Creator: Emily Thorner, ultra soprano (and artist-in-residence)
Creative Director: Gwendolyn Kuhlmann

“State of Being” is an autobiographical concert experience for one vocalist, Emily Thorner, and electronics. It is comprised almost entirely of  commissioned works written specifically for Emily’s unique voice by a multi-national lineup of living composers.

Program

Garrett Mendelow: Voices of Consequence

Emily Joy Sullivan: Un/titled

Max Hundelshausen: (this sentence here fills the) AIR

Emily Thorner / Matthew Whiteside: For Gaia

About Emily

International “ultra-soprano” (Second Inversion, WA, USA) and “new music rising star” (The Stranger, WA, USA) Emily Thorner is rapidly making her mark as a soloist in contemporary chamber ensembles, orchestras, and modern operas. Known for her command of stratospheric high notes, Thorner is highly sought-after for world premieres due to her unusual range and fearless virtuosity. Recent performances have included: Acht Brücken festival in Cologne (on WDR radio), Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme at Snape Maltings in the UK with Jessica Cottis and Claire Booth, the Donaueschinger Musiktage with Deutsche Kammerchor, Seattle, USA, singing a world premiere with Kin of the Moon; Gladbeck, Germany performing with the Duisberg Philharmonic and Chorwerk Ruhr for the Ruhrtiennale festival, and in Italy, singing as the Soprano Soloist for the contemporary opera Hotel Paradiso by Benedict Mason with TransArt under the baton of Clement Power.

Thorner released her first album titled “Funeral Sentences for Damaged Cells” with ensemble Kin of the Moon in 2020. A featured soloist with Sound Icon in Boston, she recorded the US premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Frage, known for its impossibly high tessitura of over twenty-two high F’s and beyond. Examples of past collaborations with contemporary chamber ensembles include: Hub New Music, Boston Musica Viva, and Sound Energy at the New Music Gathering.