New Earth Ensemble

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.”