating 250 years of democracy inspired us to take stock of our catalogue of over 200 commissions that tell very-American stories - a canon we've been developing for over two decades. Those stories tell the tale of the challenges of sustaining a democracy, of meeting our responsibilities to each other, of social issues, of successes and failures, of love and death and joy and sorrow - all in an attempt to capture what it's like to be imperfect humans making art that has hope and dreams of a better world. We are so grateful to ArtPhilly and Highmark Mann Center for partnering with us this Summer to celebrate the history of the United States.”

The Month of Moderns 1

The People Address the Nation's Issues

(The Society, The Environment, The Displaced)
A world premiere by Nicole Lizée, with works from our social justice commissions
Presented by ArtPhilly as part of the What Now: 2026 Festival

Saturday, June 6 at 5pm
Broad Street Love, 315 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia

Sunday, June 7 at 5pm
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia

The Crossing taps its vast catalogue of commissioned works for those that examine “Where we are.” The assessment, if not always optimistic, is tirelessly honest and inquisitive as heard through the music of some of the country's most adventurous composers.  With a new work of Canadian composer Nicole Lizée and works of David Lang, Shara Nova, Julia Wolfe, Michael Gordon, Edie Hill, Caroline Shaw, and Gabriel Jackson for a kind of musical quilt that says, “We are here, and this is what it feels like to be here.”

ArtPhilly, whose goal is to establish Philadelphia as a globally recognized hub for arts and culture, presents What Now: 2026, a multi-disciplinary citywide “festival of all perspectives,” connecting audiences to each other through ongoing artistic programming and commissions of original works.

Nicole Lizée's new work is commissioned by The Crossing and Donald Nally, Volti, and Cantori New York.

A Hundred Years On

Music by Peter Boyer | Libretto by Mark Campbell
with The Philadelphia Orchestra

Wednesday, June 17, 8:00 pm
TD Pavilion at the Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts, Philadelphia

Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts has commissioned A Hundred Years On, a new oratorio about the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, by acclaimed Grammy–nominated composer Peter Boyer and Grammy Award–winning librettist Mark Campbell. This exciting world premiere will be conducted by Anthony Parnther, directed by Tazewell Thompson, and performed by The Crossing and The Philadelphia Orchestra alongside five renowned vocal soloists: sopranos Mary Dunleavy and Meredith Lustig, mezzo-soprano Eve Gigliotti, tenor David Portillo, and baritone Malcolm J. Merriweather.

Audiences will live a single day at the 1876 Centennial Exposition through the experience of five characters traversing Fairmount Park – site of the expo and of the concert. America's first world's fair, the expo introduced the telephone, the typewriter, ketchup, and the beacon arm of the Statue of Liberty. The Crossing celebrates 150 years of this historic, iconic venue that brings neighborhoods together.

A Hundred Years On is commissioned for The Crossing and the Philadelphia Orchestra by The Highmark Mann Center, Philadelphia, with major support provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, and additional support provided by America250 PA and Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial.

The Months of Moderns 2

The People Speak from the Birthplace of America

(Philadelphia Composers Ask Questions)
A world premiere of Nathalie Joachim with Thomas Mesa, cello, along with works from Philadelphia composer friends
Presented by ArtPhilly as part of the What Now: 2026 Festival

Saturday, June 27 at 5pm
Broad Street Love, 315 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia

Sunday, June 28 at 5pm
The Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia

Nathalie Joachim's compositions are informed by her work as a professional vocalist and flutist, as well as her affinity for a wide variety of musical styles, including indie rock, pop, classical, and hip hop. With an eye toward the 250th celebration, she is setting the words of one of our founders, Benjamin Franklin, whose Thirteen Virtues were a set of moral guidelines he created to improve his character and attain a more virtuous life.

Digging still deeper into their catalogue of commissions, The Crossing finds the extraordinary community of Philadelphians, writing new works in this Place of the Declaration and sending out musical messages to the far corners of the globe. Composers Jennifer Higdon, Kile Smith, Robert Maggio, Julia Wolfe, James Primosch, and Benjamin C.S. Boyle cover the stylistic landscape and explore everything from FDR's vision of Democracy to the disappearance of bluestem grasses, to love, and to jazz.

2026 Theater Fans' Choice Awards - Live Stats

Best Sound Design - Top 3

1. Adam Fisher - The Lost Boys

30.2% of votes

2. John Shivers - Chess

15.5% of votes

3. Tony Gayle - Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)

8.1% of votes

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