The Anchoress, a new monodrama by David Ludwig, “a composer with something urgent to say” (Philadelphia Inquirer), has its world premiere on Wednesday, October 17, 2018 at 7:30 PM at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia under the auspices of the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society. The next evening, Thursday, October 18 at 8:00 PM, the New York premiere is presented at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Cary Hall. Set to texts by Katie Ford, The Anchoress is inspired by the medieval mystic tradition called anchorism and its relationship to contemporary society. In what may be the first-ever combination of voice, period wind instruments, and saxophones, The Anchoress will be performed by soprano Hyunah Yu; the early music ensemble Piffaro, The Renaissance Band; and the PRISM Quartet.