Carnegie Hall's community and family programs for September, October and November include Free Neighborhood Concerts, kicking off this fall with classical, American roots, and Argentine music in Manhattan; island swing in Brooklyn; big band and Broadway hits in Queens; and Puerto Rican rhythms in the Bronx. The series, now in its 42nd year, brings established mainstage artists as well as rising stars of jazz, pop, and world music to communities throughout New York City.
Children and their families can also enjoy a free, interactive Family Day featuring various styles of Latin American music and engaging activities in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing on Sunday, September 24, and a Family Concert on Saturday, October 14 with three stories told through music, performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's and narrated by John Lithgow, premiering works by Caroline Shaw and Robert Xavier Rodriguez as well as Prokofiev's classic Peter and the Wolf.
AT Carnegie Hall:
FALL FAMILY DAYS: RHYTHMS OF LATIN AMERICA
Sunday, September 24 at 12:00 p.m.
Resnick Education Wing
Carnegie Hall celebrates families by offering free, interactive, and fun musical activities in its Resnick Education Wing. Families have the opportunity to enjoy live performances, build handmade instruments, and sing and dance with professional musicians. Let energetic rhythms guide you on a journey through Latin American music at the Fall Family Day. This event runs from 12 PM to 4 PM. Drop by for a visit or stay through the day for a musical adventure of your choice. Admission is granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
Carnegie Hall FAMILY CONCERT: PETER AND THE WOLF AND OTHER STORIES
Saturday, October 14 at 2:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Orchestra of St. Luke's returns to Carnegie Hall with three family-friendly stories for orchestra and narrator: Prokofiev's classic Peter and the Wolf; Caroline Shaw's adaptation of The Mountain That Loved a Bird by Alice McLerran, commissioned by Carnegie Hall; and Robert Xavier Rodriguez's take on a favorite children's book, The Dot and the Line by Norton Juster, co-commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Renowned actor John Lithgow narrates all three stories, bringing children's literature to life with classical music and vibrant visuals.
THROUGHOUT NEW YORK CITY:
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: JUANA MOLINA
Saturday, September 16 at 4:00 p.m.
El Museo del Barrio
1230 Fifth Avenue (at 104th Street) | Manhattan
Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Molina's music is dreamlike: a blend of ethereal vocals and languid rhythms, accented with a delicate electronica filigree. A favorite of such visionary artists as
David Byrne and Will Oldham, she won international acclaim with her album Tres Cosas, called one of the top 10 records of 2004 by
The New York Times. Molina continues to weave a spell with Halo, her "gloriously misty (and mystical) new album" (NPR).
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: LOCOS POR JUANA
Saturday, October 7 at 5:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Museum
Rubin Pavilion
200 Eastern Parkway (at Washington Avenue) | Brooklyn
"Locos por Juana pulls listeners into a reverse Gulf Stream churning through the Straits of Florida south to Jamaica, Venezuela and Colombia, and over to Puerto Rico," said the Los Angeles Times. Vocalist Itagui Correa, guitarist Mark Kondrat, and drummer Javier Delgado form the band's core, though they frequently incorporate trombone and percussion soloists. This Grammy-nominated, bilingual, Latin jam-band draws on the diverse backgrounds of its members, riffing on traditional Colombian rhythms and tapping into reggae, ragga, dub, hip-hop, rock, and funk traditions to deliver what Kondrat calls "island swing."
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: THE George Gee SWING ORCHESTRA
Friday, October 13 at 8:00 p.m.
Flushing Town Hall
Main Theater
137-35 Northern Boulevard | Queens
"It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," goes the eternal lyric. The
George Gee Swing Orchestra's brand of big-band music delivers plenty of swing, rocking rhythms, and razor sharp musicianship to set pulses racing. Bandleader Gee honors the great swing tradition immortalized by
Glenn Miller,
Count Basie, and (of course)
Duke Ellington, but puts his own stamp on the music. The band's latest album is called Swing Makes You Happy-just hear them and you will smile.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: PLENA LIBRE
Friday, November 3 at 7:30 p.m.
The Bronx Museum of the Arts
Lower Gallery
1040 Grand Concourse (at 165th Street) | Bronx
Plena Libre performances are thrilling showcases, with hand drummers pounding out mesmerizing beats, raucous horns raising the roof, and swirling and soaring three-part vocal harmonies. Masters of the traditional Puerto Rican plena and bomba styles, Plena Libre fuses these traditions with modern Afro-Caribbean influences to put a new and always electrifying spin on this scintillating music. The Boston Herald described Plena Libre's performances as "a mad weave of polyrhythms that simply sizzle." Come and experience the heat.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: Jason Danieley
Sunday, November 12 at 3:00 p.m.
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center at LaGuardia Community College
Mainstage Theater
31-10 Thomson Avenue | Queens
Whether performing in a Broadway musical or as a concert soloist,
Jason Danieley dazzles whenever he raises his voice. Called "the most exquisite tenor on Broadway" (
The New York Times), he made his Broadway debut in the 1997 revival of Bernstein's Candide, earning him a Theatre World Award. Since that debut, he has made memorable appearances in Curtains, The Full Monty, Brigadoon, a
Carnegie Hall performance of South Pacific, and more. Danieley is also making his mark with television appearances on PBS's
Great Performances and Live from Lincoln Center.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: ENSEMBLE CONNECT
Sunday, November 12 at 5:00 p.m.
Our Saviour's Atonement Lutheran Church
178 Bennett Avenue (at 189th Street) | Manhattan
Schubert's Octet and the daring music of such cutting edge composers as
Meredith Monk, Steve Reich, and Hans Zender represent just some of Ensemble Connect's extensive repertoire. The critics have taken notice:
The New York Times called them "the new face of classical music," while New York Classical Review said they are "one of the strongest ensembles in the city." These exciting young musicians are members of a fellowship program that prepares them for careers as innovative performers, teachers, and advocates for music in the 21st century.
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: Martha Redbone ROOTS PROJECT
Monday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
Langston Hughes Auditorium
515 Malcolm X Boulevard (at 135th Street) | Manhattan
Martha Redbone fuses Native American soul, Piedmont blues, and Appalachian folk to create a stirring and unique style of music. Memories of growing up in Clinch Mountain, Virginia, and Harlan County, Kentucky-where she embraced her Cherokee and Choctaw roots-inspired "Americana's next superstar" (The Village Voice). Her soulful vocals have drawn listeners to the heart of American roots music, and inspired Living Colour's legendary guitarist Vernon Reid to exclaim, "Martha's voice itself is the sound of the dreams of hills and rivers."
NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: JOSHUA BLUE
CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS
Saturday, November 18 at 5:00 p.m.
St. Michael's Church
515 Malcolm X Boulevard (at 135th Street) | Manhattan
Tenor Joshua Blue does double duty on the concert stage and in the opera house. The first-place winner of the 2017 Lyndon Woodside Oratorio-Solo Competition, Blue is also a Gerdine Young Artist with the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. His concert performances include Bach's Mass in B-Minor and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. He has sung tenor roles in operas by Mozart, Donizetti, Puccini, Britten, and others. Pianist Christopher Reynolds is a prizewinning recitalist and a staff member of The Juilliard School, where he specializes in vocal work.
This concert is part of the
Marilyn Horne legacy at
Carnegie Hall.
For more information about family programming presented by Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute, visit carnegiehall.org/For_Families. For more information about Neighborhood Concerts and a full schedule, go to carnegiehall.org/NeighborhoodConcerts.
