NYS Music 202​2

Tag: For Children Of All Ages

  • Festival of Possibilities to Begin on July 16 in NYC

    On July 16 and 17, The Foundation for New American Art will present the Festival of Possibilities to the Lower East Side at The Clemente Solo Velez Cultural & Education Center.

    Over the course of the two-day event, audiences can experience performances from artists all over the world, including from Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The festival is family-friendly and free for all to attend. On Saturday, July 16, the event will run from 7 pm to 10 pm and Saturday programming will run from 11 am to 5 pm.

    The first day of the festival includes Tamir Hargana, a Mongolian Throat Singer, Columbian vocalist Maria Raquel, and Salieu Suso, an “edu-tainer” from Africa. After each of the performances, Phoebe Legere, the President of the Foundation for New American Art, will interview the artists in Spanish and English as well as act as Master of Ceremonies during the entirety of the event.

    On Sunday, the festival continues with a full day of programming. There will be fun and educational activities and workshops for all. Some of the programs include Mongolian singing, Cumbia Villera, art workshops, drumming, Zen tango, puppets, dancing, and more. The finale of the event will see a performance from a pan-Latin Dance Orchestra.

    Foundation for New American Art in NYC is using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.

    -NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers

    The Foundation for New American Art is a nonprofit organization in NYC that is passionate about providing spaces for the artists of tomorrow. The multi-cultural arts, music, and educational Festival of Possibilities is a great way to do just that. For a full list of programming and more information, visit the organization’s website.

  • Flushing Town Hall Welcomes Sonia De Los Santos for Family-Friendly Concert on June 24

    On Friday, June 24 at 4:00 pm and 7:15 pm, Grammy-nominated Latin singer Sonia De Los Santos will perform her bilingual songs at Flushing Town Hall, as part of the Hall’s month-long Queens Rising celebration which highlights the borough’s cultural and creative diversity.

    Sonia De Los Santos
    Photo Courtesy of Hyphen Photography

    The performance will feature Sonia De Los Santos (vocals, guitar, jarana), Sinuhé Padilla-Isunza (leona, jarana), Elena Moon Park (violin, trumpet), Erica Kika Parra (drums), Berta Moreno (sax, clarinet), Fernando Brindis (bass), and Argelia Arreola (zapateado, jarana). 

    Both performances are family-friendly, and the group shares uplifting messages with Latin rhythms, body percussion, and traditional, Mexican folk dance demonstrations. The concert will offer parents and children a chance to celebrate the end of a long school year, and all that they have accomplished.

    Originally from Monterrey, Mexico, Sonia De Los Sonto’s music career took off when she began touring with Grammy-winning kids’ music troubadour Dan Zanes in 2007.  In 2015, she released her first solo family music album, Mi Viaje: De Nuevo León to the New York Island to rave reviews. The album received the Parents’ Choice Foundation Gold Award and reflects on her experiences growing up and preserving her own heritage in a different country.

    In 2019, Sonia De Los Santos was nominated for a Latin Grammy with her second family music album, ¡Alegría!. She and her band have since performed throughout the country, including at the Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, The Getty Museum, Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and many more.

    Santos’ recently released third album, Esperanza, is a bilingual collection of songs about hope, cherishing home, being grateful, dreaming of a better future, marveling at nature, and finding the light within ourselves. The musician and band are sure to make audiences smile with their encouraging messages and community pride.

    Flushing Town Hall is excited to welcome families to celebrate our city’s school children with this fun concert. We are all so proud of their resilience and accomplishments this past school year! It’s time to kick off summer with these amazing and engaging performers.

    Flushing Town Hall Executive & Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek

    Flushing Town Hall has advocated for arts equity since 1979 and supports local, immigrant, national, and international artists with their programming. The Hall is also a proud member of the Cultural Institutions Group which is a collective of 34 non-profits committed to serving all New Yorkers. 

    Flushing Town Hall is accessible by car, bus, train, and foot. Access for wheelchair users and individuals with limited mobility is also available.

    Tickets for the event can be purchased at flushingtownhall.org.

  • Hudson Festival Orchestra Announces Free Community Concert

    On July 30, Hudson Festival Orchestra (HFO) will hold the first-ever “Hudson in Concert: A Community Celebration” in the scenic Henry Hudson Riverfront Park.

    The free event will begin at 4pm, with a range of opening ensemble performances. The opening acts feature traditional Latin music, songs from Bangladesh, and a new ragtime performance.

    At 7pm, Hudson Festival Orchestra will kick off their performance with a rousing community drum circle to introduce the first piece, Aaron Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man. Hudson Festival Orchestra invites all community members to bring along a drum or hand instrument to join right in.

    The 57-piece orchestra will play other cultural favorites spanning many different backgrounds in celebration of community. Some of these include Gospel, Latin music, Cuban danzon, Argentine tango, Ragtime, Indian classical music, and more.

    I believe that music and culture can bridge divides and build community. I envision this as an annual musical event bringing area residents together through a live musical celebration of our shared American and diverse cultural heritages in a glorious natural setting on the Hudson River!

    -HFO Founder and Artistic Director Gwen Gould

    The concert will be performed in a beautiful setting. Under a tent set-up overlooking the river and the mountains, attendees can enjoy the scenery as they take in the performances.

    The Hudson Festival Orchestra also invites attendees of all ages to partake in the event. During intermission, children may join “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic” parade (behind an actual life-size teddy bear) to a picnic with treats and snacks for all.

    To start the second half of the performance and express solidarity with Ukraine, the Hudson Festival Orchestra will perform the Ukrainian National Anthem. After more music and performances, the concert will conclude at 9 pm.

    Although this is the first “Hudson in Concert: A Community Celebration,” Hudson Festival Orchestra hopes to make the series an annual free event for all in the future.

  • You and Us Announce First children’s Album ‘For Children of All Ages’

    “You and Us” will release its first children’s album, For Children Of All Ages, on February 14, 2022. Nicole Porter, a clinical art therapist, musician and president of the New York Art Therapy Association, encourages children with pandemic trauma to listen to the album for healing.

    For Children Of All Ages

    Components of The Album

    “You and Us” presents an album with the vibe of mostly upbeat rock, country and pop music. Consisting of numerous melodies, the album illustrates an enchanting adventure for listeners. For Children of All Ages, begins with a folksy opener, “Nowhere Now Here”, to the Nashville country vibe of “Safety and Security”. Furthermore, children will discover the evocative, mystical sounds in “Social Connection” and more variations throughout the album.

    Inspiration For Art Therapy

    Porter took a leap into child therapy, following the Sandy Hook School shooting in Newton, Connecticut in 2012. Evidently children across the U.S. had anxiety following the incident. However, psychologists and credited researchers developed ways to cope, such as CBT for Children.

    For Children of All Ages provides a rare opportunity to enjoy tunes geared toward uplifting children and families who are experiencing difficult times. It focuses on fostering wellness and a sense of security, and it introduces therapeutic techniques that can be used in a playful way with all children. It’s also a gentle dip into the vast stream of possibility that art therapy holds for healing humans.”

    Nicole Porter

    People like Porter were inspired to cultivate change, hence why she established the Emerald Sketch, a mental health organization and art therapy trauma response team. Considering that Porter has a young child of her own, she wished to establish a sense of hope and relief in children. Therefore, her goal with this album is to provide wellness and security, in the midst of the challenges of parenting during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    Colleagues

    Javere Pinnock, longtime collaborator and art therapy trauma responder, produced the album cover art, which depicts a band of mid-pandemic children raising a flag of love and peace. His inspiration derives from the notorious 1945 Joseph Rosenthal photograph, “Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima,” and Felix W. de Weldon’s Marine Corps War Memorial sculpture.

    Additionally, Porter created this album along with musical colleague Wyndham Garnett, to combine their mutual love of vintage British rock and classic American puppetry. The album is infused with powerful messages of courage, love, support, enthusiasm, grace, and more.