Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute Announces New WELL-BEING CONCERT SERIES As Part Of 2023–2024 Season

Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) has announced that a new series of concerts exploring the impact that live music can have on individual and collective well-being has been added to its 2023–2024 season.

Following pilot concerts last season, WMI will present eight curated Well-Being Concerts in the months ahead featuring artists including cellist Joshua Roman, countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo, trumpeter Sean Jones, flutist and vocalist Nathalie Joachim, Kinan Azmeh's CityBand, and others, that amplify the social, physical, and emotional benefits of musical performances. Seven of the concerts will take place in Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Room with one additional concert on February 4 featuring trumpeter Sean Jones, and his NYO Jazz All-Star Quartet, presented in the Hall's Zankel Hall Center Stage. In addition, private Well-Being Concerts, featuring these same artists as well as mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato, are offered for groups of veterans, healthcare workers, seniors, researchers, policymakers, and other invited community members.

The Well-Being Concert series was sparked by findings that a significant percentage of Americans who suffer from anxiety and depression each year don't receive care due to a variety of barriers including a shortage of behavioral health providers and financial burden. Research shows that this disproportionately effects people of color, who have similar rates of behavioral health disorders but substantially lower access to mental health services than the general population. Inspired by evidence that music can help people heal and thrive, along with Carnegie Hall's mission to bring the transformative power of music to the widest possible audience, the Well-Being Concert series creates a new platform to evaluate, optimize, and share the joy and benefits of musical engagement with individuals and communities who might not otherwise have access. For more than a decade, WMI has presented concerts in diverse and often high-stress public spaces, including in hospitals and healthcare environments, senior care residences, justice settings, and schools.

“We are thrilled to present this special series of soul-nourishing concerts this season,” said Sarah Johnson, Chief Education Officer and Director of Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute. “Music can be a powerful tool to support connection, wellness, and joy. The Well-Being Concerts have emerged from WMI's long history of working in diverse settings, exploring the ways music can be genuinely helpful in people's lives. Given everything that people are navigating in today's world, we wanted to intentionally craft a communal musical experience to maximize the health benefits of attending a performance. We hope that these concerts give people the chance to step into a restful space for personal reflection and communal connection through music.”

The first Well-Being Concert kicks off on Saturday, November 11 with vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles and pianist Jarrett Cherner in Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Room. Other artists featured in the 2023–2024 series include cellist Joshua Roman (Dec. 3), countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo and pianist Bryan Wagorn (Dec. 8), kora player Ablaye Cissoko and accordionist Cyrille Brotto (Jan. 16), Kinan Azmeh's CityBand (Feb. 11), flutist and vocalist Nathalie Joachim (Mar. 15), and Anat Cohen Quartetinho (Apr. 14). Trumpeter Sean Jones, and his NYO Jazz All-Star Quartet, will present a Well-Being Concert in Zankel Hall Center Stage on February 4. Tickets for the Well-Being Concert series will go on sale to the general public on October 12.

Each Well-Being Concert at Carnegie Hall is created through a collaborative process that involves feedback from artists, advisors, wellness experts, potential audience members, and partner organizations. The hour-long concert experience combines elements of mindfulness and meditation with performance, featuring group breathing and singing in an immersive, nurturing space. Artists are centered in the room surrounded by audience members on the same level, who are welcome to recline on floor mats and cushions. A host shares prompts and breathing exercises with the participants and encourages them to share thoughts and reflections with their fellow audience members. The Well-Being Concert series is also an experimental space and artistic laboratory where individual scholars and teams of scientists across disciplines can partner with Carnegie Hall to ask important questions about the relationship between music and health. Carnegie Hall's research partner for the 2023–2024 season is the Social Interaction Lab at the University of California, Berkeley under the guidance of Professor of Psychology, Dacher Keltner. At a private Well-Being Concert earlier this fall—planned with the Jameel Arts & Heath Lab in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO)—a forthcoming global research series from the highly respected medical journal, The Lancet, on the health benefits of the arts was announced. The Jameel Arts & Health Lab - Lancet research series will focus on noncommunicable diseases—a leading cause of death and disability worldwide—raise awareness of the existing evidence, and offer recommendations to improve global policy guidance on topics such as the intersectoral collaboration between the arts, health, education, and social care sectors.

 

As it plans across its education and social impact initiatives, Carnegie Hall is prioritizing mental wellness through a variety of WMI programs. A core goal of the Lullaby Project, which pairs new and expecting parents and caregivers with professional artists to write and sing personal lullabies for their babies, is to support maternal/parental health. As post-partum depression is exacerbated for new parents, the Lullaby Project gives caregivers a unique way to connect with their child (when they may be struggling to do so), provides an opportunity for parents to lean into their creative side and build agency, and offers parents and their child the ultimate gift: an original, personal lullaby that can be celebrated within their families for years to come. Click here to hear first-hand about how the Lullaby Project helped one mom through a challenging pregnancy. Special events and talks around mental health, including a private event in October for young New Yorkers in the NeON Arts community about experiencing grief, are planned throughout the season.
 

 

Program Information
Saturday, November 11 at 5:00 p.m.
Weill Music Room
WELL-BEING CONCERT

 

Be uplifted by an intimate and open-hearted Well-Being Concert by vocalist Sarah Elizabeth Charles and pianist Jarrett Cherner, which will include a live performance and a communal exploration of self-care and mindfulness. An acclaimed composer and singer, Charles is a recent audience favorite across several of Carnegie Hall's education, enrichment, and community engagement programs. In Cherner, she finds an ideal musical partner whose emotionally rich piano playing beautifully complements her multi-layered vocals. The duo's superb debut project—Tone—touches on themes embedded in “being kind to and loving oneself”—and then sharing that loving-kindness outward into the world.

Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Vocals
Jarrett Cherner, Piano

Ian Koebner, Host

Tickets: $15
_________________________________________

 

Sunday, December 3 at 6:00 p.m.
Weill Music Room
WELL-BEING CONCERT

Celebrated for his “playful zest for exploration” (The New York Times) and “contagious enthusiasm for musical evolution” (Seattle Times), cellist Joshua Roman is a TED Senior Fellow (and hit performer at the TED Conference) who became the Seattle Symphony's youngest-ever principal player at age 22. A prolific and eclectic solo career has now taken him around the world and included collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, DJ Spooky, Somi, Anna Deavere Smith, and numerous top orchestras.

Joshua Roman, Cello

Tickets: $15
_________________________________________
 

 

Friday, December 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Weill Music Room
WELL-BEING CONCERT

 

Grammy Award–winning countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo is a superstar singer known for leading roles at the Metropolitan Opera, top concert halls, and much more. In this intimate and welcoming performance in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing, he joins pianist Bryan Wagorn in a Well-Being Concert, that invites audiences to join the artists in a communal experience, encouraging mindfulness, self-care, and personal nourishment through music.

Anthony Roth Costanzo, Countertenor
Bryan Wagorn, Piano

Tickets: $15
_________________________________________
 

 

Tuesday, January 16 at 6:30 p.m.
Weill Music Room
WELL-BEING CONCERT
 

 

Music's ability to bridge cultures, expand traditions, and connect individuals will be felt powerfully in this interactive Well-Being Concert with Senegalese kora master and djeli Ablaye Cissoko and French accordionist Cyrille Brotto. In an interview with the UK's Songlines, Cissoko says, “Both the kora and accordion somehow carry a living tradition. They awaken all our senses and allow us to see humanity differently.” Hosted in the Resnick Education Wing, this intimate performance by the acclaimed duo aspires to generate new feelings of connection and make a long-lasting, uplifting impression on audience members.

Albaye Cissoko, Kora
Cyrille Brotto, Accordion

Tickets: $15
_________________________________________
 

 

Sunday, February 4 at 6:00 p.m.
Zankel Hall Center Stage
WELL-BEING CONCERT

 

Renowned trumpeter, composer, bandleader, and educator Sean Jones leads his NYO Jazz All-Star Quartet in Zankel Hall Center Stage, an intimate setting that invites audiences to sit on all sides of the performers. This communal, "in the round" configuration brings listeners closer than ever to the music—an ideal way to enjoy live jazz performed by a group of master improvisers and ensemble players. As part of the experience, artists and audiences alike will be encouraged to explore concepts of self-care and mindfulness through music.

Sean Jones, Trumpet
NYO Jazz All-Star Quartet

Tickets: $30
_________________________________________
 

 

Sunday, February 11 at 5:00 p.m.
Weill Music Room
WELL-BEING CONCERT

 

“Spellbinding” (The New Yorker) clarinetist Kinan Azmeh and his genre-crossing CityBand have worked such greats as Yo-Yo Ma, Aynur, Daniel Barenboim, and John McLaughlin, and with this highly expressive quartet Azmeh creates a dynamic blend of classical music, jazz, and the music of his homeland, Syria. Masterful improvisation and elements of interaction with the audience make this Well-Being Concert an especially powerful communal experience.

Kinan Azmeh's CityBand
-Kinan Azmeh, Clarinet
-Kyle Sanna, Guitar
-John Hadfield, Percussion
-Josh Myers, Double Bass
with special guest artist, Layale Chaker, Violin

Lucas Johnson, Host

Tickets: $15
_________________________________________
 

Friday, March 15 at 6:30 p.m.
Weill Music Room
WELL-BEING CONCERT

Called a “fresh and invigorating cross-cultural voice” by The Nation, the Grammy-nominated performer, composer, educator, and prolific collaborator Nathalie Joachim's creative output spans pop and electronic to classical music and beyond, all imbued with a commitment to storytelling, human connection, social change, and cultural awareness. “Powerful and unpretentious” (The New York Times), Joachim invites audiences to forge powerful connections and find musical nourishment in this intimate, interactive performance.

Nathalie Joachim, Flute and Vocals

Matthew Steinfeld, Host

Tickets: $15
_________________________________________
 

Sunday, April 14 at 5:00 p.m.
Weill Music Room
WELL-BEING CONCERT

“Anat Cohen does what all authentic musicians do: She tells stories from her own experiences that are so deeply felt that they are very likely to connect listeners to their own dreams, desires and longings," jazz critic Nat Hentoff once wrote. With her Quartetinho band, Cohen invites three brilliantly genre-crossing musicians to explore new musical worlds across numerous global traditions.

Anat Cohen Quartetinho
-Anat Cohen, Clarinet and Bass Clarinet
-Vitor Gonçlaves, Piano, Accordion, and Keys
-James Shipp, Percussion and Vibraphone
-Tal Mashiach, Bass and Guitar

Ian Koebner, Host

Tickets: $15

Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) creates visionary programs that embody Carnegie Hall's commitment to music education, playing a central role in fulfilling the Hall's mission of making great music accessible to as many people as possible. With unparalleled access to the world's greatest artists, WMI's programs are designed to inspire audiences of all ages, nurture tomorrow's musical talent, and harness the power of music to make a meaningful difference in people's lives. An integral part of Carnegie Hall's concert season, these programs facilitate creative expression, develop musical skills and capacities at all levels, and encourage participants to make lifelong personal connections to music.

More than 800,000 people each year engage in WMI's programs through national and international partnerships, in New York City schools and community settings, and at Carnegie Hall. This includes more than 155 orchestras, music presenters, and education organizations in 40 states as well as internationally in 27 countries on 6 continents. WMI's hands-on programs tap into the creativity of audiences of all ages, inviting them to make their own music in all genres, express their viewpoints, and raise their voices. WMI shares an extensive range of online music education resources and program materials for free with teachers, families, orchestras, arts organizations, and music lovers worldwide. As a leader in music education, WMI generates new knowledge through original research, which inform Carnegie Hall's own programs and are also available as a resource to artists, organizations, and peers.

For more information, please visit: carnegiehall.org/education. Tickets for the Well-Being Concert series will go on sale to the general public on October 12.

Tickets, priced at $15, for events in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing can be purchased exclusively by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org. Tickets for events held in Carnegie Hall's Resnick Education Wing are not available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office.

Tickets, priced at $30, for events in Zankel Hall are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or online at carnegiehall.org.

For more information on discount ticket programs, including those for students, Notables members, and Bank of America customers, visit carnegiehall.org/discounts. Artists, programs, and prices are subject to change.

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