Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was a German Benedictine abbess, writer, composer, philosopher, and considered to be the founder of scientific natural history in Germany. Jessica will sing several of the haunting chants about the natural world composed by Hildegard of Bingen and Ursula will complement Hildegard’s Christian sensibilities with spiritual reflections elicited by our present-day understandings of the natural world.

Ursula Goodenough is Professor of Biology Emerita (Washington University, St. Louis), now living in Chilmark. Jessica Goodenough Sanseverino is a professional soprano who just moved with her family from Nantucket to Chilmark; she will begin teaching K-8 choral music at the Tisbury School in the fall.