Sound Out of Silence
James McVinnie, organ
Voices of Ascension Chorus
Daniel Schwartz, Music Director
Thursday, January 7, 2027 at 7:30PM
Church of the Ascension
36 Fifth Avenue at 10th St.
New York, NY 10011
Nico Muhly - Nativity Cycle (World Premiere)
Tristan Perich - Infinity Gradient (2025)
Pérotin - Viderunt Omnes (c.1198)
Join us for a concert that traces a line from the earliest flowering of Western polyphony to the outer edges of contemporary sound, exploring how music emerges from silence and takes shape in space.
One of the most sought-after organists in contemporary music, James McVinnie, joins Voices of Ascension for the world premiere of Nico Muhly’s Nativity Cycle. Conceived as a companion to his Seven O Antiphon Preludes, Muhly’s seven-part cycle — written especially for Voices of Ascension, the Church of Ascension's Manton Memorial Organ, and James McVinnie — unfolds as a meditation on the texts and melodies of the Christmas liturgy, moving from anticipation toward arrival. The program opens with Pérotin’s Viderunt Omnes, one of the defining works of 12th-century organum, a pioneering style of medieval polyphonic music that involves taking Gregorian chant melody and enhancing it by adding harmonizing vocal lines.
The concert culminates with Tristan Perich’s Infinity Gradient, a monumental organ solo featuring 100 loudspeakers installed in the Church of the Ascension, with the audience at the center. A sonically profound, encompassing concert experience, Sound Out of Silence invites us to encounter sound not only as something heard, but as something physical, unfolding within and around the body.
Infinity Gradient performed in Ventspills, Latvia
Through his boundless approach to music making, his collaborations with a vast array of artists from many different walks of musical life, his innovative programming and captivating musicianship of the highest order, James McVinnie has carved out a unique career as an organist and keyboard player.
McVinnie is a key advocate for contemporary music and has had major concerto and solo works written for him by Sam Adams, David Chalmin, artist Martin Creed, Bryce Dessner, Hildur Guðnadóttir, David Lang, Tom Jenkinson/Squarepusher, Nico Muhly, Richard Reed Parry, Tristan Perich, Gabriella Smith amongst many others. He directs the James McVinnie Ensemble, a collective of virtuoso keyboardists dedicated to exploring work often preoccupied with political themes by contemporary and emerging composers.
Recent and current highlights include concerto appearances with BBCSO/Thomas Adès, Helsinki Philharmonic/Pekka Kuusisto, Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Pekka Kuusisto, Bach recitals at Bold Tendencies, Jonny Greenwood’s 8 hour organ piece ‘X Years of Reverb’ at Kilkenny Festival and Ruhrtriennale and solo recitals at Birmingham Town Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, National Concert Hall Dublin, Boston Symphony Hall, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall and Lyon Auditorium.
McVinnie has released solo albums on Bedroom Community Records, Orange Mountain Music, Warp Records & Pentatone.
Our 2026-27 Season
