John Luther Adams'
Sila: The Breath of the World

our 27th album 
released today on Cantaloupe Music

The Crossing
Jack Quartet
and musicians of the University of Michigan
“a sound garden” (Washington Post) 
“like music depicting continental drift” (The New York Times)
“encourages listeners to look both deeply inward and out
into an imaginary expanse” (NPR)

When we premiered John Luther Adams' Sila: The Breath of the World in July 2014, we sang while wading in the reflecting pool at Lincoln Center. 

The New York Times wrote, 
“…in a bold touch, 16 members of the impressive contemporary music choir The Crossing…waded right into the pool…During the performance, they sloshed slowly around the shallow pool using black megaphones to help their high, delicate tones carry through the space. This is the kind of thing aspiring singers are not typically prepared for in music schools. But the choristers were palpably involved throughout the work.”

Now, we bring the color world of that reflecting pool to a recording,
released today on Cantaloupe Music.  

We love this work. 
We love the way the 80 individual musicians exist in their own worlds
and yet are a delicately interwoven unity. 
We love the inventiveness, creativity, and, yes, beauty,
of JLA’s imagination, realized in sound.
We feel fortunate to bring our voices – born on our breath – to a premiere recording, assembled by our good friend Doug Perkins, with special contributions from sound wizards Paul Vazquez and Nathaniel Reichman. 

Sila is the wind and the weather, the forces of nature.
 But it’s also something more. 
Sila is intelligence. 
It’s consciousness. 
It’s our awareness of the world around us, and the world’s awareness of us.
– John Luther Adams
The Sila Team

The Crossing

Katy Avery
Jessica Beebe
Karen Blanchard
Steven Bradshaw
Colin Dill
Joanna Gates
Lauren Kelly
Maren Montalbano
Rebecca Myers
Kira Neary
James Reese
Daniel Schwartz
Rebecca Siler
Elisa Sutherland
Clara Swartzentruber
Shari Wilson

Donald Nally, conductor
Kevin Vondrak, assistant conductor

Jonathan Bradley, executive director
Shannon McMahon, operations manager


Produced by Doug Perkins and Nathaniel Reichman
Recording engineers: Bill Maylone and Paul Vazquez
Mixing and immersive mastering: Nathaniel Reichman
Music editing: Doug Perkins and Paul Vazquez
Performed by The Crossing, JACK Quartet, the musicians of the
University of Michigan Department of Chamber Music and the
University of Michigan Percussion Ensemble.

Choral recording sessions March 21, 22, and 24, 2021
at Christ Church Christiana Hundred in Wilmington, DE,
engineered and edited by Paul Vazquez of Digital Mission Audio Services.

Commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Washington Performing Arts, Ojai Festival, Cal Performances and the La Jolla Symphony.

Premiere performance at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts,
July 2014, New York City.

Special thanks to Bruce Barber and the congregation and staff
at Christ Church Christiana Hundred.
This recording was made with generous support from
The University of Michigan Office of Research. 
New music only happens through your support.