First Inversion is proud to announce the 2026 GRAMMY® Award nomination on its Divine Art Records label for the album, advena: liturgies for a broken world, in the Best Choral Performance Category. advena features world premieres of choral music from composer Mark Buller performed by GRAMMY® Award-winning choir Conspirare and Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson. The GRAMMY® awards ceremony will take place on February 1, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
The album marks the first GRAMMY® Award nomination for the Divine Art Records label, and the 12th nomination for Conspirare. Conspirare is at their finest in this music and singers Simon Barrad, Emily Yocum Black, and Michael Hawes can be heard in solo roles. Conspirare is joined by dynamic instrumental collaborators Patrice Calixte, Mariama Alcântara, Bruce Williams, Douglas Harvey, Jessica Valls, Marc Garvin, and Thomas Burritt.
“Divine Art Records is thrilled to celebrate this nomination with Conspirare, their Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson, composer Mark Buller, and all of the talented soloists, instrumentalists, and librettist who contributed to this album. These are works of of great meaning that speak powerfully to our times, and we feel this nomination is a more than deserved recognition for the exceptional artistry Conspirare brings to everything they perform.” —David Weuste, First Inversion Executive Director
Critical Acclaim:
“Conspirare carries this appealing interpretation above all with their exquisitely balanced sound, which brings the necessary emotionality and intimacy to the works. ” —Guy Engels, Pizzicato
“Mark Buller ponders a host of moral issues in these works performed by the sterling choral ensemble Conspirare… Buller is a composer who knows how to imbue feelings with ample warmth, colour and tension that keep the ear immersed in his sonic worlds… Conspirare, led by founding Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson, respond to all of Buller’s emotional gestures with utmost cohesion and flexibility, and the soloists – basses Michael Hawes and Simon Barrad and soprano Emily Yocum Black – are first-rate.” —Donald Rosenberg, Gramophone
