The NS+ program, hosted by Elena Park, will also feature Yee performing their own work and Allen on piano, as well as readings and poetry. The evening, showcasing photography by DarkSky International Delegate John Bulmer, will focus on the critical preservation of the night sky, exploring local and global efforts to reduce light pollution and protect animals, humans, and the environment.
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Finnish composer Saariaho once spoke of the importance of "the experience of living in the 'period of darkness,'" adding "there’s a very specific term for this in Finnish: kaamos—all the while retaining hope that the sunlight will start strengthening again until it is fully restored." Her ethereal duet Changing Light will be performed by soprano Susanna Phillips (who memorably starred in the Metropolitan Opera's L'Amour de Loin) and Attacca Quartet cellist Andrew Yee, while Fourth Wall Ensemble will essay her haunting Nuits, Adieux, a ten-passage work about singing, breathing, whispering, nighttime and farewells, led by Artistic and Creative Director Christopher Allen.
The NS+ program, hosted by Elena Park, will also feature Yee performing their own work and Allen on piano, as well as readings and poetry. The evening, showcasing photography by DarkSky International Delegate John Bulmer, will focus on the critical preservation of the night sky, exploring local and global efforts to reduce light pollution and protect animals, humans, and the environment.
NationalSawdust+, the lively performance and conversation series curated by Elena Park since the venue opened its doors, brings together luminaries from across disciplines who share their passion for music and explore ideas and current issues, making surprising connections. This season, NS+ continues its For Nature theme, investigating the interplay and collision between the natural and human world; programs feature artists and musicians, scientists, and activists working to preserve and restore the environment, with recent evenings focusing on regeneration, coral reef and wildlife protection, and indigenous wisdom. The NS+ team includes Producer Jeff Tang and Associate Producer Avery Leigh Draut.
For Nature is made possible by the generous support of Kathryn and Emmanuel Morlet and the Wescustogo Foundation.
Head Photo Credit: John Bulmer Photography; Sunset photo credit: Elena Park
Please join us for other programs in our NS+ Series:
SUSANNA PHILLIPS
Soprano Susanna Phillips continues to establish herself as one of today’s most sought-after musicians. Last seen on the NationalSawdust+ stage singing Nico Muhly’s Amy Fisher aria as part of the Mozart in the Jungle Season 4 release party, her career highlights include appearing at the Metropolitan Opera in over eleven roles, premiering Rose/Awakenings at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, and performing the role of Stella/A Streetcar Named Desire opposite Renée Fleming. Ms. Phillips Susanna has also sung leading roles with Boston Baroque including Cleopatra/Giulio Cesare and the title role in Agrippina. Other opera house appearances include Lyric Opera of Chicago, Cincinnati Opera, Dallas Opera, and Gran Teatro del Liceu. Dedicated to symphonic works, she has collaborated with highly esteemed orchestras including Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and her native Huntsville Symphony. An avid chamber music collaborator, she has performed a tribute concert to Clara Schumann at the Library of Congress and has sung for Washington Performing Arts in a program co-curated by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Prestigious awards include some of the world’s leading vocal competitions: the Metropolitan Opera’s Beverly Sills Artist Award, the Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition, and Operalia. She has also claimed the top honor at the Marilyn Horne Foundation Competition and first prizes from the American Opera Society and Musicians Club of Women. She is an alumna of Lyric Opera of Chicago’s The Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Opera Center and holds both a Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School.
Susanna’s 2024-25 Season includes engagements with Seattle Symphony, Musica Sacra, Oratorio Society of New York, Saint Louis Symphony, and San Francisco Symphony.
ANDREW YEE
Two-time GRAMMY-Award winning cellist and composer Andrew Yee (She/They) loves making art. She is a founding member of the Attacca Quartet whose recordings of the string quartets of Caroline Shaw; Orange and Evergreen have each won GRAMMY awards. They can also be heard on the score of the Alfonso Cuaron show Disclaimer, scored by Finneas O’Connell, and on Billie Eilish’s album Hit Me Hard and Soft.
As a composer, she has written for film and television including Wu Tsang’s Moby Dick, Love, Jamie and the BBC show We Might Regret This. She has had pieces premiered by the Zurich Chamber Ensemble, the New York Philharmonic, and Caroline Shaw.
As well as performing with orchestras and chamber groups around the world as a soloist, she also has a solo project called Halfie which draws from her experience as a trans woman and being bi-racial. Her previous NationalSawdust+ appearance was on the Covering Home program with Shaw and Jad Abumrad.
Her son Otis is the love of her life.
CHRISTOPHER ALLEN
Recipient of The Sir Georg Solti Conducting Award, Christopher Allen is featured in Opera News as “one of the fastest-rising podium stars in North America.” He has led acclaimed operatic and symphonic performances with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Virginia Symphony, North Carolina Symphony, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, George Enescu Philharmonic, Cincinnati Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Opera Omaha, Opéra de Montréal, English National Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Washington National Opera, Detroit Opera, North Carolina Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Atlanta Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera, and the Korean Symphony Orchestra.
Christopher’s career was launched by the Bruno Walter Conducting Award and Memorial Career Grant. He was recognized as a Musical America Artist of the Month and one of their “25 Stars Still Rising.” Christopher is also an International Opera Awards nominee. As an award-winning pianist he was recently heard on film in La voix humaine, starring Patricia Racette.
He is the Creative and Artistic Director of Fourth Wall Ensemble, an innovative new vocal ensemble, which he founded in 2023. Christopher serves on the Board of The Solti Foundation U.S.
FOURTH WALL ENSEMBLE
Fourth Wall Ensemble, under the leadership of Christopher Allen, is rapidly gaining recognition as one of New York’s most innovative new vocal ensembles. The group’s performances have been praised for achieving “near musical perfection” with a sound that feels “otherworldly,” and evoking a “palpable fearlessness.” The ensemble is devoted to storytelling through sound and movement, bringing new works to life while also delving into the earliest traditions of vocal music.
Founded in 2023, Fourth Wall Ensemble’s recent and upcoming highlights include performances at Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall at The Kaufman Music Center, a collaboration with Death of Classical featuring works by Monteverdi and Caroline Shaw’s Partita for 8 Voices, a series at Power Station at Berklee NYC, and a residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute. The group’s debut album, created in partnership with Grammy Award-winning trio Time for Three and five-time Emmy Award-winning composer Jeff Beal (House of Cards), marked a significant milestone for the ensemble. Fourth Wall will be the featured ensemble in a new opera called Sensorium Ex by composer Paola Prestini and librettist Brenda Shaughnessy.
JOHN BULMER
John Bulmer Photography is based in Saratoga, New York, and specializes in commercial and editorial photography and video production. John Bulmer Photography thrives on creating memorable and effective content for large and logistically complex projects in challenging conditions. John has been published in numerous domestic and international publications, including the New York Times.
John is also a sought-after speaker and presenter and frequently works as a subject matter expert for media on topics related to photography, technology, and media. John has worked with photography societies and groups and a presenter and educator. He has also worked with institutions of higher learning like Columbia University of New York City by providing instruction to field scientists and researchers on best practices for capturing effective and compelling photos, building cohesive narratives, and working in challenging environments.
John is a DarkSky Delegate for New York State, dedicated to promoting awareness of dark skies, educating about light pollution, and engaging in outreach. As a regional point of contact, subject matter expert, and media source, he advances the mission of Dark Sky to protect and preserve the night environment.
DarkSky International
DarkSky International restores the nighttime environment and protects communities from the harmful effects of light pollution through outreach, advocacy, and conservation. You can learn more at www.darksky.org.
ELENA PARK
Filmmaker, producer, and NationalSawdust+ curator Elena Park has moved freely through the worlds of arts, culture, and media throughout her colorful career. The daughter of Korean immigrants, she founded Lumahai Productions to embrace opportunities for artistic collaboration and social change with artists, thinkers, and communities as well as institutions, large and small.
Elena's first hour-long film, Eun Sun Kim: A Journey Into Lohengrin, created with San Francisco Opera (SFO), was just released, with broadcasts on KQED. Last spring, she conceived and directed Visual Cavafy, a series of visual poems screened at the New Museum as part of the Onassis Foundation's Cavafy Festival, showcasing the talents of Taylor Mac, Julianne Moore, Caroline Shaw, and Carl Hancock Rux with Daniel Bernard Roumain, Bora Yoon, and Jeffrey Zeigler, among others.
Additional director/executive producer credits include eight In Song award-winning video portraits for SFO, featuring Pretty Yende and Jamie Barton; Cleveland Orchestra’s In Focus performances ranging from Mozart to Debussy to Unsuk Chin, conducted by Alan Gilbert and Jane Glover; Vân-Ánh Võ for Stanford Live; and Jake Heggie's Intonations for the Cabrillo Festival. For the Metropolitan Opera, she is Executive Producer of the Saturday radio broadcasts and was Supervising Producer for the first 140 shows in its worldwide Live in HD series.
Selected roles: Curator for SFO's INSTIGATORS; Supervising Producer for San Francisco Symphony's MTT25: An American Icon; Special Advisor for …(Iphigenia); Artistic Consultant for the Kennedy Center; Executive Producer for WNYC Radio; and Strategic Advisor for SFO, Cambodian Living Arts, and Meyer Sound. TV/film credits: Bel Canto, Amazon's Mozart in the Jungle.