Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser And Emiko Dunn To Lead Link Up Concerts At Carnegie Hall
Interactive performances will feature more than 11,000 New York City-area students.
Carnegie Hall will present its Link Up concerts from May 18 through May 20, 2026 in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage, featuring more than 11,000 students from across the New York City area. The performances are part of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute (WMI) education program, which connects classroom learning with live performance experiences.
Students in grades 3–5 will participate in the concerts from their seats, singing, playing instruments, and moving along with a professional orchestra. The program, titled Link Up: The Orchestra Sings, explores the elements of melody and culminates in these live performances following year-long classroom study.
The concerts will be conducted by Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser and hosted by teen Broadway actress Emiko Dunn. The Link Up Orchestra will include fellows and alumni of Ensemble Connect and Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the USA and NYO2, along with guest performers and educators. Students from The Equity Project Charter School, PS 14Q, and Success Academy Prospect Heights will also perform onstage.
The program will feature works by composers including Beethoven, Dvořák, Stravinsky, Valerie Coleman, Reena Esmail, Thomas Cabaniss, and Jim Papoulis.
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Monday, May 18 at 10:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
Tuesday, May 19 at 10:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
Wednesday, May 20 at 10:15 a.m. and 11:45 a.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
LINK UP
Link Up Orchestra
Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Conductor
Emiko Dunn, Host
Shanna Lesniak-Whitney, Vocals
Tali Rubinstein, Recorder
Charlie Ray, Dancer and Assistant Stage Director
Navatman Dance, Guest Dance Ensemble
Students from The Equity Project Charter School, PS 14Q, and Success Academy Prospect Heights
Bruna Novais, Student Captain and Understudy
Melissa Rae Mahon, Stage Director
Dan Scully, Visuals Designer
Stacey Boggs, Lighting Designer
Program includes:
Thomas Cabaniss, “Come to Play”
Beethoven, “Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9
Dvořák, Symphony No. 9, “From the New World”
Reena Esmail, “Ram Tori Maya”
Stravinsky, Finale from The Firebird Suite
Jim Papoulis, “Oye”
Valerie Coleman, “Umoja”
ABOUT LINK UP
Link Up is the longest-running education program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, offering year-long curricula that teach students to sing and play instruments before participating in live performances with professional orchestras. The program reaches more than 300,000 students and teachers worldwide through partnerships with nearly 120 orchestras.
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