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Stare at the Sun

Stare at the Sun is a professional mixed-voice chamber choir specializing in the curation and commissioning of works by living composers. Works that address issues of social responsibility and the complexities of living in the 21st century.

Contemplamos nuestra relaci&oacute;n con el cambio estacional y la continuidad ecol&oacute;gica, situando las vidas individuales dentro de patrones m&aacute;s amplios de perdurabilidad y renovaci&oacute;n. Presentamos al pianista Chuck Foster en The Passing of the Year de Jonathan Dove, con obras de Judith Weir, David Shapiro, Veljo Tormis y Paul Mealor. Concierto a las 4:00 p. m. Apertura de puertas a las 3:30 p. m. Duraci&oacute;n: 1 hora.

The Passing of the Year, Domingo Sep 27

First United Methodist Church, Evanston We contemplate our relationship to seasonal change and ecological continuity, situating individual lives within larger patterns of endurance and renewal. We feature pianist Chuck Foster in Jonathan Dove&rsquo;s The Passing of the Year, with works of Judith Weir, David Shapiro, Veljo Tormis, and Paul Mealor. 4pm concert. Doors open at 3:30pm. Run time is approximately 1 hour. Program:David Shapiro &ndash; Unsung (2021)Judith Weir &ndash; a blue true dream of sky&nbsp;(2003)David Shapiro &ndash; Incredibly Tiny Things&nbsp;(2021)Paul Mealor &ndash; Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal (2010)Veljo Tormis &ndash; Autumn Landscapes (1964)Jonathan Dove &ndash; The Passing of the Year (2000)

The Passing of the Year (Evanston)

Contemplamos nuestra relaci&oacute;n con el cambio estacional y la continuidad ecol&oacute;gica, situando las vidas individuales dentro de patrones m&aacute;s amplios de perdurabilidad y renovaci&oacute;n. Presentamos al pianista Chuck Foster en The Passing of the Year de Jonathan Dove, con obras de Judith Weir, David Shapiro, Veljo Tormis y Paul Mealor. Concierto a las 7:00 p. m. Apertura de puertas a las 6:30 p. m. Duraci&oacute;n: 1 hora.

The Passing of the Year, Sábado Sep 26 (Chicago)

St. Chrysostom&#39;s Episcopal Church, Chicago We contemplate our relationship to seasonal change and ecological continuity, situating individual lives within larger patterns of endurance and renewal. We feature pianist Chuck Foster in Jonathan Dove&rsquo;s The Passing of the Year, with works of Judith Weir, David Shapiro, Veljo Tormis, and Paul Mealor. 7pm concert. Doors open at 6:30pm. Run time is approximately 1 hour. Program:David Shapiro &ndash; Unsung (2021)Judith Weir &ndash; a blue true dream of sky&nbsp;(2003)David Shapiro &ndash; Incredibly Tiny Things&nbsp;(2021)Paul Mealor &ndash; Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal (2010)Veljo Tormis &ndash; Autumn Landscapes (1964)Jonathan Dove &ndash; The Passing of the Year (2000)

The Passing of the Year (Chicago)

El compositor dan&eacute;s Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen fue una fuerza singular en la m&uacute;sica contempor&aacute;nea: parte bromista, parte fil&oacute;sofo y totalmente provocador. Esta primavera, en conmemoraci&oacute;n del d&eacute;cimo aniversario de su fallecimiento, nos sumergimos de lleno en su universo sonoro brillantemente extra&ntilde;o: m&uacute;sica que gru&ntilde;e, susurra, perturba y exige ser escuchada en sus propios t&eacute;rminos. Estas obras no solo rompen el molde, sino que le prenden fuego y comienzan desde cero. Espere humor, belleza cruda y una escritura coral que se atreve a ser descarada, sobrecogedora o absurda, pero que, de alguna manera, siempre resulta encantadora. Concierto a las 7:00 p. m. Apertura de puertas a las 6:30 p. m. Duraci&oacute;n: 1 hora.

WWWPGH, Sun May 31(Winnetka)

Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen was a singular force in contemporary music&mdash;part trickster, part philosopher, and all provocateur. This spring, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his passing, we dive headlong into his brilliantly strange sonic universe: music that growls, whispers, disrupts, and insists on being heard on its own terms. These works don&rsquo;t just break the mold&mdash;they set fire to it and start from scratch. Expect humor, harsh beauty, and choral writing that dares to be brash, arresting, or absurd&mdash;yet somehow, always delightful. 4pm concert. Doors open at 3:30pm. Run time is 1 hour.

The Weird, Wild World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Sun May 31 (Winnetka)

WWWPGH, Sat May 30 (Wicker Park

Danish composer Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen was a singular force in contemporary music&mdash;part trickster, part philosopher, and all provocateur. This spring, in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of his passing, we dive headlong into his brilliantly strange sonic universe: music that growls, whispers, disrupts, and insists on being heard on its own terms. These works don&rsquo;t just break the mold&mdash;they set fire to it and start from scratch. Expect humor, harsh beauty, and choral writing that dares to be brash, arresting, or absurd&mdash;yet somehow, always delightful. 7pm concert. Doors open at 6:30pm. Run time is 1 hour.

The Weird, Wild World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Sat May 30 (Wicker Park)

Nuestro programa de invierno presenta los estrenos mundiales de una nueva obra coral de gran formato de Nicholas Cline, basada en The Sea Came Up and Drowned de Rachel Jamison Webster, una colecci&oacute;n de poemas de borrado inspirados en el libro Annals of the Former World de John McPhee, en la que Webster explora los temas de la propiedad de la tierra y la extracci&oacute;n de recursos mediante un lenguaje abstracto y obras visuales de collage. Complementan esta obra comisionada las obras de Anuj Bhutani, Brandon Chase Di Noto, Edward Lu y Adrian Wong, ganadores de nuestra Convocatoria de Partituras 2025&ndash;26.Concierto a las 7:00 p. m. Apertura de puertas a las 6:30 p. m. Duraci&oacute;n: 1 hora.

Extractions, Marzo 15, 4pm (St. Chrysostom's)

Our winter program features the world premiere performances of a new extended choral work by Nicholas Cline, based on Rachel Jamison Webster&rsquo;s The Sea Came Up and Drowned, a collection of erasure poems based on John McPhee&rsquo;s book Annals of the Former World in which Webster explores the issues of land ownership and resource extraction using abstract language and visual collage artwork. Complementing the commission are works by Anuj Bhutani, Brandon Chase Di Noto, Edward Lu, and Adrian Wong, the winners of our 2025-26 Call for Scores.&nbsp; 4pm concert. Doors open at 3:30pm. Run time is 1 hour.

Extractions, March 15, 4pm (St. Chrysostom's)

Nuestro programa de invierno presenta los estrenos mundiales de una nueva obra coral de gran formato de Nicholas Cline, basada en The Sea Came Up and Drowned de Rachel Jamison Webster, una colecci&oacute;n de poemas de borrado inspirados en el libro Annals of the Former World de John McPhee, en la que Webster explora los temas de la propiedad de la tierra y la extracci&oacute;n de recursos mediante un lenguaje abstracto y obras visuales de collage. Complementan esta obra comisionada las obras de Anuj Bhutani, Brandon Chase Di Noto, Edward Lu y Adrian Wong, ganadores de nuestra Call for Scores 2025&ndash;26. Concierto a las 7:00 p. m. Apertura de puertas a las 6:30 p. m. Duraci&oacute;n: 1 hora.

Extractions, Marzo 14, 7pm (Evanston)

Our winter program features the world premiere performances of a new extended choral work by Nicholas Cline, based on Rachel Jamison Webster&rsquo;s The Sea Came Up and Drowned, a collection of erasure poems based on John McPhee&rsquo;s book Annals of the Former World in which Webster explores the issues of land ownership and resource extraction using abstract language and visual collage artwork. Complementing the commission are works by Anuj Bhutani, Brandon Chase Di Noto, Edward Lu, and Adrian Wong, the winners of our 2025-26 Call for Scores.&nbsp; 7pm concert. Doors open at 6:30pm. Run time is 1 hour.

Extractions, March 14, 7pm (Evanston)

Our Fall program, presented in collaboration with the Ear Taxi Festival. The program is a retrospective featuring works that Stare at the Sun has commissioned, premiered, or workshopped, as well as a couple other pieces by midwestern composers we have previously championed. Highlights of the program include Matthew Recio&rsquo;s extraordinary work Holdfast, which explores the agony of physical separation and the phenomenon of skin hunger; Alissa Voth&rsquo;s The spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words, which rhapsodizes on the Pentecostal practice of speaking in tongues; and Ted Hearne&rsquo;s Privilege, a series of five vignettes which abstractly explore the causes and repercussions of socioeconomic inequality. 7pm concert. Doors open at 6:30pm. Run time is 1 hour.

Midwestern Tongues, October 11, 7pm (Glencoe Union Church)

Nuestro programa de oto&ntilde;o, presentado en colaboraci&oacute;n con el Festival Ear Taxi. El programa es una retrospectiva que incluye obras que Stare at the Sun ha encargado, estrenado o desarrollado en talleres, as&iacute; como un par de piezas m&aacute;s de compositores del Medio Oeste que hemos apoyado anteriormente. Los puntos destacados del programa incluyen la extraordinaria obra Holdfast de Matthew Recio, que explora la agon&iacute;a de la separaci&oacute;n f&iacute;sica y el fen&oacute;meno del hambre de piel; The spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words de Alissa Voth, que rapsodia sobre la pr&aacute;ctica pentecostal de hablar en lenguas; y Privilege de Ted Hearne, una serie de cinco vi&ntilde;etas que exploran de manera abstracta las causas y repercusiones de la desigualdad socioecon&oacute;mica.

Stare at the Sun

Stare at the Sun

Past events

Past events

The Passing of the Year (Evanston)

The Passing of the Year (Chicago)

The Weird, Wild World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Sun May 31 (Winnetka)

The Weird, Wild World of Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen, Sat May 30 (Wicker Park)

Extractions, March 15, 4pm (St. Chrysostom's)

Extractions, March 14, 7pm (Evanston)

Midwestern Tongues, October 11, 7pm (Glencoe Union Church)

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