with The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Crossing
Peter Boyer, composer
Mark Campbell, librettist
Anthony Parnther, conductor
Tazewell Thompson, stage director

June 17, 2026
TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann

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, performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra and chamber choir The Crossing (led by Donald Nally), and feature five renowned vocal soloists: Mary Dunleavy, Meredith Lustig, Eve Gigliotti, David Portillo, and Malcolm J. Merriweather.

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.

Major support for this program is provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support provided by America250PA, National Endowment for the Arts, Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial, and Wyncote Foundation.

By permission of the publisher: Propulsive Music
Sole Agent: Bill Holab Music

Williams
Liberty Fanfare

Wolfe 
Liberty Bell
First Philadelphia Orchestra performance—co-commissioned by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and The Philadelphia Orchestra

Sousa 
"The Stars and Stripes Forever" March

INTERMISSION

Boyer/Campbell 
A Hundred Years On
World premiere—commissioned by Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts
I. Overture (Orchestra) 
II. We Welcome the World (Chorus) 
III. Quintet (Soloists) 
IV. A Single Day (Chorus) 
V. Machinery Hall (Male Chorus) 
VI. Little More than a Decade (Amelia Dunning)
VII. A Thin Little Wire (Horace Clarke, Chorus)
VIII. Postcards (Chorus) 
IX. The Women’s Pavilion (Female Chorus) 
X. A Lady’s Hands (Susan McCormick)
XI. A Single Day—Reprise 1 (Chorus)
XII. Makes No Never Mind (Ignatius Thomas)
XIII. A Single Day—Reprise 2 (Chorus)
XIV. The Torch of Liberty (Chorus)
XV. The Promise of Promise (Marion Jozwiak, Soloists, Chorus)
XVI. We Welcome the World—Reprise (Soloists, Chorus) 

Mary Dunleavy, soprano (Amelia Dunning)
Meredith Lustig, soprano (Susan McCormick)
Eve Gigliotti, mezzo-soprano (Marion Jozwiak)
David Portillo, tenor (Horace Clarke)
Malcolm J. Merriweather, baritone (Ignatius Thomas)
The Crossing
Donald Nally, conductor
Tazewell Thompson, stage director
Rasean Davonté Johnson, projection designer
Millie Hiibel, costume designer
Desmond K. Wiley, projection programmer
Brandon Ehrenreich, stage manager

A special thanks to our IATSE 8 House Crew

This program runs approximately 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Artists, repertoire, and set times are subject to change.

The Steinway Piano is the official piano of Highmark Mann Center for the Performing Arts and is provided by Steinway & Sons.

No audio/video tape recording devices or photographs allowed.

For more details on allowable equipment please click here.

Program notes © 2026. All rights reserved. Program notes may not be reprinted without written permission from The Philadelphia Orchestra Association.

The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, The Pew Charitable Trusts, or the Barnes Foundation.