Rite of Summer Music Festival Continues This Weekend with Jeffrey Zeigler and Ian David Rosenbaum

Rite of Summer Music Festival continues its sixth stellar season with cellist Jeffrey Zeigler and percussionist Ian David Rosenbaum performing two free shows at 1 & 3pm on Saturday, June 25th.

The program features works by Andy Akiho, JG Thirlwell, Bryce Dessner, Paola Prestini and David T. Little. Taking place at Nolan Park on Governors Island, Rite of Summer presents free outdoor concerts through August curated by Co-Artistic Directors Pam Goldberg and Blair McMillen. In a locale The New York Times has called a "Playground for the Arts," the aim of the Festival is simple: to present the highest quality live performances, and to bring free contemporary classical music to as many people as possible in a relaxed, fun, outdoor setting.

Next up on Saturday, July 23rd, mezzo-soprano Kara Sainz and pianist Peter Dugan will grace audiences with Ginastera, Gershwin, De Falla and Purcell. And on Saturday, August 27th, more than 60 percussionists will come together to perform John Luther Adams's Inuksuit, an epic outdoor piece that has helped to redefine what live musical experience can be in the 21st-century. Rite of Summer will be presenting two afternoon performances of Inuksuit, a work The New York Times has called "the ultimate environmental piece." Greg Saunier of Deerhoof and Brian Chase of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs will join members of TIGUE, Mantra Percussion, Ensemble et al, Sandbox Percussion, Iktus Percussion, Contemporaneous, Loop 2.4.3, Palladium Percussion and students from Stony Brook, Queens College, NYU and Mantra Youth Percussion.

Rite of Summer shows will be presented twice the same day, at 1pm and 3pm, for each respective date. Audiences should feel free to walk by, stop and listen, lay down a picnic blanket and relax, eat lunch, mingle, and take in these engaging live performances.

Governors Island is a short 5-minute ferry ride from South Ferry, in lower Manhattan and a 3-minute ride from Brooklyn Bridge Park. Concerts are free; ferries are $2 after 12pm (free from 10am-12pm on weekends). For a full ferry schedule, visit www.govisland.com.

For more information, visit www.riteofsummer.com.

Jeffrey Zeigler, Cellist - Jeffrey is one of the most versatile cellists of our time. He has commissioned dozens of works, and is admired as a potent collaborator and unique improviser. Described as "fiery," and a player who performs "with unforced simplicity and beauty of tone" by The New York Times, he has recently given several notable premiers by Bryce Dessner, Derek Charke, John King, Paola Prestini, JG Thirlwell, Shara Worden and John Zorn. Recent collaborations include Andy Akiho, Laurie Anderson, Philip

Glass, Hauschka, Vijay Iyer, Glenn Kotche, Kimmo Pohjonen, Foday Musa Suso, Tanya Tagaq and Roomful of Teeth.

Jeffrey Zeigler was the cellist of the internationally renowned Kronos Quartet for eight seasons. Prior to that he was the cellist of the award winning Corigliano Quartet for six seasons.

Mr. Zeigler has released over three dozen recordings for Nonesuch Records, Deutsche Grammophon and Smithsonian Folkways and appears with Norah Jones on her album Not Too Late on Blue Note Records. Zeigler can also be heard on the film soundtrack for Paola Sorrentino's Academy Award winning film, La Grande Bellezza, as well as Clint Mansell's Golden Globe nominated soundtrack, The Fountain, featuring performances with the Scottish band, Mogwai. www.jzcello.com

Ian David Rosenbaum, Percussionist - Praised for his "excellent" and "precisely attuned" performances by The New York Times, percussionist Ian David Rosenbaum has developed a musical breadth far beyond his years. He made his Kennedy Center debut in 2009 and later that year garnered a special prize created for him at the Salzburg International Marimba Competition.

Mr. Rosenbaum joined the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's CMS Two program in 2012 as only the second percussionist they have selected in their history. He has appeared at the Bay Chamber, Bridgehampton, Chamber Music Northwest, Music@Menlo, Norfolk, and Yellow Barn festivals.

Highlights of the 2015-2016 season include a performance of John Luther Adams' evening-length percussion quartet Strange and Sacred Noise, the premiere of Epiphany - a new visual and musical installation at BAM, two performances at the Phillips

Collection, and the debut tour of Music Haul, a mobile concert hall created by the Yellow Barn Chamber Music Festival. This season, Mr. Rosenbaum will also curate a series of programs at National Sawdust, a new venue in Brooklyn.

Mr. Rosenbaum is a member of Sandbox Percussion, HOWL, the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Novus NY, Time Travelers and Le Train Bleu. He has recorded for the Bridge, Innova, Naxos, and Starkland labels and is on the faculty of the Dwight School in Manhattan. Mr. Rosenbaum endorses Vic Firth sticks and mallets. www.iandavidrosenbaum.com