CONTACT: Louisa Spier Jeanette Peach Cal Performances Cal Performances (510) 643-6714 (510) 642-9121 [email protected] [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 17, 2017 Press Room

Images of Julia Wolfe and All-Stars available in the press room.

CAL PERFORMANCES AT UC BERKELEY PRESENTS JULIA WOLFE’S PULITZER PRIZE-WINNING ORATORIO, BAY AREA PREMIERE PERFORMED BY BANG ON A CAN ALL-STARS AND CAPPELLA SF SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26

Berkeley, January 17, 2017—Cal Performances welcomes new music champions Bang on a Can All-Stars to Zellerbach Hall for the Bay Area Premiere of Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning oratorio, Anthracite Fields, on Sunday, February 26, at 7pm. Wolfe’s concert-length work, scored for electric sextet and choir, is inspired by the stories of coal-mining families in Pennsylvania at the turn of the 20th century. For the performance, Bang on a Can is joined by Bay Area esteemed new music choir, Cappella SF, directed by Ragnar Bohlin. The Los Angeles Times wrote, Anthracite Fields “captures not only the sadness of hard lives lost...but also the sweetness and passion of a way

Cal Performances / Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields, page 2 of daily life now also lost. The music compels without overstatement. This is a major, profound work.”

Named after the technical term for the purest form of coal, anthracite, Anthracite Fields was developed through Wolfe’s extensive research about the coal-mining industry in an area very near where she grew up in Pennsylvania. Wolfe’s music is often distinguished by an intense physicality and rhythmic drive, and she freely crosses the boundaries between classical, jazz, rock, world, and experimental music in her acclaimed works. Her text for the 10-movement oratorio draws on oral histories, interviews with miners and their families, speeches, geographic descriptions, children's rhymes, and coal advertisements to create an intimate portrait of a particular slice of American life. Anthracite Fields reflects on who we are, and have been, as American workers, and explores themes of tragedy and loss, camaraderie and endurance, and the simple beauty of the natural world.

Composer Julia Wolfe will be joined by Lynne Morrow of Sonoma State University and Pacific Edge Voices for a pre-performance talk that is free to concert ticket holders.

About the Artists

Composer Julia Wolfe, co-founder and co-artistic director of New York's legendary music collective Bang on a Can, is a 2016 MacArthur Fellow and winner of the in music. She has collaborated with theater artist Anna Deveare Smith, choreographer Susan Marshall, designers Jeff Sugg and Jim Findlay, and director François Girard, among others. Her music has been heard at venues throughout the world, including the Sydney Olympic Arts Festival, LG Arts Center (South Korea), Settembre Musica (Italy), Theatre de la Ville (France), the Brooklyn Academy of Music, , and , and has been recorded on , Teldec, Point/Universal, Sony Classical, and Argo/Decca. Recent projects include commissions from the and the Munich Chamber Orchestra, and premieres at the Spoleto Festival and BAM’s 2015 Next Wave festival. In 2009 Wolfe joined the NYU Steinhardt School composition faculty.

Formed in 1992, the Bang on a Can All-Stars are recognized worldwide for their ultra-dynamic live performances and recordings of today’s most innovative music. Together, the All-Stars have worked Cal Performances / Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields, page 3 in close collaboration with some of the most important and inspiring musicians of our time, including , Ornette Coleman, Burmese circle drum master Kyaw Kyaw Naing, Tan Dun, DJ Spooky, and many more. The group’s celebrated projects include their landmark recordings of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports and Terry Riley’s In C, as well as live performances with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, , Iva Bittova, Thurston Moore, Owen Pallett, and others. The All-Stars were named as Musical America’s Ensemble of the Year in 2005, and have been heralded as “the country’s most important vehicle for contemporary music” by the San Francisco Chronicle.

About Cal Performances Cal Performances is the performing arts presenter and producer of the University of California, Berkeley, fulfilling its mission by presenting, producing, and commissioning renowned and emerging artists in music, dance, and theater. Cal Performances reaches more than 150,000 people annually through concerts and campus and community events, including talks, symposia, lecture demonstrations, and academic courses based on Cal Performances’ season. Under the leadership of Matías Tarnopolsky, the organization launched Berkeley RADICAL (Research and Development Initiative in Creativity Arts and Learning) to cultivate the artistic literacy of future audiences and connect some of the most innovative artists in the world with the intellectual capital of UC Berkeley. The 2016/17 season is the second season for Berkeley RADICAL, and embraces three strands of artistic exploration: Inclusion, Innovation, and Immersion. More information on Berkeley RADICAL can be found at calperformances.org/berkeley-radical.

Ticket Information Tickets for Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields on Sunday, February 26 at 7pm in Zellerbach Hall range from $38–$62 and are subject to change. Half-price tickets are available for UC Berkeley students. Tickets are available through the Ticket Office at Zellerbach Hall, at (510) 642-9988, at calperformances.org, and at the door. For more information about discounts, go to calperformances.org/discounts.

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CALENDAR EDITORS, PLEASE NOTE: CAL PERFORMANCES PRESENTS Cal Performances / Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields, page 4

Sunday, February 26 at 7pm Zellerbach Hall Bancroft Way at Dana Street UC Berkeley campus New Music Julia Wolfe: Anthracite Fields Bang on a Can All-Stars Cappella SF Ragnar Bohlin, director

Program: Chamber ensemble Bang on a Can All-Stars joins with Cappella SF for the Bay Area Premiere of composer Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Anthracite Fields. The poignant oratorio weaves together oral histories, personal interviews, speeches, and local lore with electro-acoustic chamber music to tell the stories of Pennsylvania coal miners and their families at the turn of the 20th century.

Pre-performance Talk, 6pm With composer Julia Wolfe and Lynne Morrow of Sonoma State University and Pacific Edge Voices. Free to concert ticket holders.

Tickets: $38–$62 and subject to change.

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