Performance reimagines Western mythology

By Lan Rose

Dallas audiences looking for something far beyond a traditional concert will find it next weekend when Verdigris Ensemble presents A Western & To the West at the AT&T Performing Arts Center. Running March 13-15 in Hamon Hall at the Winspear Opera House, the production offers an immersive, genre defying take on the mythology of the American West through choral music, movement and cinematic visuals.

Fresh off winning D Magazine’s Best of Big D award for Best Production of Shams, the Dallas based vocal ensemble continues its reputation for pushing boundaries. A Western & To The West closes Verdigris Ensemble’s RE:IMAGINE 25/26 season and stands as one of its most ambitious statements to date.

The evening opens with the world premiere of To the West, a hypnotic work by composer Michael Gordon that transforms singers into architecture, landscape and environment. Through light, projection and physical presence, the ensemble builds a living soundscape that evokes the vastness and tension of the Western frontier.

That atmosphere gives way to A Western, Gordon’s bold reimagining of the classic film “High Noon.” 

Rather than centering on a lone hero, the piece fractures the story into multiple perspectives. The iconic sheriff figure appears again and again, multiplied across the stage as the choir becomes both character and crowd. The result is raw, loud and cinematic, confronting familiar ideas of justice, courage and violence head on.

Directed by Kevin Moriarty and conceived and conducted by Verdigris Artistic Director Sam Brukhman, the production blurs the line between concert and theater. 

Visual design by Courtney Ware further dissolves boundaries, surrounding the audience with shifting imagery that mirrors the music’s intensity.

“These productions embody our mission to redefine what choral music can be,” said Brukhman. “From exploring the myths of the West to revisiting a timeless tale of love and transformation, we invite audiences to see and hear stories in ways they’ve never imagined.”

Performed by a 16 member professional choir, A Western & To the West is recommended for audiences ages 12 and up. Tickets start at $55. 

For Dallas arts lovers eager to experience something daring and immersive, Verdigris Ensemble’s latest offering promises a powerful reexamination of the stories that shaped the American imagination, told in a way that feels urgent, contemporary and unmistakably alive. A Western & To the West runs March 13-15 at 7:30 p.m. at the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Hamon Hall. More information and tickets are available at verdigrismusic.org.