Project in Brief

  • Composer William Brittelle's electro-acoustic song-cycle explores nostalgia, longing, and issues of secular spirituality in American culture.

  • Spiritual America has been performed at Symphony Space, Hollywood Bowl, Public Records, and CIT Cork School of Music in Ireland.

  • The new work was co-commissioned Alabama Symphony, Symphony Space, Liquid Music Series, Walker Art Center, Palm Springs Art Museum, and Baltimore Symphony.

  • “This is the kind of big, bold, sometimes even crazy symphonic work of which we could use a lot more, with orchestral brass and strings competing with fat synthesizers, rock drums, choral singing, and more.” (An Earful)

 
Project Partners
 
 

Spiritual America Concert

February 16, 2018 at Symphony Space
  • World premiere of composer William Brittelle's eight electro-acoustic orchestral song-cycle performed by indie-rock duo Wye Oak, Metropolis Ensemble, and Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
  • Sold-out show also featured songs from Wye Oak's 2014 album Shriek arranged by William Brittelle.
 
 

Bon Iver and TU Dance Concert

August 5, 2018 at Hollywood Bowl
  • Wye Oak and Metropolis Ensemble perform "Spiritual America" to open for Bon Iver and TU Dance's West Coast premiere of "Come Through," a collaborative indie-rock dance performance, choreographed by Uri Sands and  music by Justin Vernon.
 
 

Spiritual America Album

Released May 3, 2019 on New Amsterdam and Nonesuch Records
  • Album features Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack, Metropolis Ensemble, and Brooklyn Youth Chorus.
  • Recorded at Wisconsin's April Base with Justin Vernon, engineered by Ryan Streber, mixed and mastered by Zach Hanson, and music directed by Andrew Cyr.
 
 

Forbidden Colors Album Release Concert

June 25, 2019 at Public Records
  • A walk-about concert and listening party in the style of a roving electro-acoustic mini-festival to celebrate the release of "Spiritual America."
  • The performance featured hard-wired installations, hand-crafted to take advantage of the venue’s custom-built sound system.
  • World premiere of new Metropolis commissioned works by William Brittelle and Jakub Ciupinski, plus new works by Lea Bertucci, Topu Lyo, Anna Meadors, among others.
 
 

Sounds From A Safe Harbour Festival

September 15, 2019 at CIT Cork School of Music, Ireland
  • "Spiritual America" is performed by Wye Oak, Metropolis Ensemble, experimental pop act Buke and Gase, and American Folk artist Sam Amidon.
  • For this performance, Brittelle created a revised chamber-based reimagining of the record complete with newly developed material.
 
 
 

More Projects

Take an in-depth look at Metropolis Ensemble projects over the years.