The Crossing Votes: 2020
a Pre-Election Project of Four New Films
new works of
Robert Maggio, Ayanna Woods, Nicholas Cline, and David Lang
addressing issues in the national discourse
leading to Election Day, November 3rd
a new amplification system @ The Crossing
designed for socially-distant singing
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To report and respond: because words matter.
We have been working on four new short films, with two world premieres, new sound technology, new film artists. We're excited about launching them in the eight days leading to Election Day, the day the nation comes together to determine our future. The Crossing Votes: 2020 is our small contribution to one of the largest, most protracted, and complex discussions in United States history. We hope our films speak to the time and will serve as a record of the time: We were there; we voted.
All four films will premiere at 5:38am ET, representing the 538 electoral votes, on the morning of their release on our website, Facebook, and Youtube.
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stateless (2019) by David Lang
Monday, October 26
she took his hands (2017) by Nicholas Cline
Wednesday, October 28
Democracy (2020, world premiere) by Robert Maggio
Friday, October 30
Shift (2020, world premiere) by Ayanna Woods
Monday, November 2
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Monday, October 26
A third pandemic collaboration between Lang and The Crossing – the English-language premiere of this setting of a 13th-century letter from Rabbi Moses ben Hachman to his children in Barcelona, written while exiled to Jerusalem; presented as a new film by Eric Southern, with art and titles by Steven Bradshaw and Nyahzul C. Blanco.
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Wednesday, October 28
Cline sets the words of Emma Lazano, on the arrest of her friend, Chicago immigrant activist Elvira Arellano, as quoted in The Washington Post, August 21, 2007. A journalistic, yet empathetic account of immigration, faith, and motherhood.
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Friday, October 30
world premiere
Composer of The Crossing’s 2019 stage work, Aniara, Maggio returns with a new work, setting words of Franklin Roosevelt’s "Arsenal of Democracy" radio speech from December 1940. Determined, inspiring, and relentless, FDR insists that he would ask no one to defend a democracy that would not in turn defend everyone in the nation.
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Monday, November 2
world premiere
New to The Crossing, composer Ayanna Woods has written the words for this bold world premiere in which she contemplates the reimagining of our monuments. The work builds through layers to its climactic arrival, "bursting through the cracks in the story you tell, America."
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The Crossing Votes: 2020 features new Echoes amplification kits, which were introduced at acclaimed sold-out performances in the world premiere of The Forest earlier this month. Echoes features individual pillar speakers that allow singers to sing together, outside, and safely socially distant. In the Ayanna Woods premiere, singers stand 30 feet apart in a circle with a circumference of 720 feet and diameter of 230 feet, the speakers gathered as a separate group in the center. In the Maggio premiere, singers again stand 30 feet apart, now placed as a giant starburst behind the speakers, to mirror the blueprint of the The Crossing’s lay-out in conventional, non-COVID Times. The isolation of singing during the pandemic is ever-present, while the joy of finding this way to do so is clear. The Crossing’s Echoes system was sponsored by Thomas Kasdorf.
All works of The Crossing Votes: 2020 were produced with social distancing; the Maggio and Woods outside, and the Lang and Cline recorded one-singer-at-time. The Maggio, Woods, and Cline were recorded and filmed at the farm of Libby Glatfelter in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The Lang was recorded at The Crossing’s home, the Presbyterian Church of Chestnut Hill in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
All the films were conceived and conducted by Donald Nally, with Paul Vazquez of Digital Mission Audio Services as audio producer, and music assistance from Kevin Vondrak and John Grecia. The films of Woods, Maggio, and Cline are by Four/Ten Media, Evan Chapman and Kevin Eikenberg, with assistance of Nick Hughes. Echoes photos by John C. Hawthorne. Vote photos by Kevin Vondrak.
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New music only happens through your support. |
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