Chris Washburne, The Itty Biddies and More Set for Carnegie Hall's Community and Family Programs, Fall 2013

Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute (WMI) kicks off the 2013-2014 season with live performances at community venues throughout the five boroughs of New York City with its free Neighborhood Concerts. For almost four decades, Carnegie Hall has presented an outstanding series of concerts featuring top notch artists across multiple genres including jazz, world music, classical, and more. In addition, WMI presents a number of free family-friendly programs throughout New York City as part of the Carnegie Kids series.

At Carnegie Hall, parents and young people can also enjoy affordably-priced Family Concerts, recommended for ages 5-10, providing a unique opportunity to introduce children to live performances of music from around the world. Pre-concert activities will take place one hour before select performances and are free to all ticket holders.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: CHRIS WASHBURNE AND THE SYOTOS BAND
Thursday, September 19 at 6:00 p.m.
South Bronx NeON-In partnership with the Department of Probation as part of the NeON's one year anniversary.

Saturday, October 5 at 5:00 p.m.
Brooklyn Museum

Trombonist Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS Band return to Carnegie Hall's Neighborhood Concerts with boundary-busting music that gives new meaning to Latin jazz. Their music smokes with strands of Afro-Cuban, funk, jazz, gospel, and contemporary classical music fused into a sizzling swirl of surging rhythms and solos. Legendary sonero singer Herman Olivera sings with the group at the Brooklyn Museum concert in October.

CARNEGIE KIDS: THE ITTY BIDDIES
Friday, October 4 at 10:30 a.m.
Hudson Guild

With their cool, clubby roots and silky harmonies, the charismatic Itty Biddies have kids and grown-ups happily rocking out together at every performance. With a series of songs that weave a fascinating tale over the course of a concert, the Itty Biddies can take you from an African safari to the plains of Texas without your leaving your seats.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: MANUEL VALERA: NEW CUBAN EXPRESS
Friday, October 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Flushing Town Hall

Grammy-nominated jazz pianist and composer Manuel Valera's music pulses with the beats and soul of his native Havana. The Village Voice said, "Here's a Cuban pianist who lives up to the entire buzz..." and Valera's recent album, New Cuban Express, is ample proof. Valera's band features some of the hottest players on the Latin jazz scene.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: DAVID KRAKAUER'S ACOUSTIC KLEZMER QUARTET
Sunday, October 6 at 3:00 p.m.
Gerald W. Lynch Theater at John Jay College

David Krakauer, one of the most important and influential musicians in new Jewish music today and of the vital new wave of Klezmer, is known mostly for his amplified sound that pushes the boundaries of Klezmer to include elements of jazz, rock, funk, and hip-hop. With this program, he will play acoustic versions of his music with his quartet.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: THE WHISTLING WOLVES
Saturday, October 12 at 2:30 p.m.
Bronx Library Center

The Whistling Wolves mine the classics and long-lost gems of American folk music while also creating new traditions with their rootsy original songs. Fiddle tunes, old-timey jug-band blues, and sentimental ballads are served up by the Wolves with spirited vocals, and a bevy of instruments, including ukulele, harmonica, fiddle, bass, mandolin, banjo, guitar and, of course, the sounds of two-time world champion whistler Emily Eagan.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: Sean Jones QUARTET
Monday, October 21 at 7:00 p.m.
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture

Whether he's exploring the emotional depths of a ballad or tearing it up in a high-tempo number, Sean Jones is one of the most exciting trumpet players on the jazz scene. The former lead trumpet player of Wynton Marsalis's Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jones plays the instrument with tremendous expressive power. The website All About Jazz said of his dynamic quartet's new recording, "At times breathtaking, No Need for Words is an album of exceeding beauty."

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: MATUTO
Friday, November 1, 2013 at 7:00 p.m.
The Bronx Museum of the Arts

Matuto's songs will not only lift audiences out of their seats to dance, but also move them with uplifting and insightful lyrics. Drawing on Brazilian folk forms like forró, maracatu, and coco, as well as American bluegrass, spirituals, and swampy Louisiana jams, Matuto's unique and energetic sound celebrates diverse musical cultures. Just back from a West African tour as part of the US Department of State's American Music Abroad program, they have been described as "weird and wonderful ... unorthodox and delightful" by JazzTimes magazine. Their new album The Devil and The Diamond was released in May.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: LA CHIVA GANTIVA
Saturday, November 16 at 4:00 p.m.
El Museo del Barrio

Known for its energizing live performances, Brussels-based La Chiva Gantiva, founded by Colombian expats, thrills audiences with its own unique style of Latin funk performed with a rock-and-roll attitude. Singing in French and Spanish, La Chiva Gantiva plays traditional Caribbean instruments, bass guitar, saxophone, and clarinet. The diverse nationalities of the group-Colombian, French, Flemish, and Vietnamese-result in a sound that fuses cultures, creating an on-stage energy that has opened its path to many of the biggest festivals in Europe.

Carnegie Hall FAMILY CONCERT: BROOKLYN YOUTH CHORUS
Sunday, November 17 at 1:00 p.m.
Zankel Hall

As part of Carnegie Hall's season-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of composer Benjamin Britten's birth, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus performs a Family Concert entitled Britten's Young Voices. The pure tone and exuberant energy of the chorus is the perfect complement to the music of Benjamin Britten (The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra). These inspiring young singers honor the composer with a program that features some of his most charming choral music for young voices. Pre-concert activities will take place one hour before each performance and are free to all ticket holders.

Tickets: $12, $18

NEIGHBORHOOD CONCERT: MARCO STEFANI AND BRENT FUNDERBURK
Saturday, November 23 at 5:00 p.m.
Advent Lutheran Church

Whether singing a classic song or dazzling audiences as the charming Don Ramiro in Rossini's opera La Cenerentola, tenor Marco Stefani is irresistible. This past summer, he made his San Francisco Opera debut in Mark Adamo's The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and studied at the prestigious Accademia Rossiniana in Pesaro, Italy. Praised by The New York Times as an "excellent pianist," Brent Funderburk is in great demand as a recitalist, studio accompanist, and audition pianist. Funderburk's recent work includes solo recitals, and performances with young singers in Marilyn Horne's The Song Continues program at Carnegie Hall.

About Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute: The Weill Music Institute creates visionary programs that embody Carnegie Hall's commitment to music education. With unparalleled access to the world's greatest artists, the Weill Music Institute inspires audiences of all ages, nurtures tomorrow's musical talent, and harnesses 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. The Weill Music Institute generates new knowledge through original research and shares a wide range of free online resources with educators and music lovers around the globe. More than 400,000 people each year engage in the Weill Music Institute's programs through national and international partnerships, in New York City schools and community settings, and at Carnegie Hall.

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