Ten years after Sam Brukhman founded Verdigris Ensemble, the organization is less interested in looking back than in asking what comes next.
That mentality shapes BREATH, Verdigris’ 2026–2027 anniversary season, featuring a slate of performances and projects centered on transformation and human connection. Under the season-wide theme “Leave Different,” the organization will mark its first decade with a studio album release, immersive performances, a new educational partnership, and the world premiere of Brukhman’s first original composition.
“Ten years in, I keep thinking less about what Verdigris has been and more about what it can become,” says Brukhman. “I’m grateful for every person who has shaped this work, and hopeful that the next decade will allow us to imagine new forms of music, gathering and connection that we haven’t yet seen.”
Since its founding in 2017, Verdigris has developed a practice that stretches beyond the conventions of the choral concert. Performances often blend vocals with technology, immersive installation, visual art, and emotional storytelling. To that point, Brukhman will also spend the season as a member of the New Museum’s 2026–2027 NEW INC cohort, joining 82 other artists and innovators working across art, technology, and entrepreneurship.
The anniversary season begins in October with the studio album release of Betty’s Notebook, one of Verdigris’ most widely recognized projects. Originally developed as a choral work and interactive installation, the piece begins with the mysterious radio transmissions reportedly heard by a teenage girl in 1937. In 2021, the project attracted international attention when it was released as an interactive blockchain-based musical artwork and sold for more than $375,000 as an NFT. A public listening party will accompany the new studio release.
The season’s first mainstage production arrives Jan. 29–30 at Moody Performance Hall with Cantus Sound Bath, created by composer and electronic artist Ricardo Romaneiro and performed with Verdigris under Brukhman’s direction. Live voices, instruments, electronics, and organic visuals unfold throughout the space.
The season culminates April 30–May 1 at Moody Performance Hall with everything is okay, the world premiere of Brukhman’s first original composition.
The work draws from Brukhman’s own family history and experiences with stroke, recovery, immigration and resilience, marking a particularly personal turn for the artistic director. Presented with support from Keith P. Mankin and Julia R. Fielding, the piece will combine Verdigris’ immersive approach to performance with autobiographical material centered on hardship, healing and identity.
“This season is the most personal season I’ve ever had with Verdigris,” Brukhman says. “It feels in many ways like a pilgrimage to understanding myself and hopefully helping others understand themselves through someone else’s experiences.”
That inward turn also signals a new creative role for Brukhman, who has spent much of Verdigris’ first decade commissioning, directing, and shaping others’ work. With everything is okay, he moves from artistic director into composer, placing his own history at the center of the ensemble’s interdisciplinary language.
The anniversary season will also extend beyond the stage. Verdigris is launching a new educational and performance partnership with Parish Episcopal School, giving students opportunities to work with experimental vocal music and collaborative performance. Additional anniversary events throughout the season will recognize the artists, audiences, and partners who have contributed to the ensemble’s first decade.
For an organization built around testing what vocal music can contain, BREATH looks to continue what they’ve done the last decade, change the audiences who listen.
Tickets for Verdigris Ensemble’s 2026–2027 season are available at verdigrismusic.org. Cantus Sound Bath takes place Jan. 29–30, 2027, and everything is okay runs April 30–May 1, 2027, at Moody Performance Hall.