Canticle of the Sun, Featuring Guest Conductor: Beth Willer

Voices of Ascension presents their final concert of the season, Canticle of the Sun, on Thursday, May 21, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Ascension. Special guest conductor Beth Willer—Founder and Artistic Director of Lorelei Ensemble and Director of Choral Studies at the Peabody Institute—leads Voices of Ascension in the New York City premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Canticle of the Sun—a radiant work for chorus and solo cello originally composed for Mstislav Rostropovich, with text by St. Francis of Assisi—featuring cellist Tommy Mesa.