Echoes brings voices together across time, pairing contemporary music with one of Brahms’ most moving works for chorus and orchestra. From Jessie Montgomery’s vibrant orchestral writing to a collaboration with the Blessed Sacrament Choir, this program celebrates the power of music created and shared in community.

Jessie Montgomery — Overture

Jessie Montgomery opens the program with Overture, a vibrant orchestral work that brings together influences from jazz, American classical music, and Baroque traditions. Full of rhythmic energy, rich textures, and shifting musical ideas, the work launches Echos with a contemporary voice that looks both forward and back.

Sheila Bristow — Paths of the Sea

Seattle-area composer Sheila Bristow’s Paths of the Sea brings NOCCO together with the Blessed Sacrament Choir in a work for choir and orchestra. Setting Psalm texts in conversation with other poetry, the piece places voices at the heart of Echos and brings musicians together through a shared exploration of text and music.

Johannes Brahms — Schicksalslied, Op. 54

Brahms’ Schicksalslied, or Song of Destiny, sets poetry by Friedrich Hölderlin in a powerful work for chorus and orchestra. Moving between serene and turbulent passages, Brahms uses voices and orchestra to explore the contrast between an idealized heavenly existence and the uncertainty of human life.