Thomas Lloyd: Bonhoeffer

Bonhoeffer was conceived as a concert work in a theatrical context by composer Thomas Lloyd. Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was one of the most influential Christian theologians of the 20th Century. He returned to Germany from the United States to become an active leader of the Confessing Church, which actively resisted the capitulation of the establishment Lutheran and Catholic churches to the fascist leadership of Adolf Hilter. He was involved in the unsuccessful plot to assassinate Hitler and suffered imprisonment and death, being hanged at Flossenbürg Concentration Camp a few weeks before Germany's surrender. He fell in love with Maria von Wedemeyer and was engaged to her shortly before his arrest. The text for Bonhoeffer is adapted from the writings of both Bonhoeffer and von Wedemeyer. Thomas Lloyd is on the faculty at Haverford College; the artistic director of the Bucks County Choral Society; and director of music at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral. His music has been performed by many choirs — professional, collegiate, community, and high school. The Crossing is a professional chamber choir based in Philadelphia conducted by Donald Nally and dedicated to the commissioning and performance of new music. They have collaborated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the International Contemporary Ensemble, Bang on a Can, and the American Composers Orchestra, among many others. They premiered John Luther Adams' Sila: the breath of the world in collaboration with the Mostly Mozart Festival in 2014. Their discography includes six recordings and they have been hailed in reviews as "superb" (New York Times) and "ardently angelic" (The Los Angeles Times). Under conductor Donald Nally's leadership, The Crossing has commissioned and premiered more than 50 works for chorus.