Lincoln Center Moments, a Free Program for Individuals with Dementia and Their Caregivers, Set to Launch on 3/17

Lincoln Center Moments, a program for individuals with dementia and their caregivers, launches on Friday, March 17, with a performance of a Schumann piano trio featuring musicians of the New York Philharmonic. Created to bring Lincoln Center's unparalleled artistry to an intimate and supportive setting, the free performance series is designed to address the needs of the rapidly growing population affected by dementia and provide meaningful connections to the arts for an audience that may be unable to attend mainstream performances. The spring 2017 season features six performances representing genres across the Lincoln Center's campus. Participants enjoy one-hour-long chamber music, jazz, and theater performances, each followed by a one-hour, interactive workshop to share their experience with their fellow concertgoers. All programs start at 1 pm and take place at The Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Frederick P. Rose Building, 10th floor, 165 West 65th Street, between Amsterdam and Broadway.

Lincoln Center Moments was developed by Accessibility at Lincoln Center, the Center's 31-year-old program committed to making the arts available to all, in partnership with CaringKind, formerly the Alzheimer's Association New York Chapter which will provide training and lead participant focus groups, and The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, which will conduct a research study on the program's impact on mood, levels of agitation, and focus. Lincoln Center Moments will serve up to 450 people, with an estimated 200 unique visitors during the six performances this spring.

Each program starts with a one-hour performance, followed by a one-hour, interactive, art-making workshop for participants to reflect upon their experiences. The workshops will be co-led by teaching artists with experience working in similar programs at art museums and senior centers and graduate students in music therapy from The Louis Armstrong Center for Music and Medicine.

LINCOLN CENTER MOMENTS SPRING 2017 CALENDAR

Friday, March 17 at 1 pm

Na Sun, violin*

Qiang Tu, cello*

Hélène Jeanney, piano**

Schumann: Piano Trio No. 3

Na Sun and Qiang Tu, both members of the New York Philharmonic, join chamber musician and piano teacher Hélène Jeanney to perform Robert Schumann's moving Piano Trio No. 3. Dedicated to fellow composer Niels Gade, the piece was described as "...unique, full of passion, through and through," by Schumann's wife Clara.

Presented in collaboration with the New York Philharmonic

* New York Philharmonic musician ** Guest artist.

Monday, March 20 at 1 pm

Art Baron & Friends

Trombonist Art Baron and fellow musicians-most of whom are in their 70s and 80s-come together for an afternoon of popular jazz. Baron, the last trombonist to perform in the Duke Ellington Orchestra under the baton of Mr. Ellington himself, was bandleader of the Duke's Men, which included other members of the Duke Ellington Orchestra. He has also collaborated with James Taylor, Buddy Rich, and Stevie Wonder, among many others.

Presented in collaboration with Jazz at Lincoln Center

Tuesday, April 11 at 1 pm

Eric Comstock & Barbara Fasano

HELLUVA TOWN: A New York Soundtrack

With songs from Burt Bacharach to Simon & Garfunkel and Stephen Sondheim to Duke Ellington, the New York nightclub world's golden couple celebrates the city they love. And sometimes hate. But mostly love. Comstock (vocals and piano) and Fasano (vocals) have performed on Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, and at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, 92nd Street Y, and many other venues.

Presented in collaboration with Lincoln Center's American Songbook

Monday, April 17 at 1 pm

Janey Choi, violin***

Laura Weiner, French horn***

Jihea Hong-Park, piano***

Brahms: Horn Trio

In addition to being esteemed solo, chamber, and orchestra musicians, this trio of violinist Janey Choi, French horn player Laura Weiner, and pianist Jihea Hong-Park are also highly regarded teaching artists who participate in innovative educational programs of the New York Philharmonic. For this performance, they will perform Brahms's Horn Trio, written in the wake of the death of the composer's mother.

*** New York Philharmonic teaching artists

Tuesday, May 2 at 1 pm

Calidore String Quartet

Caroline Shaw: Entr'acteDvorák: Quartet No. 12 in F major for Strings, Op. 96, "The American"

Violinists Jeffery Myers and Ryan Meehan, violist Jeremy Berry, and cellist Estelle Choi, formed the Calidore String Quartet in 2010 at the Colburn Conservatory of Music and recently received a 2017 Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists. Their program combines a 2011 work by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw with Dvorák's beloved "American Quartet" from more than a century earlier.

Presented in collaboration with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

Tuesday, May 30 at 1 pm

Juilliard Drama

An Afternoon of Imagination, Improvisation, and Shakespeare

Victoria Pollack

Isabel Arraiza

Justin Cunningham

Steven Robertson

This program presents soliloquies and scenes from Shakespeare, American standards, musical theater pieces, and folk songs, combining poetic language with music. Fourth year Juilliard Drama students and Gluck Fellows will weave an afternoon of storytelling through sonnets and scenes.

Presented in collaboration with Juilliard

Lincoln Center Moments concerts are free of charge, but registration is required. For information email access@lincolncenter.org or call 212.875.5375. Visit the website LincolnCenter.org/Festival/LCMoments.

Established in 1985 to ensure full participation in the thousands of events presented annually across Lincoln Center, Programs and Services for People with Disabilities, as it was known, was the first program of its kind at any major U.S. performing arts center and has long-served as a model for other arts institutions. Renamed Accessibility at Lincoln Center to mark the program's 30th anniversary in 2015, Accessibility offers exceptional guest care to all visitors and training in accessibility Lincoln Center resident organizations. Among other core services provided are large print and Braille programs; ASL interpretation and audio description for selected performances; the "Passport to the Arts" series which annually distributes thousands of free tickets to children with disabilities and their families; and verbal description tours of the Lincoln Center campus. New initiatives include Access Ambassador Initiative providing job and social skills training for young people with developmental disabilities through school partnerships and Graduate Studies Fellowships, to develop the next leaders in accessibility knowledge and practice. LincolnCenter.org/Visit/Accessibility

The mission of CaringKind is to create, deliver, and promote comprehensive and compassionate care and support services for individuals and families affected by Alzheimer's disease and related dementias, and to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research. We achieve our mission by providing programs and services for individuals with dementia, their family, and professional caregivers; increasing public awareness; collaborating with research centers; and informing public policy through advocacy. Connect2culture® a program of CaringKind supports museums and other cultural organizations to develop ongoing programs for people living with dementia and their caregivers. Caringkindnyc.org/Connect2culture/

The Louis and Lucille Armstrong Music Therapy Program at Mount Sinai Beth Israel, established twenty one years ago as part of the jazz legend's legacy, was the foundation for the expanded programs of the Louis Armstrong Center for Music & Medicine, created in 2005. The Louis Armstrong Music Therapy Department provides a broad range of services throughout the medical center and within the community. Our mission ensures that our staff provides state-of-the-art care to complement medical treatment. Our team is trained to offer the most current music psychotherapy techniques in clinical improvisation, music meditation, pain management, sedation, end-of-life, and breathing modalities of music and healing. Our team conducts research in conjunction with doctors and nurses, providing the utmost care and creative attention to the patients and families we serve. Musicandmedicine.org/