Danish String Quartet and Danish National Girls’ Choir on Apr 10, 2026 | UCSB Arts & Lectures

Danish String Quartet
- Frederik Øland, violin 
- Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violin 
- Asbjørn Nørgaard, viola 
- Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin, cello

Danish National Girls’ Choir
Charlotte Rowan, Conductor

“They could be grounded in their tone or mystical. They allowed time to stand still, and they could assume the pose of excitingly aggressive rockers. They did it all.” Los Angeles Times on the Danish String Quartet

“With his winning of the Pulitzer Prize for the little match girl passion (one of the most original and moving scores of recent years), David Lang, once a postminimalist enfant terrible, has solidified his standing as an American master.” The New Yorker

Two of Denmark’s most celebrated ensembles – the Danish String Quartet and the Danish National Girls Choir – return to Santa Barbara for a luminous evening of music old and new. This wide-ranging program weaves Nordic folk songs together with shimmering contemporary works, including in wildness, a U.S. premiere by David Lang co-commissioned by Arts & Lectures. Lang’s work continues his sonic exploration of the relationship between humans and nature. Other highlights include And So by Pulitzer Prize winner Caroline Shaw and Þann heilaga kross by Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldsdottir. A rare collaboration between virtuosic strings and celestial voices, this performance offers a stirring blend of tradition and innovation.

Program
Caroline Shaw: Allemande from Partita for 8 Voices 
Lotta Wennäkoski: “Vorüber, ach, vorüber!” from Pige 
Schubert: Theme from “Death and the Maiden,” D. 810
Anna Thorvaldsdottir: “Þann heilaga kross” 
Traditional (arr. Sørensen): “Kisti du kom” 
Traditional: “En Skomager har jeg været” 
Traditional (arr. Sørensen): “Dronning Dagmar ligger udi Ribe syg” 
Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen: Once a Shoemaker 
Astrid Sonne: “How Far” 
Caroline Shaw: “And So” 
O’Carolan (arr. Danish String Quartet): “Captain O’Kane” 
Carl Nielsen/B.S. Ingemann (arr. Sørensen): “Tit er jeg glad og et brudestykke”
David Lang: in wildness (U.S. Premiere; A&L co-commission)