The album Carthage, with music composed by James Primosch, Dr. Robert Weiss Professor of Music, has received a Grammy nomination for Best Choral Performance. Carthage was recorded by The Crossing, with Donald Nally conducting.

Carthage, which was released in May 2020, sprang from a series of pieces Dr. Primosch had written for The Crossing. The centerpiece is a setting for the Mass for the Day of St. Thomas Didymus, which combines the Catholic mass text with poems by Denise Levertov. Another piece is a setting of text by Marilynne Robinson; her novel Housekeeping gave the album its title. The album was recorded before COVID-19-related shutdowns.

“It’s an amazing group of virtuoso singers and the recording sessions were thrilling,” says Dr. Primosch. “I would hear a take and think, oh that was great. Donald would say, ‘Let’s do that one more time.’ So it’s a really wonderful, wonderful project. I’m very happy and honored to be associated with them.”

In 2020, Dr. Primosch received the Virgil Thomson Award for Vocal Music, administered by the American Academy of Arts and Letters (Almanac June 23, 2020). His instrumental, vocal, and electronic compositions range from lyrical to religious to jazz-inspired. His music has been reviewed in The New Yorker, The New York Times, and numerous other publications, and has been performed throughout the US, Europe, and Asia. His previous honors include a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Guggenheim Fellowship. As a pianist, he was a prizewinner at the Gaudeamus Interpreters Competition in Rotterdam.