A Pulitzer for Raven Chacon

Raven Chacon's Voiceless Mass, an immensely haunting piece for organ and ensemble, has won this year's Pulitzer Prize for music. Above is a video of the premiere, performed by members of Present Music, in Milwaukee. The other finalists were Andy Akiho, for his large-scale percussion score Seven Pillars, and Anne Leilehua Lanzilotti, for her string-orchestra work with eyes the color of time. I had the honor of serving on the jury this year, alongside John Luther Adams, Tania León, Du Yun, and Patrice Rushen. Several of Chacon's sound-art pieces can be seen in the current Whitney Biennial and also at the Vincent Price Art Museum, in East Los Angeles.