Sonya Cohen Cramer (1965-2015), the singular vocalist, graphic designer, and art director is being honored again with the new track “When I Was Most Beautiful,” ahead of the first-ever collection dedicated fully to her music, You’ve Been a Friend to Me, releasing on May 17 via Smithsonian Folkways.
Sonya Cohen Cramer was raised in a family committed to revitalizing the oldest songs of the American musical canon. Like her father John Cohen of The New Lost City Ramblers and her mother Penny Seeger, she believed in the transformative qualities of folk songs and traditional ballads. She has collaborated with her aunt Peggy Seeger, uncle Pete Seeger, Elizabeth Mitchell, Daniel Littleton, and the folk-fusion group Last Forever. She was the granddaughter of musicologist Charles Seeger and the avant-garde composer Ruth Crawford Seeger, and her godfather was Folkways founder Moe Asch. While shaped by the roots of her family tree, the radiating and clear sound of Cramer’s voice is distinctly her own.
Known mainly for her graphic design work for Folkways, her musicianship during her time in the New York Times-acclaimed folk band Last Forever (featuring composer and producer Dick Connette) was admired by the likes of Jeff Buckley, Loudon Wainwright III, Meredith Monk, and Joe Boyd. The upcoming project reveals her life as both a familial and mission symbol of the Folkways ethos, committed to revitalizing the oldest songs of Folkways Records and the American musical canon.
“When I Was Most Beautiful” incorporates lyrics from a poem Pete Seeger found while on tour in Japan in 1967 and got permission to record in the 60s for Columbia Records. Seeger accompanies Sonya on guitar for this version. The two performed this anti-war tune together at the Library of Congress in 2007.
For more information about Sonya Cohen Cramer visit here.
After an extraordinary 30-year career with the Bardavon, Chris Silva is set to retire as Executive Director on December 31, 2024.
Bardavon, photo by Tim Lee.
Arts Consulting Group will facilitate a national search for a new Executive Director. Board members and full-time Bardavon employees will aid in ensuring that the new Executive Director continues the transformational momentum of Bardavon & UPAC that began over three decades ago.
Stephen LaMarca, Managing Director of Theatre Production, joined Bardavon full-time in 1994 and will retire in December. AnnMarie Faust, Managing Director of Finance, joined Silva and LaMarca the same year and retired in March 2024.
The trio operated as a dynamic and successful team for over three decades. Together, they accomplished much, including twenty-two million dollars in capital renovations between the two historic theaters. In addition, nearly three million patrons have attended Bardavon-produced events over the last thirty years and some of the world’s greatest artists have graced the stages; from Aretha Franklin, Bob Dylan, Diana Ross, and Carlos Santana to Al Pacino, John Legend, Jon Batiste and Yo-Yo Ma. The Bardavon/UPAC education programs routinely reach 20,000 young people every year.
Silva and LaMarca will remain involved with the Bardavon as program consultants and will work directly with the new Executive Director. While they will no longer oversee daily operations, “…we are fortunate to have a great staff, and aspects of all our jobs have been or are being absorbed by our team right now,” Silva stated. He is confident of the organization’s future success with the staff and board they have curated and the dedication they have instilled into the foundation of the Bardavon since 1994.
For information about the Executive Director position opening, visit here.
The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, a trailblazing arts immersion program for early-career string musicians, composers, and choreographers, is launching its expansive 12th season from June 1–14, 2024.
The Next Festival of Emerging Artists, founded in 2013, provides 20 young string performers (ages 20-30) with a countryside residency, a New York performance tour, and a groundbreaking cross-disciplinary workshop with early-career composers and choreographers chosen by leaders in the field.
The Next Festival has supported more than 250 emerging artists. Collaborating directly with major composers and performing alongside leading soloists, Fellows dramatically expand their network. Festival alumni become working musicians, leaders, and socially conscious citizens. Past participants include performers with the Handel and Haydn Society, the Executive Director of Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and Le Concert des Nations, Malmo Symphony Orchestra (Sweden).
The Festival supports Fellows through a radical “pay-what-you-can” model, ensuring that talent can participate regardless of financial circumstances. The Next Festival commissions new compositions by established and early career composers, presenting over 75 guest artists since 2013, including Pulitzer, GRAMMY, and MacArthur award winners.
PS21 Performance. Photo by Steven Taylor.
The Festival features nine premieres in two weeks by some of today’s most exciting composers, including Curtis Stewart, Michael Dudley Jr., Rebecca Saunders, and Next Festival Artistic Director Peter Askim.
Two-time GRAMMY nominee Seth Parker Woods, “a cellist of prodigious technical gifts and sharp intellect” (The New York Times), appears as the 2024 Festival Guest Artist. The artists participate in recording sessions of the newly-commissioned works and take part in multi-disciplinary collaborations with composers and choreographers, including Pulitzer Prize and GRAMMY-winning composer Aaron Jay Kernis, along with Peter Askim, and Choreography Mentor Sidra Bell.
Woods has collaborated with a wide range of artists representing the classical, popular music, and visual art worlds and has been nominated for two GRAMMY Awards, first in 2023 as a member of the celebrated new music ensemble Wild Up, and again in 2024 for his autobiographical solo tour-de-force, Difficult Grace (Cedille 2023).
Seth Parker Woods. Photo by Ben Gibbs.
On Friday, June 7, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at PS21/Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, NY, and Saturday, June 8, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center in NYC, Peter Askim leads an orchestra of String Performance Fellows in a program of three new world premiere commissions: Essay #1: Leave the People by GRAMMY nominee Curtis Stewart, …there is yet beauty by ASCAP Award-winning Michael R. Dudley, and a new work by Askim.
The evening concludes with Herencia, a deeply personal ode to hybrid cultural identities by cellist Andrea Casarrubios and the East Coast Premiere of the wildly unpredictable Ire: Concerto for Cello, Strings, and Percussion by Rebecca Saunders with Woods as soloist.
Co-commissioned with the American Composers Orchestra and workshopped in 2023 EarShot Readings, Dudley’s …there is yet beauty is meant to evoke hope amidst chaos, within both the musicians and audience.
Michael R. Dudley. Photo by Anna Marshall.
Curtis Stewart’s Essay #1: Leave the People takes the audience through a multi-part logical argument about the nature of academia in classical music: who is remembered, who is lauded, who is leading the way? Who is used and who is left behind, and does it matter? Stewart was inspired to write the piece after the lawsuits around affirmative action directed at schools. “So, I asked myself: What would American music be without Blackness? What would American conservatories be without blackness? What would American classical music be without blackness?” he said.
Andrea Casarrubios’ Herencia was commissioned by the Sphinx Organization and is the Spanish translation for both “inheritance” and “heritage.”
For this work, my inspiration was not a particular musical ‘heritage’ or genre; rather, it was the artists who would be playing it. I envisioned the remarkable musicians of Sphinx Virtuosi taking the stage to play this piece, and I thought of how each individual has trailing behind them a unique history of unfathomable complexity; an epic that they bring to bear in every moment of performance. I also imagined the way this collection of histories would one day coalesce with a shared intention to illuminate their world — your world — with music.
Andrea Casarrubios.
Askim’s new work is a study in emotional cross-currents – music that is at times unyielding and relentless, soaring and transcendent: breathless, cascading, exuberant, and complicated – but always in motion.
Saunders’ Ire (2012) is the last in a series of three-string works, exploring the sonic potential of a tiny fragment of sound, the trill. The composer says of the piece, “The sonic potential is pushed almost to breaking point, the bow revealing again and again the fast quasi-mechanical manic trilling sound that lies hidden beneath the surface of silence.”
The following week, young composers and choreographers at the beginning of their careers, selected by Aaron Jay Kernis, Sidra Bell, and Askim, are invited for workshops at Gibney Dance Studio in NYC. The Next Festival’s 2024 Choreographer, Composer and String Performance Fellows premiere new music and dance works in a free, public showing at the studio on Thursday, June 13, 2024, at 3:00 pm.
This is the culmination of a week-long workshop, consisting of rehearsals, collaboration, and spontaneous creation, aided by mentors Aaron Jay Kernis, Askim, and choreographer Sidra Bell. The composers will guide Composer Fellows in new music to be played by the Festival’s String Performance Fellows alongside new dance works supported by Bell. The workshop’s unique structure focuses on developing new languages to work across disciplinary boundaries, prioritizing processes rather than a finished product.
For more information about the Next Festival, visit here.
Billie Eilish has announced two album listening parties in support of her highly-anticipated third studio album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, set for release on May 17. The free events presented by American Express, and produced by Live Nation, will take place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday, May 15 in association with YouTube Music and at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, CA, on Thursday, May 16 in association with Snapchat.
HIT ME HARD AND SOFT album cover by William Drumm.
Tickets will be available through Ticketmaster HERE. Fans can request up to two tickets for the free Billie Eilish listening parties in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. Requests must be submitted by Tuesday, May 7 at noon ET. Submissions do not guarantee tickets to the event. Confirmations will be sent out on Friday, May 10.
Described by Rolling Stone as “Eilish’s best album yet,” her third record is her most anticipated yet. Itwill be available on all digital platforms, and in a continued effort to minimize waste and combat climate change; across all physical formats in limited variants on the same day, with the same track-listing and using 100% recyclable materials.
Photo by William Drumm.
The listening party announcements come after Billie Eilish announced her HIT ME HARD AND SOFT tour, coming to Madison Square Garden on Oct. 16, 17, and 18. She will continue her long-standing partnership with environmental nonprofit REVERBon this tour, building on the success of previous efforts, which resulted in over $1 million donated to greenhouse gas reduction and climate justice projects, more than 150,000 fan actions, and much more. Sustainability efforts on this tour will include reducing greenhouse gas pollution, decreasing single-use plastic waste, supporting climate action, and updating concession offerings to promote and encourage plant-based food options with Support+Feed.
The third annual Wilmington Mountain Music Festival lineup has been announced, featuring a diverse lineup of five bands, and the beloved Smoke Show Firedancers as evening entertainment on July 27.
There will also be a lot of local food, beer/wine, and coffee vendors on site to keep you fed and hydrated throughout the day. The Wilmington Mountain Music Festival is a family-friendly and community-minded event, so grab chairs and blankets and get ready for a truly amazing show, the Wilmington way: tons of fun with our community members and visitors.
Acts performing at the festival #1 Bon Jovi Tribute Band – Don Jovi, the Van Halen Tribute Band -Completely Unchained, Taylor LaValley, The Midnight Stargazers, and Merle Jam.
The 2024 NY Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks lineup has been announced. Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, it will take place from June 11–14, 2024.
Photo by Chris Lee.
Conductor Thomas Wilkins leads four free outdoor concerts at Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx (June 11); the Great Lawn in Central Park, Manhattan (June 12); Cunningham Park, Queens (June 13); and Prospect Park, Brooklyn (June 14). The program includes Beethoven’s Egmont Overture; Felix Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor, featuring Randall Goosby — who made his NY Phil debut on a Young People’s Concert at age 13 — as soloist; Elgar’s Wand of Youth Overture; the New York Premiere of Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances; Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio espagnol; and works by New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Dalya Shaman and David Wright. All four outdoor performances begin at 8:00 p.m. and conclude with fireworks by Santore’s World Famous Fireworks.
The Concerts in the Parks series has become an iconic New York summer experience since it began in 1965. It transformed parks across the city into a patchwork of picnickers and allowed them to hear classical music under the stars. More than 15 million listeners have been delighted by the performances since their inception.
The 2024 Concerts in the Parks marks Wilkin’s first time conducting the event, making his NY Philharmonic debut in 2015. He has since conducted and hosted numerous Young People’s Concerts, and returns in October 2024 for the Philharmonic’s exploration of Afromodernism on a program that features a New York Premiere by Nathalie Joachim and a reprise of Carlos Simon’s Four Black American Dances.
Following the Concerts in the Parks, musicians from the New York Philharmonic will perform a Free Indoor Concert on Sunday, June 16, 2024, at 4:00 p.m., at St. George Theatre in Staten Island. The program includes Clarke’s Prelude, Allegro, and Pastorale for clarinet and viola; Mozart’s Oboe Quartet; and Prokofiev’s Quintet.
The New York Philharmonic’s annual Concerts in the Parks, Presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer, are always a highlight of our year. It is a joy to see tens of thousands of New Yorkers turn out to enjoy free concerts under the stars, creating a sense of community and shared experience that is rare and vital. We are deeply grateful to Didi and Oscar, the visionary and generous couple whose love of music and of New York City’s parks is essential to making possible the ambitious tour of our hometown.
NY Phil President & CEO Gary Ginstling.
Admission to the 2024 Concerts in the Parks is free, and tickets are not required. Admission to the Free Indoor Concert in Staten Island is free. Tickets are required and are available here.
GRAMMY-winning production house PARMA Recordings announced its acquisition of Albany Records, with PARMA assuming responsibility for Albany operations and catalog administration.
Albany Records is a record label that concentrates on unconventional contemporary classical music by American composers and musicians, established by Peter Kermani in 1987, based in Albany.
Albany’s catalog will be available alongside releases from PARMA’s Navona, Ravello, Big Round, and Ansonica Record labels. The acquisition aligns with and further strengthens PARMA’s offerings, adding new depth to diverse recordings. Through this, Albany’s catalog will continue to resonate with classical music enthusiasts for years. PARMA has updated and relaunched Albany’s website, maintaining the presence of Albany’s celebrated catalog with updated aesthetics, new features, and more.
PARMA Recordings specializes in high-quality audio production, social media promotion, digital advertising, website design and development, and multimedia creation. Their international team works with a diverse roster of creative types across several independent record labels to make compelling music and media in an innovative, engaging, and entertaining way.
We are honored to welcome Albany Records into the PARMA family. Albany’s historical focus on excellence and innovation in the arts mirrors our own values at PARMA. We are committed to upholding Albany’s legacy, and to ensuring that their extraordinary catalog of classical music continues to reach new audiences.
PARMA CEO Bob Lord.
Albany founders Peter Kermani and Susan Bush, who will continue to serve as artistic directors for the label, shared their thoughts on the transition. “Albany’s journey over the past few decades has been one of passion and dedication,” said Kermani. “Seeing it find a new home with PARMA, an institution that shares our vision for the future of classical music, is immensely gratifying.”
“We’ve always believed in preserving the traditions and integrity of classical music while also making room for new voices,” added Bush. “With PARMA, Albany’s legacy is in good hands.”
Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) is pleased to announce the 23rd annual River To River Festival from June 7 – 23, 2024.
Celebrating local artists and honoring creative diversity across disciplines, The River To River Festival is Downtown New York City’s leading free summer arts festival. This year’s River To River Festival aligns with LMCC’s 50th-anniversary celebrations.
Created in the aftermath of 9/11 to heal and celebrate New Yorkers’ resiliency through the power of art, the River To River Festival is an opportunity for New Yorkers to engage with their local artistic community across disciplines, all for free. A champion of independent artmaking since 1973, and the driving force behind this unique festival for over 20 years, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council has been a proud proponent of the experimentation and exploration that the festival provides to the community. LMCC is marking five decades of championing independent artists and fostering vibrant cultural communities throughout New York City.
Manhattan’s Arts Council, LMCC has expanded its work and reach beyond Lower Manhattan and LMCC now serves the entirety of the borough, from Governors Island to Inwood. 50 years on, the organization stands as a pillar of strength, boasting renowned artist service programs and a rich and diverse alumni community. LMCC has sustained the city’s arts landscape, spearheading cultural revitalization efforts in the Financial District after 9/11 and securing essential resources for artist communities affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
River to River 2023 Closing Concert. Photo credit: Cherylynn Tsushima.
In honor of this milestone, the 2024 festival features LMCC residency and grants alumni from the Extended Life program working across disciplines, with a captivating array of dance, music, video, installation, and exhibitions that reflect the interdisciplinary, diverse ethos of LMCC. Featuring 13 projects of live art, performances, and participatory events (including seven premieres) in public spaces throughout Downtown New York, the 2024 River To River Festival explores themes of resonance, reconsideration, and resistance.
2024 River To River Artists include mayfield brooks, Jesi Cook, Leslie Cuyjet, Miguel Gutierrez, Kayla Hamilton and Kate Speer, John P. Hastings, NIC Kay, jaamil olawale kosoko, Samita Sinha, Elisabeth Smolarz, Nattie Trogdon + Hollis Bartlett, Stories from the Stoop & Billion Oyster Project, and LMCC’s Workspace. 2023-24 Artists-in-Residence are Francheska Alcántara, Blanka Amezkua, Lucas Baisch, Elvira Clayton, Francisco Donoso, SaraNoa Mark, Miriam Simun, Corinne Spencer, Alex Strada, Cici Wu, and Jessica Lagunas
Events range from the local and participatory, the open and artistic, to the sweet and memory-laden, as in the cases of Love for NYC Waterways: Stories from the Stoop, in partnership with Billion Oyster Project. It is a Moth-style storytelling and open mic event that celebrates the legacy of the Blackwater stewards of New York, and Elisabeth Smolarz’s (2012 artist-in-residence) presentation of ice cream flavors inspired by her experiences during her 2012 artist residency on Governors Island.
Nile Harris. Photo by Cherylynn Tsushima.
Other highlights include Samita Sinha’s June 20 performance of Tremor. This special iteration is performed in a duet with Cecilia Vicuña presented in the historic and resonant space of Federal Hall. Sinha and Vicuña infuse their vibrations and lineages into the dense history and monumentality of the site, opening other ways of sensing, knowing, being, and being together.
Honored this year with LMCC’s 2024 Sam Miller Award for Performing Art, celebrated choreographer Miguel Gutierrez will present THE POWER OF THE BOUNCE on June 7. An interactive, high-energy dance performance complete with group choreography, aerobics, and costumes, come in costume and learn the famous “Aerobicon” dance that Miguel created to Le Tigre’s “Deceptacon” in 2000.
Doing more than double duty, choreographer mayfield brooks will use found objects, sound, light, movement, and projection to conjure an abyssal underwater world that transforms the formerly munitions storage warehouse into an imagined site of a decomposed whale. Both presentations are a culmination of brooks’ project Whale Fall, originally commissioned by Abrons Arts Center and virtually premiered as an experimental dance film in 2021 during the height of the pandemic.
Dates, times, and locations are subject to change—be sure to check here for up-to-date information. Please note that all events are free, but due to limited capacity, some require advance registration. RSVPs open May 21, 2024.
2024 marks ten years of Live Nation’s highly celebrated Concert Week. Music and comedy fans in the U.S. and Canada can purchase $25 tickets between May 8-14, getting access to over 5,000 Live Nation shows, including several in Buffalo.
In honor of its milestone anniversary, Live Nation also announced its global expansion of Concert Week to over 20 countries in addition to North America this year, including those in Australia, Asia, Europe, the UK, and the Middle East. Across the globe, Live Nation will celebrate Concert Week throughout May with other special offers, promotions, and giveaways for fans.
For fans in the U.S. and Canada, this annual program marks the start of the summer concert season, creating excitement among concertgoers as they gear up to fill their calendars with unforgettable live performances from their favorite artists. Concert Week tickets include all fees upfront in the $25 all-in cost.
This limited-time ticket offer encompasses over 900 artists in pop, Latin, hip-hop, country, R&B, rock, metal, electronic, comedy, and more. From 21 Savage, Alanis Morissette, Cage The Elephant, Celeste Barber, Dan + Shay, Dierks Bentley, Feid, Janet Jackson, Meghan Trainor, New Kids On The Block, Peso Pluma, Sean Paul, Thirty Seconds to Marsand beyond. Concert Week offers something for everyone and features venues of all sizes from clubs and theaters to amphitheaters and arenas.
Tickets for Concert Week in the U.S. will be available starting with T-Mobile and Rakuten early access beginning on Tuesday, May 7. The general on-sale for Concert Week will begin on Wednesday, May 8 at 10 am ET through Tuesday, May 14 at 11:59 pm, or while supplies last.
The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival is excited to inaugurate its 26th season with a special Mother’s Day program featuring the acclaimed Ariel Quartet – taking place on Sunday, May 12th at 4 pm at Christ Episcopal Church in Cooperstown.
Ariel Quartet (PC Marco Borggreve).
Renowned for their passionate performances and remarkable artistry, the Ariel Quartet will surely captivate the Cooperstown audience with a program featuring Ravel’s evocative String Quartet and Schumann’s masterful String Quartet No. 3. Attendees will also indulge in classic French madeleine cookies, adding sweetness to the occasion.
Founded in 1999 by flutist Linda Chesis, the Cooperstown Summer Music Festival has been bringing world-class chamber music performances to the Cooperstown area for decades. The festival has featured performances by the American, Juilliard, St. Lawrence, Jupiter and Jasper, String Quartets, and more. Concerts are held in venues across Cooperstown, including the grand Otesaga Hotel, The Farmers’ Museum, and Christ Church, the church of author James Fenimore Cooper.
We’re delighted to present the Ariel Quartet for this special event. Schumann’s quartet with its ‘Clara motif’ expressing his deep love for his wife, is a fitting choice for Mother’s Day. Clara Schumann was a remarkable woman and modern-day inspiration who balanced a thriving career as a touring concert pianist and celebrated composer with managing a household and their eight children. Clara’s motif is a testament to her enduring influence on her husband’s life and music.
Linda Chesis, Artistic Director of CSMF.
“We’re thrilled to be part of the festival and celebrate Mother’s Day with music,” said the members of the Ariel Quartet. “We look forward to sharing our love of chamber music and honoring the mothers who have enriched our lives.”
Tickets are $30 for adults and $15 for students and children. Tickets can be purchased in advance either online or over the phone by calling Purplepass Tickets at 800-316-8559 and selecting Option 1. Please note there is a $2 service fee per phone order. Tickets will also be sold at the door, as available.
