Night Peace: The Music of John Luther Adams

As one of the world’s most recognizable seismologists, Dr. Lucy Jones has a unique talent for making even the most complicated of scientific concepts accessible to all audiences. In her 33 years as a seismologist for the U.S. Geological Survey, she was often deployed after earthquakes to comfort, counsel, and inform a rattled public. Through her decades of research and public advocacy for risk reduction, she has dramatically changed the way Californians prepare for and react to disasters.

Much of Dr. Jones’s work stems from this question: “What good is scientific knowledge if people don’t use it?” When she joined the California Seismic Safety Commission in 2002, she realized that crucial infrastructure decision-makers were ignoring the realities of potential earthquake damages. She also found herself explaining scientific facts over and over again to the same officials. From then on, she made it her mission to translate complex disaster science into clear scenarios and actionable steps for both the public and officials.

To that end, Dr. Jones published the ShakeOut report, a 308-page study on the ramifications a massive earthquake on the San Andreas Fault would have for Southern California, from months without water to pipeline explosions. The report convinced policymakers to invest in earthquake-resilient infrastructure across the state. She also created the first American major earthquake drill, the Great ShakeOut, which by 2016 had expanded to over 53 million participants across the world.

In 2016, Dr. Jones retired from her position at the U.S. Geological Survey in order to work with government officials to create science-based policies for disaster preparedness. She founded the Dr. Lucy Jones Center for Science and Society, whose mission is to foster the understanding and application of scientific information to create more resilient communities. As a speaker, she explains the best ways to communicate scientific ideas to media and policymakers but also addresses women in science and earthquake preparedness with her trademark storytelling skills. Her book, The Big Ones, is a riveting history of natural disasters and their impact on our culture, which also offers new ways of thinking about the ones to come.

As one of the most prominent public voices for earthquake resilience, Dr. Jones has appeared on most major news programs, as well as NPR, PBS, and numerous television specials about earthquakes and disasters. Dr. Jones has a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese Language and Literature from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Geophysics from MIT. Dr. Jones’s scientific achievements have been recognized with the Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, the Ambassador Award from the American Geophysical Union, the William Rodgers Distinguished Alumni Award from Brown University, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Western States Seismic Policy Council, and the 2017 Distinguished Lecture Award of the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute. In addition to her scientific career, she is also a talented viol player. She lives in Southern California, and is currently on the faculty of the California Institute of Technology.

Tenor Oliver Camacho has been praised as “superbly stylish” by the Chicago Tribune, “emotionally generous” by the Chicago Reader, and “pleasingly soft-grained of timbre and attentive to word meanings” by Chicago Classical Review. He is a co-director of the Liederstube, an oasis for art song in Chicago’s Fine Arts Building founded by pianist and author Dr. Eugenia Cheng with whom he regularly collaborates. A proud graduate of Chicago’s Lane Technical High School where he first learned to sing under the mentorship of George Rico, Oliver went on to study music at Northwestern University, and historically informed performance practice at Amherst Early Music Festival and Early Music Vancouver. Oliver has been a soloist with the Newberry Consort, Bella Voce, Chicago Choral Artists, Bach Cantata Vespers, the Chicago Bach Ensemble, Vox 3 Collective, and Distant Worlds Philharmonic Orchestra. Oliver is a producer and host of Opera Box Score podcast; and is Music Director of Classical WFMT, where he hosts Listening to Singers.

beyond this point is an exploratory collaboration seeking to investigate resonances and intersections across several practices including theater, movement, media/film, non-traditional musical forms, sculpture, text, and installations both static and performative. The collaboration aims to engage diverse audiences on multiple levels through its exploration of resonances between artistic mediums with a goal of developing a platform in which to create works that are intrinsically coalesced along these resonances from their point of inception.

John Corkill, is a passionate advocate for the development, process, and creation of new artistic works that provide accessibility to the public at large. He is currently serving as the percussionist for the University of Chicago’s Grossman Ensemble, an ensemble-in-residence at the University’s Center for Contemporary Composition. Recently, John has joined Clocks in Motion, a percussion quartet dedicated to building upon the body of percussion repertoire through commissioning and workshopping new chamber percussion works. In similar capacities, he has collaborated with groups such as Third Coast Percussion, Eighth Blackbird, and Ensemble Dal Niente. He has also appeared on the Chicago Symphony’s MusicNOW Series as well as the Chamber Music Northwest, Norfolk, and Yellow Barn Festivals. Recently, John finished his tenure as the curator for Fulcrum Point New Project’s Discoveries and Aux In concert series that promote meaningful conversations and inquiry between composers, performers, and listeners. Originally trained in the realm of orchestral percussion, John has performed with ensembles such as the Milwaukee Symphony, Elgin Symphony, and NOVUS Orchestra. He has also had the privilege of working with many of today’s leading musicians including conductors Marin Alsop, Peter Oundjian, Matthias Pintscher, and Reinbert de Leeuw; composers, Krzysztof Penderecki, Oliver Knussen, David Lang, Augusta Read Thomas, Aaron Jay Kernis, Sam Pluta, Christopher Cerrone, Samuel Adams, and Seung-Won Oh. John currently serves as the Lecturer of Percussion at the University of Chicago as well as the Percussion Ensemble Director at Loyola University. John received his Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University where he graduated cum laude and Master of Music Degree from the Yale University School of Music. His teachers include Robert van Sice, Michael Burritt, and James Ross.

Chicago-based percussionist and performer Adam Rosenblatt has a penchant for finding interesting and uncommon ways to present and perform contemporary music. He has a keen interest in growing an interdisciplinary performance practice, believing that a mix of media and art forms can speak directly and powerfully to our current context. Adam’s variegated skillset has brought him to perform in venues and festivals throughout the US and Europe, from Bang On a Can’s “LOUD Weekend” at MassMoCA with experimental rock group Horse Lords, to a solo performance at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, to the Bregenzer Festspiele in Austria, to the Big Bang festival for children at the Onassis Cultural Center in Athens, Greece. Adam earned a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Peabody Conservatory and a Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music, both under the tutelage of Robert van Sice. Through grants from the Flemish Government, the Frank Huntington Beebe Fund, and the Belgian American Education Foundation, Adam performed and studied contemporary chamber music with the Ictus and Spectra Ensembles in Belgium as part of their Advanced Masters academy program. He currently serves as percussion faculty at Valparaiso University.

Founded in 2021, New Earth Ensemble (NEE) is dedicated to performing works that explore topics related to environmentalism. NEE’s mission is to perform existing eco-choral works, commission new compositions, and engage in innovative interdisciplinary collaborations. The inaugural performance of NEE was recorded during the pandemic and included in a project titled ELEMENTS. Bringing together students from Loyola and the three University of Illinois campuses, ELEMENTS is a sound exploration of four states of matter in the form of earth, fire, air, and water. Ruminating on Thale’s philosophy that “all is water,” ELEMENTS is also a meditation on water’s singular importance and relationship to the other three elements. The NEE performed Mass for the Endangered by Sarah Kirkland Snider during the 2022 EcoVoice Festival. With original text by Nathaniel Bellows, Snider’s Mass uses the traditional mass format to appeal for “for parity, compassion, and protection, from a mindset—a malignance or apathy—that threatens to destroy the planet we all are meant to share.”

Kirsten Hedegaard has enjoyed a varied career as singer, conductor, and scholar. Having been described as a “seraphic soprano” (Chicago Tribune), who “glides angelically above the rest” (Austin 360), she has performed with many early music specialists, most notably Nicholas McGegan, Paul Hillier, Ivars Taurins, Mary Springfels, Kenneth Slowik, and John Butt. Hedegaard has also appeared as soloist and ensemble member with groups across the country, including Philharmonia Baroque, Mercury Baroque, Ensemble viii, Baroque Band, Schola Antiqua, Newberry Consort, Ars Antiqua, Rook Ensemble, Bella Voce, Callipygian Players, Elgin Symphony, Elgin Master Chorale, and eighth blackbird.

Currently Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Loyola University, Hedegaard has taught conducting at Concordia University, River Forest and has conducted choirs and orchestras for various institutions including Eastman House, Chicago Children’s Choir, Chicago Choral Artists, Northbrook Community Chorus, Gallery 37, Loyola Academy, and the University of California. As Director of Music at the Presbyterian Church of Barrington, she leads a robust program, including the Music on the Hill Concert Series. Since 2001 she has also been the conductor for the Bella Voce outreach program.

Hedegaard’s ongoing research in the area of choral music and environmental justice has led to the recent formation of the New Earth Ensemble, a chamber ensemble dedicated to performing and commissioning new works that support environmental awareness. As a co-founder of the EcoVoice Project, Hedegaard is dedicated to bringing together musicians and artists to explore how the arts can support environmental education and action.

Hedegaard holds a B.M. from Northwestern University, a M.A. from the University of California, where she was conducting assistant to Paul Hillier, and a D.M.A. from the University of Illinois, where she studied choral conducting with Andrew Megill and orchestral conducting with Donald Schleicher.

Critically acclaimed stellar [Chicago Tribune] countertenor Thomas Aláan has been a featured soloist on radio shows, album recordings, concert series, and festivals across the United States. In addition to singing, Thomas further divides his time teaching voice in his home studio; in leadership roles of OperaWorks™, The EcoVoice Project, and the Bach and Beethoven Experience (BBE); as Assistant Conductor at Holy Name Cathedral; running the Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy (SISE) at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC); and as a saxophonist. Thomas also teaches interdisciplinary music courses like Music as a Tool for Environmentalism and Change and The Music and Science Connection in the UIC Honors College. He has presented and moderated panels on the use of music and the arts in environmental spaces at SISE, the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, and Loyola University’s Climate Change Conference, and presented on music more broadly through the Helena Music Teachers Association, The People's Music School, and the Self Employment in the Arts (SEA) Art Business Entrepreneurship Workshop. Outside of music and environmental activities, Thomas volunteers as Vice President of the Board of Directors of Beyond Legal Aid. He can also be found at home feeding his cat, Guillaume, many tasty snacks. 😻

Susan Chou was born in Taipei, Taiwan. She immigrated to the United States when she was sixteen and completed her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering at Northwestern University while studying piano with Alan Chow. After graduation, she was awarded a full scholarship to study piano performance with Menahem Pressler at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where she completed her master’s and doctorate degrees. Dr. Chou has given numerous solo recitals and appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, Symphony of the Mountains, Taipei Philharmonic Orchestra and Taipei Symphony Orchestra. She also enjoys playing chamber music recitals. Between 2010 and 2019, she traveled extensively as an American cultural ambassador to teach and perform with Trio Chicago and Friends. Dr. Chou is a devoted teacher in Chicago area. She currently serves as Assistant Professor in Music and Coordinator of Piano Studies at North Central College and maintains a private piano studio of over 25 young students.

Harpist Emily Stone distinguishes herself as an award-winning ensemble, chamber, and solo musician based in Chicago, IL. An alumna of the Eastman School of Music, Ms. Stone earned her B.M. degrees in Harp Performance and Music Education with a minor in French and Performer’s Certificate. She is currently pursuing a Master of Music degree in Harp Performance at Northwestern University.

Ms. Stone is a current substitute harpist with the New World Symphony Orchestra and frequently performs as an extra musician with the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Her most recent engagements include performing as the principal harpist of the Evanston Symphony Orchestra and the Southport Symphony Orchestra. She toured with Il Volo on their Il Volo Sings Morricone & More Tour (2022) and Josh Groban on his Harmony Tour (2022). She has performed with major ensembles such as the Evanston Symphony Orchestra in Evanston, IL, Southport Symphony Orchestra in Chicago, IL, Northwestern University Medical Orchestra in Chicago, IL, the New Earth Ensemble in Chicago, IL, the Northshore Concert Band in Evanston, IL, St. Andrew's Chamber Orchestra in Rochester, NY, and the Cordancia Chamber Orchestra in Rochester, NY. At Northwestern University, she serves as the rotating principal harpist of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra, the Northwestern University Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the Northwestern University Symphonic Wind Ensemble and the principal harpist of the Northwestern Opera Theatre. During her time at Eastman, she served as the rotating principal harpist of the Eastman Philharmonia, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and the Eastman Musica Nova Ensemble. In addition, she worked extensively with the Beal Institute for Film Music and Contemporary Media, premiering multiple new film scores for up-and-coming film composers.

An avid chamber musician, she is a founding member of Duo D’Or (Flute and Harp). An advocate of new music, she currently serves as the principal harpist of the New Earth Ensemble in Chicago, IL. This prestigious group is dedicated to performing works that explore topics related to environmentalism, and their mission is to perform existing eco-choral works, commission new compositions, and engage in innovative interdisciplinary collaborations. She performed with the OSSIA New Music Ensemble in Rochester, NY in their 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 seasons and was a featured artist on multiple recordings.

In addition to performance, Ms. Stone is a distinguished and passionate pedagogue. She works with harp students ranging from beginner to collegiate study on both pedal and lever harp. Currently, she teaches both harp and piano privately and through multiple local organizations in the Greater Chicago area. In 2021, she earned her New York State Teaching Licensure in Pre-K-12 Music and has taught both elementary and high school string orchestra in the Webster School District and the Rochester City School District in upstate New York.