The New York Philharmonic Will Present FUN AT THE PHIL: SLEEPOVER AT THE MUSEUM

The New York Philharmonic will present Fun at the Phil: Sleepover at the Museum, its first-ever family benefit, March 7, 2020, at 11:00 a.m., conducted by Ankush Kumar Bahl in his Philharmonic debut. The event will honor Karen LeFrak - a Vice Chair of the Philharmonic Board of Directors, author, and composer - for her dedication to the Philharmonic; proceeds will go toward Philharmonic education programs. The one-hour concert for children ages 6-12 will feature a new multimedia orchestral work by Karen LeFrak based on her children's book Sleepover at the Museum, with illustrations by David Bucs, as well as Saint-Saëns's Carnival of the Animals, featuring Philharmonic pianist Eric Huebner and guest pianist Steven Beck. The narrator of Sleepover at the Museum will be announced at a later date.

Released in January 2019, Karen LeFrak's Sleepover at the Museum tells the story of a boy celebrating his birthday with friends at a natural history museum. South Florida Classical Review wrote of the multimedia orchestral work's premiere: "LeFrak's composition retained a sense of purity and simplicity that was fitting to its young target audience."

Karen LeFrak writes: "The music is crafted in a manner that features the different families of orchestral instruments. They depict in sound images, for example, butterflies fluttering their wings, the nobility and grandeur of an old building which houses a museum, the might and alarm of dinosaurs, the children's pure hearts, curiosity of minds, and the amazement in their eyes."

The New York Philharmonic performed Karen LeFrak's A Bite of the Apple on Young People's Concerts in 2015, in New York and Shanghai, and her String Serenade in 2014 in Shanghai. In 2006 she published Jake the Philharmonic Dog, her first book designed to teach children about the performing arts.

Tickets start at $25 (ticket prices subject to change).

Tickets to New York Philharmonic performances may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the David Geffen Hall Box Office. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m.