A Hundred Years On
A New Oratorio About the 1876 Centennial Exposition
Featured Artists
Anthony Parnther
Mary Dunleavy
Meredith Lustig
Eve Gigliotti
David Portillo
Malcom J. Merriweather
The Crossing
Donald Nally
Tazewell Thompson
Rasean Davonté Johnson
Millie Hiibel
2026 marks the 250th birthday of our nation. To commemorate the event, Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts has commissioned A Hundred Years On, a new oratorio about the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, by acclaimed GRAMMY–nominated composer Peter Boyer and Pulitzer Prize– and GRAMMY Award–winning librettist Mark Campbell. This exciting world premiere will be conducted by Anthony Parnther, directed by Tazewell Thompson, and performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra and chamber choir The Crossing, and will feature five renowned vocal soloists: Mary Dunleavy, Meredith Lustig, Eve Gigliotti, David Portillo, and Malcolm J. Merriweather.
To honor the landmark year 1876 and celebrate the Highmark Mann’s 50th Anniversary, enjoy special celebratory pricing for this event with all tickets available for just $18.76 or $50 all-in. $50 tickets available in Pit and select Prime seats; $18.76 in select Prime, Main, Terrace, and Lawn seats.
Little more than a decade after the end of the Civil War, and on the heels of the 1873 depression, the Centennial Exposition arrived at a time when our country needed a reason to unify and reclaim its stature in the world. A Hundred Years On pulses with the magnitude and sweep of a single day at the Exposition—and is humanized by the moving and sometimes humorous stories of five fictional characters who experience it. Boyer’s music, in the grand American tradition, is exuberant and melodic, capturing the excitement of that day, as well as its darker moments. And although A Hundred Years On is about a specific time and place, its emotional power exists in the universal connections that the work draws to our world today.
Program
Sousa
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" March
Wolfe
Liberty Bell
Boyer/Campbell
A Hundred Years On (world premiere)
Approximate Duration
including intermission
