Program Information

 

Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble from NYC brings David Lang’s Pulitzer Prize-winning "The Little Match Girl Passion" to Halifax in a performance led by conductor Jeffrey Gavett. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s "The Little Match Girl" and shaped through the structural lens of J.S. Bach’s "St Matthew Passion," the work has become a popular pre-holiday tradition for Ekmeles in New York City. Known for its fearless precision and praised by The New York Times for its “extraordinary sense of pitch,” Ekmeles is internationally recognized for new and rarely heard vocal music, with a particular focus on microtonal repertoire. Written for four voices, with the singers also playing simple percussion, Lang’s score creates a spare and intimate sound world of striking emotional power.

David Laing (b. 1957)
"The Little Match Girl Passion"

1. Come, daughter
2. It was terribly cold
3. Dearest heart
4. In an old apron
5. Penance and remorse
6. Lights were shining
7. Patience, patience!
8. Ah! perhaps
9. Have mercy, my God
10. She lighted another match
11. From the sixth hour
12. She again rubbed a match
13. When it is time for me to go
14. In the dawn of morning
15. We sit and cry

Artist Biographies

 

Charlotte Mundy, soprano

Toronto-born, Brooklyn based vocalist Charlotte Mundy has been dubbed a "daredevil with an unbreakable spine" (SF Classical Voice), and is the only awardee of the Jan Degaetani prize for Contemporary Song from the Joy in Singing Competition. Past soloist performances include Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire, Boulez's Le Marteau sans Maître, Feldman's Three Voices, George Benjamin’s Into the Little Hill, Iannis Xenakis’Akanthos, and a set of music for voice and electronics presented by New York Festival of Song, described as "an oasis of radiant beauty" by the New York Times.

In addition to her work as a core member of Ekmeles, Mundy is founding member of TAK ensemble, “one of the most prominent ensembles in the United States practicing truly experimental music” (I Care If You Listen). Her playful, synaesthetic compositions have been performed at Roulette, JACK theater, University of New Mexico, and the Higher Ground festival.

 

Elisa Sutherland, mezzo-soprano

Mezzo-soprano Elisa Sutherland gives detailed, stylistic performances of early and new music with “soul-infused expressiveness and unselfconscious joie de vivre” (New York Music Daily). Elisa is an integral participant in NYC's chamber music scene as a core member of both Ekmeles, a sextet dedicated to exploring microtonal tuning and extended vocal techniques, and Alkemie, medieval specialists who celebrate the vibrant and timeless sounds of the past and present. Elisa's 2025-26 Season includes an astonishing range of high-level music-making with collaborators around the country including ACRONYM, TENET, Quince, The Crossing, Blue Heron, Lorelei, Ampersand, Variant 6, the Choir of Trinity Church, and Seraphic Fire.

 

Tomás Cruz, tenor

Known for his "... mellifluous, pure tone (New York Classical Review),” Tomás Cruz is a regular in the NYC choral and new music scenes. After studying jazz in college, he began his career in the chorus of Philip Glass’ opera Einstein on the Beach. Since then, he has sung for many artists including Leon Bridges, Toshi Reagon, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Steve Reich, Anthony Braxton, Petr Kotik, Judd Greenstein, Damien Rice, The Crossing, Jonsi & Alex, Lyra Pramuk, and Trinity Wall Street, among others. Notable credits include an appearance on SNL and guest vocalist work on jazz composer Arturo O’Farrill’s Grammy Award Winning album Four Questions. Ongoing projects include Ekmeles, pop a cappella group Duwende, and the St. Thomas Choir of Men & Boys. Tomás holds two degrees from The New England Conservatory of Music.

 

Jeffrey Gavett, baritone and director

Jeffrey Gavett, called a “brilliantly agile singer” by the New York Times, has performed with a broad array of artists, including Alarm Will Sound, ICE, Meredith Monk, Roomful of Teeth, SEM Ensemble, Ensemble Signal,  Talea Ensemble, and Yarn/Wire. He directs Ekmeles vocal ensemble, and as a founding member of loadbang premiered over 450 pieces from 2008-2022. As a recording artist he appears on Bridge Records, Kairos, NEOS, New Amsterdam, and New Focus Recordings, including music written for him by Chaya Czernowin, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, and Charles Wuorinen. He also conducted and music directed for Roomful of Teeth’s CD The Colorado. Theatrical appearances include Rudolf Komorous’s Nonomiya and Petr Kotik’s Master-Pieces at New Opera Days Ostrava in the Czech Republic, Annie Dorsen’s Yesterday Tomorrow at the Holland Festival, in France, and Croatia, and Matt Marks’s Mata Hari on the 2017 Prototype Festival. He appears on video in Judd Greenstein’s opera A Marvelous Order, and in Matthew Barney’s 2023 film installation work Secondary. Mr. Gavett holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and Manhattan School of Music.

 

Steven Hrycelak, bass

Steven Hrycelak, a Ukrainian-American bass from Rochester, NY, has crafted a career focused on both new and early repertoires. Aside from singing with Ekmeles since its opening season, he has also performed with Roomful of Teeth and Toby Twining Music, and at festivals including Ostrava Days in the Czech Republic, New Music New College, Prototype, and the Bang on a Can Marathon. He is a longtime member of the Grammy-nominated Choir of Trinity Wall Street, where he has been a frequent soloist on works from Schütz, Bach, and Handel to Stravinsky, George Crumb, and Terry Riley. As an early musician, he has performed with The English Concert, the Morris Dance Group, Opera Omnia, Pegasus, NYS Baroque, ARTEK, the Portland Bach Experience, and TENET Vocal Artists/The Green Mountain Project. He also performs regularly with Blue Heron, and is proud to have sung on their “Music from the Peterhouse Partbooks, Vol. 5” album, which earned a Gramophone Award in 2018. He studied at Indiana University and Yale University, where he sang with the Yale Whiffenpoofs. He is also a vocal coach and accompanist.

 

About Ekmeles Vocal Ensemble

Ekmeles is a vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of new and rarely-heard works, and gems of the historical avant garde. They have a special focus on microtonal works, and have been praised for their “extraordinary sense of pitch” by the New York Times. They are the recipients of the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation’s 2023 Ensemble Prize, the first American group to receive the honor.

As part of their work expanding the possibilities of tuning and technique in vocal music, Ekmeles has given world premieres by composers including John Luther Adams, Taylor Brook, Courtney Bryan, Ann Cleare, Zosha Di Castri, Erin Gee, Georg Friedrich Haas, Martin Iddon, Hannah Kendall, Catherine Lamb, George Lewis, Wolfgang von Schweinitz, Christopher Trapani, James Weeks, and Arash Yazdani.

In addition to creating their own repertoire, Ekmeles is dedicated to bringing the best of contemporary vocal music to the United States that would otherwise go unheard. They have given US premieres by composers including Joanna Bailie, Carola Bauckholt, Aaron Cassidy, Beat Furrer, Stefano Gervasoni, Georg Friedrich Haas, Evan Johnson, Bernhard Lang, Liza Lim, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, Lucia Ronchetti, Wolfgang Rihm, Rebecca Saunders, Salvatore Sciarrino, Mathias Spahlinger, and Agatha Zubel.

Collaborations with other musical ensembles and artists has been a part of Ekmeles’s work from the very beginning. In their first several seasons they gave the US premieres of Luigi Nono’s Quando stanno morendo with AMP New Music, and Beat Furrer’s FAMA with Talea Ensemble. Their collaborations with Mivos Quartet include world premieres by Taylor Brook and Evan Johnson, and the US premieres of Stefano Gervasoni’s Dir - In Dirand Wolfgang Rihm’s concert-length ET LUX. In 2015 Ekmeles joined with members of Tilt Brass and loadbang for the US premiere of Mathias Spahlinger’s monumental über den frühen tod fräuleins anna augusta marggräfin zu baden, and Wolfgang Rihm’s SKOTEINÓS. They returned to the Spahlinger in 2024 on a German tour with composers slide quartet and Ensemble Aventure.

Ekmeles also collaborates beyond the traditional concert stage, including the integration of singers into choreographic works by New Chamber Ballet, and a staged memorized performance of David Lang’s the little match girl passion at the MET Breuer Museum directed by Tony award winning director Rachel Chavkin. They also gave sold-out performances with Oliver Beer’s Vessel Orchestra, the first sound-based installation commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Director Jeffrey Gavett performed at the keyboard of this instrument, composed of 32 resonant hollow objects spanning 7,000 years of the museum’s collection. In 2022 they sang as part of John Luther Adams’s installation work Veils and Vesper, broadcast on WNYC’s New Sounds.

Ekmeles has taught and premiered works by student composers at Brandeis, Brown, Columbia, University of Florida, Manhattan School of Music, University of New Mexico, NYU, University of Pennsylvania, University of Pittsburgh, Princeton, Rutgers, Stanford, Syracuse, and University of Virginia.

Their second album We Live the Opposite Daring was released in February 2024 on New Focus Recordings, with works by Zosha Di Castri, Jeffrey Gavett, Erin Gee, Shawn Jaeger, Hannah Kendall, and James Weeks. Textura praised it saying “this ever-intrepid outfit goes places few other vocal ensembles dare venture.” Fanfare calls it “One of the most amazing choral discs to have come my way: a crack vocal ensemble presenting vitally alive music of our time.”

In January of 2020 they released their debut album A howl, that was also a prayer on New Focus Recordings, with works by Taylor Brook, Erin Gee, and Christopher Trapani. Fanfaremagazine said the album's performances were "beyond expert - almost frightening in their precision.” In the spring of 2020 through May 2021, Ekmeles continued to bring their performances to audiences in authentic ways despite the difficulty of singing together. They performed innovative streaming concerts that combined elements of video art created by members of the ensemble, pre-recorded performances, and live synchronous online performing. Ensemble members performed simultaneously from San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York.

Frequently Asked Questions

 

How will I receive my tickets?
Electronic tickets are emailed immediately after purchase to the email address used at checkout. Please keep your tickets handy on your smart phone or bring a printed copy with you to the concert so we can scan them at the door. If you do not receive your tickets, please check your spam or junk folder, as ticket emails are sometimes blocked or filtered by email providers. You may also wish to search your inbox for “Cecilia Concerts” or your order confirmation. If you still cannot find your tickets, please contact the Cecilia Concerts office before the concert and we’ll be happy to help. Rest assured, if you purchased tickets, your name will also be on our guest list at the door.

What time should I arrive?
Doors open at 7:00pm, and the concert begins at 7:30pm. We recommend arriving a little early so you have time to have your ticket scanned, find a seat, and get settled before the performance begins.

Can I arrive late?
Latecomers will be seated at an appropriate break in the performance, when possible. To avoid disruption to the artists and audience, we recommend arriving before the concert begins.

How long is the concert?
The approximate running time is 1 hour and 10 minutes.

What is the seating like?
Tickets are general admission. The Stage at St. Andrew’s has unassigned seating, with chairs on the main floor and pews in the balcony. Seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Bravo Premium subscription holders have reserved access to seating within the first five rows. Please note that the balcony is accessible by stairs only. Wheelchair-accessible seating and companion seating are available on the main floor. If you have an accessibility-related seating need, please let us know when you arrive.

Are children welcome?
Yes, children are always welcome. Please keep in mind that this is a full-length concert in a traditional concert setting. Families may wish to choose seats close to a door in case a quick exit is needed during the performance.

What should I know about concert etiquette?
If you are new to classical concerts, you are very welcome. We simply ask that audience members help create a quiet and respectful environment for the artists and those around them. Please silence your phone before the concert begins, avoid talking during the performance, and wait for pauses between pieces to move around when possible.

When should I clap?
It is always fine to clap when a full piece has ended. Some longer works have several movements, with short pauses in between, and audiences usually wait until the entire work is finished before applauding. If you are unsure, it is perfectly okay to wait and follow the rest of the audience.

Can I use my phone during the concert?
Please silence your phone before the concert begins. We ask that phones and bright screens not be used during the performance, as they can be distracting to artists and audience members.

Can I take photos or videos?
Photos are welcome before or after the concert. Unless otherwise announced, photography, audio recording, and video recording are not permitted during the performance.

What accessibility features are available?
The Stage at St. Andrews is wheelchair accessible and includes accessible washrooms with ramp access. Companion seating is available if required. If you have a specific accessibility question before attending, please contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

Is the venue scent-sensitive?
To help make the concert comfortable for everyone, we ask guests to avoid wearing strong scents or fragrances.

Is there parking or public transit nearby?
The Stage at St. Andrews is located on the corner of Robie Street and Coburg Road. There is no parkade at the venue, but street parking is available in the surrounding area. The venue is also located near major South End Halifax Transit routes.

What happens if there is a storm?
If a storm may affect a performance, ticket holders are encouraged to call the Cecilia Concerts office at 902-423-0143 for a recorded concert update. Updates will also be posted on the Cecilia Concerts website and social media channels.

What happens if a concert is changed, postponed, or cancelled?
Concert schedule changes are very rare, but storms or other unexpected circumstances may occasionally require us to make adjustments. If a concert is changed, postponed, or cancelled, ticket holders will be contacted as soon as possible with available options. Depending on the circumstances, you may choose to attend the rescheduled concert, receive a credit toward a future Cecilia Concerts performance, request a refund, or convert the value of your ticket into a charitable donation tax receipt.