Westminster Choir bring coal mining culture to the stage with ‘Anthracite Fields’

The Westminster Choir and Bang on a Can All-Stars, a New York-based classical musical organization, performed Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning composition “Anthracite Fields” in the Roebling Wire Works in Trenton on April 21 and April 22. The performance, directed by professor of choral conducting Joe Miller, transformed the former factory into a concert hall, and used visual projections to bring the story of the 20th century coal mining industry in Pennsylvania to life. Audiences were able to take part in pre-preformance talks with Wolfe, Miller and historian Clifford Zink, as well as explore an art exhibit, entitled Transformations, that examined post-industrial locations in the Trenton and Pennsylvania areas.