Stephanie Kacoyanis- Alto

From the time Beth first mentioned the Julia Wolfe project, I couldn't wait to sing it. Who wouldn't be thrilled to perform a world premiere by an outstanding female composer about an important historical event with her cherished Lorelei colleagues and some of the finest orchestras in the US?

Of course, that excitement has only increased as the premiere was postponed due to the pandemic. But it gave me some extra time to reflect on it, and the more I did, the more privileged I felt to be part of it on a cultural level. For me, maybe because it's so ephemeral, music has the potential to reveal a humanity and timelessness around historical events that other forms of art don't always achieve. And while I certainly don't only gravitate to pieces about historical events, I think there's something particularly unique about pieces written about an episode or period of history after the fact, like Her Story.

Benjamin Britten's War Requiem is an example of what I mean. Musically, it's stunning in and of itself. But it also makes a powerful emotional impact, and I believe Britten captured this because he had the perspective of the intervening years to draw from many artistic sources. He combined texts from vastly different time periods - from the traditional Latin mass to poetry written in the trenches of World War I—to create his own interpretation and impression of war.

While a very different work, Julia Wolfe's piece will also have a special richness to it because of its modern lens. It will be informed by the lessons we've learned in the past century about voting rights, feminism, and equality to create a work that is more than the sum of its parts. It also echoes what I love about certain favorite commissions we've sung in Lorelei over the years, like James Kallembach's Antigone and Joshua Bornfield's Reconstruction, which both creatively combine old and new musical styles and texts to make a timeless statement. Her Story will be a privilege to sing. I can't wait.