Live Music Returns to MoMA's Sculpture Garden Beginning 7/11

Musical performances return to The Museum of Modern Art's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden this summer, offering a diverse selection of live music in July and August.

The Museum's free Summergarden series returns to the Sculpture Garden for four Sunday evenings beginning July 11, 2010. Summergarden, a tradition that began in 1971, is part of MoMA's long history of presenting jazz and new music concerts in an outdoor setting. MoMA once again welcomes the participation of The Juilliard School and Jazz at Lincoln Center, whose collaboration makes possible Summergarden's continuing programs of musical premieres.

This year, Summergarden will present concerts by musicians from the Juilliard School on July 11 and 25, and by groups selected by Jazz at Lincoln Center on July 18 and August 1. This year's jazz concerts will feature two stylistically different trios: Trio 3, whose members describe the group's sound as "futuristic music within the idiomatic continuum of jazz," and the Don Byron Ivey-Divey Trio, led by the acclaimed clarinetist and saxophonist, which takes its inspiration from the 1940s jazz legend Lester Young. Juilliard concerts, under the artistic direction of Joel Sachs, will feature works by an impressive roster of composers from around the world.

For MoMA Nights, the Museum will remain open until 8:45 p.m. on Thursdays in July and August, giving visitors an extended opportunity to see MoMA's renowned collection and special exhibitions. This year, MoMA Nights will present Brazilian and French music groups in the Sculpture Garden, with performances in two sets (at 5:30 and 7:00 p.m.).

In July, MoMA Nights will present five Brazilian ensembles in conjunction with MoMA's Premiere Brazil! 2010 film exhibition, for the second year in a row. The music series will feature rhythms ranging from samba to bossa nova to forró, with performances by a variety of acclaimed and influential artists from Brazil's vibrant music scene. The Brazilian concerts are organized in collaboration with music producer and filmmaker Béco Dranoff.

August will feature a mini-series of four performances of innovative French contemporary pop music in celebration of the exhibition Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913-1917 (July 18-October 11). The performances are organized in collaboration with Olivier Conan, the programmer and co-owner of the Barbès performance space in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

A full concert program will be available in mid-May.

For more information, visit www.moma.org.