When was the last time a performance changed the way you looked at the world around you? Voice of Nature: the Anthropocene is an exploration of one of the defining issues of our time—environmental change—through music and imagery. It invites us to consider the beauty and fragility of the natural world and our relationship to it. Performed by acclaimed soprano Renée Fleming, the program pairs classical songs and contemporary works with an original film created in partnership with the National Geographic Society. The experience is both intimate and expansive, sharing landscapes of breathtaking beauty alongside acute reminders of their vulnerability. At a moment when environmental change increasingly shapes everyday life, Voice of Nature reminds us that these challenges are not just scientific or political; they are deeply personal. It is an invitation to consider how rapidly the natural world is changing while reflecting on how much we rely on its constancy for solace, inspiration, and a sense of connection to something larger than ourselves. Student tickets always $11. Eligible for CLE. Find out more and buy tickets at:

FEATURING Diya Kayaleh, soprano Beth Allen-Gardner, mezzo-soprano Henry Reacher, tenor Liam O’Laughlin, baritone C. Leonard Raybon, baritone Danny Spiegel, piano PROGRAM Sacred Nine Project: Mending Sampler Sacred Nine Project is excited to celebrate John Wood Sweet’s, The Sewing Girl’s Tale, with a curated vocal concert at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he is Professor of History. Content warning: descriptions of rape and suicide “Cost of courage,” is Sweet’s turn of phrase. He writes: As a young woman, Lanah Sawyer had a rare kind of courage. Only seventeen, a stepchild in a working family, she was easy to dismiss as a mere “sewing girl.” Yet, when an affluent gentleman showed an interest in her, she dared to image that he might really be interested in her. Violently, he dashed that dream—leaving her disoriented, distressed, and unmoored. Then, she gathered her courage and did what no one else in the nation’s biggest city had done in half a century: she charged a gentleman with rape. Then, as now, most survivors of sexual assaults by acquaintances don’t make any official complaint—and for good reason. But Lanah Sawyer refused to be shamed. She refused to be silenced. What followed was a harrowing ordeal—and a remarkable vindication. THE SEWING GIRL’S TALE is the story of this remarkable young woman’s search for justice, her determination to move beyond what had been done to her, to rebuild her life—to live with the courage of her conviction that she, too, was someone who mattered. Raybon is drawing on historical sources, early American music, and newly written poetry for the presentation. One historical source is Report of the Trial of Henry Bedlow for Committing a Rape on Lanah Sawyer, New York, 1793, by William Wyche; this is a first-hand account of the trial. Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth (1791) by Susanna Rowson, containing a narrative not unlike the present account, is a further historical writing. Still another early text, The American Spelling Book (originally published in 1783) by Noah Webster, offers poetry and prose that might shed light on the kind of shame-and-gender-based education that a girl like Lanah would have received. A 1794 tune book, The Harmony of Maine (1794), compiled by Supply Belcher, offers inspiration from the Song of Songs, in which “the voice of my beloved” is seductive, and in our case, dangerous. Finally, Lanah’s story will incite brand new verse to honor her and her legacy. PARKING Please plan to arrive early as parking on campus can be tricky. Learn more about parking and directions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus. This event is co-sponsored by the Department of Music and the Department of History.

FEATURING Diya Kayaleh, soprano Beth Allen-Gardner, mezzo-soprano Henry Reacher, tenor Liam O’Laughlin, baritone C. Leonard Raybon, baritone Danny Spiegel, piano PROGRAM Sacred Nine Project: Mending Sampler Sacred Nine Project is excited to celebrate John Wood Sweet’s, The Sewing Girl’s Tale, with a curated vocal concert at The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he is Professor of History. Content warning: descriptions of rape and suicide “Cost of courage,” is Sweet’s turn of phrase. He writes: As a young woman, Lanah Sawyer had a rare kind of courage. Only seventeen, a stepchild in a working family, she was easy to dismiss as a mere “sewing girl.” Yet, when an affluent gentleman showed an interest in her, she dared to image that he might really be interested in her. Violently, he dashed that dream—leaving her disoriented, distressed, and unmoored. Then, she gathered her courage and did what no one else in the nation’s biggest city had done in half a century: she charged a gentleman with rape. Then, as now, most survivors of sexual assaults by acquaintances don’t make any official complaint—and for good reason. But Lanah Sawyer refused to be shamed. She refused to be silenced. What followed was a harrowing ordeal—and a remarkable vindication. THE SEWING GIRL’S TALE is the story of this remarkable young woman’s search for justice, her determination to move beyond what had been done to her, to rebuild her life—to live with the courage of her conviction that she, too, was someone who mattered. Raybon is drawing on historical sources, early American music, and newly written poetry for the presentation. One historical source is Report of the Trial of Henry Bedlow for Committing a Rape on Lanah Sawyer, New York, 1793, by William Wyche; this is a first-hand account of the trial. Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth (1791) by Susanna Rowson, containing a narrative not unlike the present account, is a further historical writing. Still another early text, The American Spelling Book (originally published in 1783) by Noah Webster, offers poetry and prose that might shed light on the kind of shame-and-gender-based education that a girl like Lanah would have received. A 1794 tune book, The Harmony of Maine (1794), compiled by Supply Belcher, offers inspiration from the Song of Songs, in which “the voice of my beloved” is seductive, and in our case, dangerous. Finally, Lanah’s story will incite brand new verse to honor her and her legacy. PARKING Please plan to arrive early as parking on campus can be tricky. Learn more about parking and directions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus.

FEATURING LaToya Lain, soprano PROGRAM A powerful presentation by soprano LaToya Lain that examines the issue of slavery by combining musical performance with spoken narrative accounts. About the project, Lain says, “In 2003, HBO presented a documentary entitled ‘Unchained Memories’ about the stories of former slaves interviewed during the 1930s’ Federal Writers’ Project. As I read the print version of these slave narratives and later watched the documentary, I began to see how the stories of these men and women are told through the Negro Spirituals. I saw the direct relationship of some of my favorite spirituals and the life stories of remarkable slave women, whose names, if not for these narratives, we would have never known. I was inspired to take these narratives and combine them with concert arranged Negro Spirituals to tell the story of one former slave woman through song.” PARKING Please plan to arrive early as parking on campus can be tricky. Learn more about parking and directions to UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus.

Join us for a powerful presentation by soprano LaToya Lain that examines the issue of slavery by combining musical performance with spoken narrative accounts. About the project Lain says, “In 2003, HBO presented a documentary entitled ‘Unchained Memories’ about the stories of former slaves interviewed during the 1930s’ Federal Writers’ Project. As I read the print version of these slave narratives and later watched the documentary, I began to see how the stories of these men and women are told through the Negro Spirituals. I saw the direct relationship of some of my favorite spirituals and the life stories of remarkable slave women, whose names, if not for these narratives, we would have never known. I was inspired to take these narratives and combine them with concert arranged Negro Spirituals to tell the story of one former slave woman through song.”