The Love of Tranquil Things

In an age where our attention is pulled in infinite directions on a daily basis, the act of appreciating the simplest things in life can feel like a breath of fresh air. This program, centered on Cary Ratcliff's Ode to Common Things, brings the beauty of the quotidian into focus. Anchorites is joined by guest collaborators for Ratcliff's oratorio and will also perform 20th-century chansons by Saint-Saëns and Hindemith as a quartet.

Saturday, May 8 at 7:30 PM

Anchorites is the Baltimore-based collaborative project of four of the region’s leading choral singers. The newly formed solo voice ensemble was originally conceived as a vocal quartet for Mind on Fire’s 2025 production of Tim Holt’s Nobody is Ever Missing, and is happy to be presenting its premiere season of concerts as an independent quartet. As an unconducted vocal chamber ensemble, Anchorites presents unique, intimate concerts with captivating ensemble precision and intonation. The quartet combines a strong background in historical performance with a passion for modern choral works and specializes in syncretic performances that examine connections across eras and styles. Drawing on the inspiration for its creation, Anchorites is excited to collaborate with rising composers on expanding the library of new works for vocal chamber ensemble. Its members hold degrees from the Peabody Institute, the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, the University of York (UK), Christopher Newport University, and others. They can be seen performing in the nation’s premier professional choirs, among them Apollo’s Fire, True Concord, The Thirteen, and Lorelei Ensemble.