
New Earth Ensemble
Founded in 2021 by Dr. Kirsten Hedegaard, The EcoVoice Project's New Earth Ensemble (NEE) is a professional ensemble dedicated to exploring works that address topics related to climate change. NEE’s mission is to perform existing eco-choral works, commission new compositions, and engage in innovative interdisciplinary collaborations.
ELEMENTS | New Earth Ensemble
The inaugural performance of NEE was recorded in 2021 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.
For their first live appearance in 2022, NEE performed Sarah Kirkland Snider’s Mass for the Endangered, accompanied by video projections by artist Deborah Johnson and comments by anthropologist and leading eco-scholar, Dr. Mark Pedelty. During the 2023 season, NEE created a program celebrating the music of John Luther Adams and poetry by John Haines, with opening remarks by scientist Dr. Lucy Jones. As a part of the 2023 EcoVP Summer Festival, NEE performed Nicolas Cline’s Watersheds alongside a lecture by Dr. Karl Rockne, Professor of Environmental Engineering at UIC. In spring of 2024, NEE joined Loyola University Choirs to premiere the Kyrie from Dongryul Lee’s Missa Laudato Si, which was in its entirety in the spring of 2025.
Missa Laudato Si’ | New Earth Ensemble
Mass for the Endangered | New Earth Ensemble
New Earth Ensemble
Vocalists
Sopranos
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Bethany Battafarano
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Katie Buzard
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Nathalie Colas
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Tiana Sorenson
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Lydia Walsh-Rock
Altos
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Allison Cook
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Thereza Lituma
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Victoria Marshall
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Gabrielle Timofeeva López
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Cassidy Smith
Tenors
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Steven Caldicott Wilson
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Matthew Dean
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Michaël Hüdetz
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Jesus Alfredo Jimenez-Jimenez
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Trevor Mitchell
Basses
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Joe Labozetta
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Eric Miranda
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John Orduña
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Ian Prichard
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Vince Wallace

NEE Auditions
NEE is interested in hearing from singers who share our values and interests concerning environmental issues. If NEE aligns with your artistic and environmental concerns, we’d love to hear from you.
Interested musicians should contact Artistic Director, Kirsten Hedegaard to arrange an audition.
kirsten@ecovoiceproject.org