Northern Lights

Minimalist choral and orchestral works shape a program of shifting patterns, luminous textures and contemplative sound. Northern Lights takes place Friday, February 19, at Church of the Little Flower in Coral Gables. Conducted by James K. Bass, the concert features Seraphic Fire with choir and chamber orchestra in a program centered on late-20th-century minimalism and its meditative musical language.

The program includes works by Ola Gjeilo, Arvo Pärt and Henryk Górecki, composers whose music often uses repetition, spacious harmony and gradual transformation to create a sense of stillness and scale. The concert culminates with selections from Philip Glass’s Einstein on the Beach, the landmark opera that helped define American minimalism.

Founded in South Florida in 2002, Seraphic Fire is a Grammy-nominated professional vocal ensemble with a national touring and recording history. The group has released 16 full-length albums, including Grammy-nominated recordings of A Seraphic Fire Christmas and Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem, and continues to support vocal music education through youth, collegiate and professional training initiatives.