Project Overview: MICHAEL GORDON’S ANONYMOUS MAN

Composer and Bang on a Can co-founder Michael Gordon returns to EMPAC with his new choral work, Anonymous Man. Scored for 24 unaccompanied voices, this hour-long piece expands on Gordon’s architectural approach to composition, layering minimalistic swirls of vocal sound on top of one another to create a hypnotic group incantation.

Taking inspiration from his neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, Gordon says, “When I moved into my loft on Desbrosses, the streets were empty, since few people lived there. But both then and now, there were the homeless. Over time the neighborhood changed from an industrial warehouse district to a residential area. Anonymous Man is a memoir about my block. The piece is built around my memories of moving in, meeting my future wife for the first time there, and conversations I have had with two homeless men who made their home on the loading dock across the street.”

Performing this tour de force is the Philadelphia-based choir The Crossing. Conducted by Donald Nally, The Crossing was formed by a group of friends in 2005 and has dedicated itself to expanding the contemporary choral music experience through commissions, collaborations, community, and performances that are characterized by a distinctive unity of sound and spirit. The Crossing has been hailed as “superb” by The New York Times, “ardently angelic” by The Los Angeles Times, and “something of a miracle” by The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The performance will take place in the world class Concert Hall of the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY on Thursday, March 22, 2018.