Michael Gordon’s “Natural History,” conducted by Teddy Abrams at the Cincinnati May Festival this past spring, was selected by New York Times critic Zachary Woolfe as one of the best classical music performances of 2024. A collaboration with the Native American ensemble Steiger Butte Drum, the work is described by Woolfe as “Unsettled and unsettling, both celebratory and threatening, imposing and ultimately harmonious, it is the sound of a cultural conversation that is still, after centuries, in its nascent stages.” Teddy conducted the world premiere of Natural History at Crater Lake in southern Oregon as part of the 2016 Britt Music and Festival, which commissioned it to celebrate the centennial of the National Park System. That performance was captured live on a recording on the Cantaloupe label available on Spotify, Apple Music and other streaming services. Read the full New York Times list here.