U.S. Premiere of James MacMillan's 'St. Luke Passion'

Duke Chapel will host the U.S. premiere of internationally acclaimed Scottish composer James MacMillan's new 'St. Luke Passion.' The newly commissioned piece offers a fresh, dramatic, and intensely moving setting of the Apostle Luke's biblical account of Christ's suffering and death. The piece is scored for orchestra, organ, soloists, and two choirs. It will be performed on Palm Sunday by the Duke Chapel Choir, Durham Children's Choir, and Orchestra Pro Cantores, and conducted by Dr. Rodney Wynkoop, Director of Duke University choral music.The commissioning of the St. Luke Passion was shared by Duke Divinity School, Duke University, Soli Deo Gloria, the Concertgebouw / Zaterday Matinee Series of the Netherlands, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and the Britten Sinfonia.The concert is the culmination of "Sounding the Passion: Encounters in Poetry, Theology, and Music," a series of April 9-13 events stemming from The Duke-Cambridge Consultation, a four year interdisciplinary theology and arts collaboration between Duke and Cambridge Universities. The events are generously sponsored by a Visiting Artist Grant from the Arts Council, Office of the Provost; by Divinity School, Duke Chapel, and the Duke University Music Department; all in collaboration with Duke Initiatives in Theology and the Arts.