September Bryant Park Picnic Performances to Feature American Symphony Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center & More

Summer may be coming to a close but the Bryant Park Picnic Performances are still warming up with three newly announced free concerts spotlighting new and established voices in the fields of jazz, classical and global pop.

On September 9, Jazz at Lincoln Center will bring a rising star in the jazz world to Bryant Park: the 20 year old trumpeter Summer Camargo, playing with her Sextet.

Following a two year long hiatus, Bryant Park Picnic Performances welcomes back their famous Accordion Festival on September 16 with bands spotlighting masterful free reed instrument players from cultures around the world. Join us for full sets from the Heart of Afghanistan project featuring Afghani music icon Ahmad Fanoos and his sons, who recently relocated to the US from Afghanistan; two Ukrainian ensembles drawing musical inspiration from their home country, the traditional Ukrainian Village Voices and the more experimental Balaklava Blues; and the Mexican Independence Day premiere of Cinco12: The Music of Selena, a project that honors the music of the late and beloved Selena Quintanilla Perez, bringing to life many of Selena's best known songs of love and longing. Just as the "Queen of Tejano" transcended racial, cultural, and linguistic lines, this diverse Brooklyn-based band does the same, made up of well-versed musicians who typically play in the Latin, Balkan, Brazilian, Klezmer, rock, and classical scenes., performing the music of the late pop star Selena, an icon who openly celebrated her Chicana identity and served as a representation for the hopes and aspirations for many. Join us as we honor the accordion as an instrument that overcomes borders with love, hope, freedom, empathy, and fun!

Continuing a partnership forged between the American Symphony Orchestra and the Bryant Park Corporation in the wake of COVID-19, the ASO presents a free concert on September 17 to celebrate its 60th Anniversary with a program of composers who have influenced the artistic landscape of New York and works that were inspired by our city.

These three dates join an already busy September lineup at Bryant Park, including the New York City Opera's abridged presentation of Lucia di Lammermoor on Friday, September 2 and a duet between the acclaimed jazz pianists Aaron Diehl and Orrin Evans - each on their own Steinway piano - on Thursday, September 8.

Attendees to all shows may bring their own food or purchase from a rotating line-up of local NYC vendors curated by Hester Street Fair. COVID-19 vaccinations and masks are not currently required but Bryant Park will continue to monitor and follow updated New York City and New York State COVID-19 guidelines throughout the summer as necessary. Picnic chairs and blankets will be provided at no cost.

The 2022 Picnic Performances season is possible due to the generous support of Bank of America. "Bank of America is a long-standing supporter of the arts because we believe that a thriving arts and cultural community benefits both society and the economy," said José Tavarez, President, Bank of America New York City. "So we are thrilled to once again sponsor Picnic Performances and combine our commitment to the arts with our partnership with Bryant Park. Together we're helping New York City's iconic cultural scene to thrive, while promoting green spaces and providing free access to live New York City music, dance and theater."

Additional performance information follows below. For the most current information please visit bryantpark.org/picnics. For high-resolution images for any of these shows, for more information about the series, artist interviews, or to arrange for on-site photography or press passes, please contact John Seroff at GreenHouse Publicity by replying to this email or at John@GreenHousePublicity.com.

Performance Details

Friday, September 9 at 7pm

Jazz at Lincoln Center: Summer Camargo's Sextet

Jazz at Lincoln Center is proud to bring a rising star in the jazz world to Bryant Park: the 20 year old trumpeter Summer Camargo, playing with her Sextet.

Camargo studies at the Juilliard School, where she majors in Jazz Studies and is a part of the Jerome Greene Fellowship. Born and raised in Hollywood, Florida, Camargo has been a member of the prestigious Grammy Band, Next Generation Women in Jazz Combo, Next Generation Jazz Orchestra, and was named a National YoungArts Foundation Merit winner, and Honorable Mention in Jazz Trumpet, as well as a Merit winner in Jazz Composition. Summer was Downbeat Magazine's Outstanding Student Jazz Performance Award recipient. At the 2017, 2018, and 2019 Essentially Ellington Festivals, she received Outstanding Trumpet Soloist Awards, and in 2018, Summer won the Ella Fitzgerald Outstanding Soloist Award and the Dr. J. Douglas White Student Composition Contest. The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra recorded Camargo's first, original big band chart, Leap Froggin'. and performed as a guest artist for Jazz at Lincoln Center's 'Wynton at 60' program. She was also honored to have the Jazz at Lincoln Orchestra perform her composition, Alalazoo, at the 2022 Jazz at Lincoln Center Gala.

Friday, September 16 at 7pm

Accordion Festival:
Celebrating the cultures of Afghanistan, Ukraine and the US / Mexico border through song

with Heart of Afghanistan, Ukrainian Village Voices, Balaklava Blues and Cinco12: The Music of Selena

Following a two year long hiatus, Bryant Park Picnic Performances welcomes back their famous Accordion Festival on September 16 with bands spotlighting masterful free reed instrument players from cultures around the world. Join us for full sets from the Heart of Afghanistan project featuring Afghani music icon Ahmad Fanoos and his sons, who recently relocated to the US from Afghanistan; two Ukrainian ensembles drawing musical inspiration from their home country, the traditional Ukrainian Village Voices and the more experimental Balaklava Blues; and the Mexican Independence Day premiere of Cinco12: The Music of Selena, performing the music of the late pop star Selena, an icon who openly celebrated her Chicana identity and served as a representation for the hopes and aspirations for many. Join them as they honor the accordion as an instrument that overcomes borders with love, hope, freedom, empathy, and fun!

The Heart of Afghanistan features four brilliant Afghan musicians: famed singer and Afghan TV star Ahmad Fanoos on vocals & harmonium, his sons Elham Fanoos on piano and Mehran Fanoos on violin, and Hamid Habibzada on tabla. Unable to perform inside Afghanistan today, where the Taliban has banned all music, the group, recently reunited, carries the flame of Afghanistan's rich and complex musical heritage, from its pre-Islamic Buddhist period to the modern era. Included in the program will be traditional ghazals based on the Sufi-inspired poetry of Rumi (who was born in Afghanistan), Afghan folk music, and the iconic hits of legendary singer Ahmad Zahir, first recorded in the 60s and 70s and still wildly popular today.

Ukrainian Village Voices (UVV) is a New York City-based collective of Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian singers, whose mission is to preserve and revive the polyphonic singing style of Ukraine's villages. Since 2013, the ensemble has performed for various audiences in the United States and Canada, in venues ranging from folk music festivals to museums, theaters, libraries to street, radio and webcast concerts. UVV has been featured at Brooklyn Folk Festival, Zlatne Uste Golden Festival, Roots n' Ruckus Fest, Saint George Ukrainian Festival, Brooklyn International Music Fest, Yonkers Ukrainian Heritage Festival, and the Ivan Honchar Museum in Kyiv.

Balaklava Blues is the brainchild of Mark and Marichka Marczyk, creators of the multi-award winning guerrilla-folk-opera Counting Sheep and leaders of the mighty Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Canada's notorious 12 piece balkan-party-punk-massive. Falling somewhere between a traditional song cycle and a full blown techno show, the duo fuses Ukrainian polyphony and other folk traditions with EDM, trap, dubstep, and more as a launching pad to explore the seemingly never-ending blues that have long emanated from the Ukrainian steppe. The two met there during the 2014 revolution of dignity and ever since, have dedicated their creative energy to telling the stories of their home country to the world. Their 2015 play Counting Sheep garnered major critical acclaim winning several awards at the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe - including a Fringe First award and Amnesty International's Freedom of Speech award. It has since had multiple successful runs in The US, UK and Germany. Balaklava Blues music is a reclamation of the violence perpetrated on their home country. Through their music, they redesign and remix physical and psychological oppression and question how and why it continues to inform who we are and what we can become.

Cinco12: The Music of Selena is a project that honors the music of the late and beloved Selena Quintanilla Perez, bringing to life many of Selena's best known songs of love and longing. Just as the "Queen of Tejano" transcended racial, cultural, and linguistic lines, this diverse Brooklyn-based band does the same, made up of well-versed musicians who typically play in the Latin, Balkan, Brazilian, Klezmer, rock, and classical scenes.

Featuring:
Jenny Luna (vocals)
Skye Steele (violin, background vocals)
Barrie McClain (background vocals)
Joshua Camp (keys, accordion)
Viva DeConcini (guitar)
Michael Winograd (clarinet, sax)
Mike LaValle (bass)
Neil Ochoa (percussion)
Ashley Baier (drums)

Saturday, September 17 at 7pm

American Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by ASO Music Director Leon Botstein
Performing Aaron Copland, Louise Talma, William Grant Still,
Jacob Druckman and Mahler's arrangements of Bach

Continuing a partnership forged between the American Symphony Orchestra and the Bryant Park Corporation in the wake of COVID-19, the ASO presents a free concert to celebrate its 60th Anniversary with a program of composers who have influenced the artistic landscape of New York and works that were inspired by our city.

The program opens with Aaron Copland's Quiet City, a piece he took from his incidental music to Irwin Shaw's short-lived play by the same name. The drama's plot focused on two brothers who took conflicting life paths; one pursued success in business, while the other aspired to playing the trumpet. American composer Louise Talma's Full Circle, written for pianist Sahan Arzruni and conductor Robert Black in 1985, is constructed in one movement with contrasting sections that revert to the opening of the piece. A teacher at Hunter College for more than 50 years, she was the first woman awarded back-to-back Guggenheims in 1946 and 1947, and the first woman elected to the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters in 1974.

William Grant Still rose to prominence in distinguished music circles when Jim Crow laws pervaded American history, an accomplishment few Black composers of the time could match. His many firsts include the first Black American to conduct a major American orchestra, the first to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, and the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company. In Still's own description of his symphonic tone poem, he says "Darker America, as its title suggests, is representative of the American Negro... and is intended to suggest the triumph of a people over their sorrows through fervent prayer." The work premiered at New York's Aeolian Hall in 1926. Jacob Druckman's Nor Spell Nor Charm is a quote from a song he wrote for his friend, American mezzo-soprano Jan DeGaetani, and is dedicated to her. His numerous connections to New York include professorships at Juilliard, Bard College, and Yale; as well as composer-in-residence for the Aspen Festival, Tanglewood, and the New York Philharmonic.

The program closes with Mahler's Bach Suite, an arrangement of music from Bach's Orchestral Suites Nos. 2 and 3. Mahler puts his own imaginative stamp on the master's music, giving it a symphony-like structure and expanding the role of the continuo keyboard.

Upcoming Bryant Park Picnic Performances

August

August 19: Asian American Arts Alliance: Rafiq Bhatia and Ian Chang
August 26: Habibi Festival: Firas Zreik Trio, Esraa Warda and The Châab Lab, and Yacine Boulares's AJOYO with Special Guest Malika Zarra
August 29: The Town Hall: Eighth Blackbird Celebrates John Cage

September

September 2: New York City Opera: Lucia di Lammermoor
September 8: Steinway Artists Aaron Diehl and Orrin Evans
September 9: Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents Summer Camargo Sextet
September 16: Accordion Festival: Heart of Afghanistan, Ukrainian Village Voices, Balaklava Blues, and Cinco12: The Music of Selena
September 17: American Symphony Orchestra