Michaela Rea Catranis, Bang on a Can - wait, wonder waits

wait, wonder waits - Michaela Rea Catranis a calling song for soprano and large ensemble performed at Bang on a Can 2026 LOUD Weekend at MassMoca commissioned with the generous support of Justus and Elizabeth Schlichting Nick Photinos, conductor Freja Højland Høj, voice Eric Bergeman, flute M. Isaac Ripple, oboe Mara Mayer, clarinet / bass clarinet Chandler Michael Beck, horn Lauren Galarraga, trombone Viraj Sonawala, percussion Ricky Moreira, piano Michaela Rea Catranis, synth Lora Kmieliauskaitė, Žydrė, violin Ethan Cavanac, viola Olivia Marckx, cello video by Shaun Laframboise / Right Light Productions audio recorded by Todd Vos mastered by Chris Coby Program Notes: Many years ago, after moving to Germany, I came across this poem by Rose Ausländer, Das Wunder wartet: Wir warten auf Wunder Sprechen uns frei von Schuld Sprechen die anderen schuldig Wir lassen uns treiben vom Wind Er lässt uns fallen Das Wunder wartet auf uns We wait for wonder We absolve ourselves of guilt declare the others guilty we drift wherever the wind takes us, and it lets us fall Wonder is waiting for us It is a simple acknowledgement of the yearning for wonder, our human tendency toward passivity, and the absurdity of waiting for something that is already there. In the context of Ausländer’s life, this message reaches deeper. She lived through the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, exile in the United States, the Nazi occupation of Bukovina, and the Holocaust, surviving the Czernowitz ghetto in hiding. Writing, she said, was a means of survival: Traumworte—dream-words that carried her through trauma, an act of spiritual resistance. It is remarkable that someone who witnessed so much devastation continued to write about such a desire for wonder—not as naïve optimism, but as a way of remaining awake to life. This piece is a calling song using the text of this wonderful poem. It is an invitation to remain awake, and seek wonder in and around us, within the fragility of own existence.