Orchestra Of St. Luke's Presents Free Concerts In All Five Boroughs March 23-April 7

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) focuses its 2019 Music in Color Free Community Concerts series (March 23, 24, 28, April 4, April 7) and Free School Concerts programs on the music of Gabriela Lena Frank, an American composer of Peruvian, Chinese, and Lithuanian Jewish descent. Now entering its third year, Music in Color is OSL's annual initiative highlighting the works and lives of classical composers of color. The program was created to engage new audiences with classical music through dynamic, multidisciplinary concerts designed to be as entertaining as they are educational.

Commissioned to write a piece for OSL in 2015, California-based composer Gabriela Lena Frank returns to help curate these programs, which include selections of her works, as well as a selection from a string quartet by Chou Wen-chung, one of Frank's inspirations. In addition, for the five Community Concerts, OSL will premiere five new works composed by Fellows of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music and co-commissioned by OSL. The featured composers Anjna Swaminathan (March 23, Flushing Town Hall, Queens); Matthew Evan Taylor (March 24, RestorationART, Brooklyn); Marco-Adrián Ramos (March 28, Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture, Bronx); Iman Habibi (April 4, Harlem School of the Arts, Manhattan); and Christine Delphine Hedden (April 7, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Staten Island) will be present for their programs. Frank herself performs on the piano at the Free School Concerts, March 19-21, 2019, alongside Orchestra of St. Luke's conducted by Edwin Outwater. A narration written and performed by actor and playwright Kirya Traber will reflect on Frank's biography and musical influences, and highlight Frank's belief in the power of music as a tool for civic engagement. Members of the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble perform for the Free Community Concerts. All Music in Color Free Community Concerts are festival partner events as part of Carnegie Hall's 2018-2019 festival, Migrations: The Making of America.

Visit Orchestra of St. Luke's website, for more information about Music in Color 2019.

OSL's Free Community Concert series is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

WQXR is the official media partner for the Music in Color Free Community Concerts.

About Gabriela Lena Frank
Identity is at the center of composer-pianist Gabriela Lena Frank's music. Born in 1972 in Berkeley, California to a mother of mixed Peruvian-Chinese ancestry and a father of Lithuanian-Jewish descent, Frank explores her multicultural heritage through her compositions. Inspired by the works of Bela Bartók and Alberto Ginastera, Frank has traveled extensively throughout South America and her pieces incorporate Latin American folklore, poetry, mythology, and native musical styles into a western classical framework that is uniquely her own. Frank's music has been commissioned and performed by Orchestra of St. Luke's (2015), Kronos Quartet, pipa virtuoso Wu Man, Carnegie Hall, and the San Francisco Symphony, among others. She is a Latin Grammy-winner and a Grammy nominee as both a composer and pianist. Strongly committed to nurturing emerging composers of all ages and backgrounds, Frank established the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music in 2017, as a non-profit training institution that offers short-term retreats at her two farms in Mendocino County, CA. Gabriela Lena Frank's music is published exclusively by G. Schirmer, Inc.

About Kirya Traber
Collaborating with Frank is playwright, performer, and cultural worker Kirya Traber. A co-host of the PBS podcast series, First Person, Traber is lead Community Artist in Residence with Lincoln Center Education and a former faculty member of the New School for Social Research. Her poetry and writing have been published in several anthologies.
ORCHESTRA OF ST. LUKE'S EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY PROGRAMS

MUSIC IN COLOR: GABRIELA LENA FRANK

FREE SCHOOL CONCERTS
FREE for New York City public schools. Registration is required. Information can be found here.

TUESDAY March 19, 2019 - THURSDAY March 21, 2019
Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture
Main Theater
10:15 AM; 11:45 AM

Orchestra of St. Luke's
Edwin Outwater, Conductor
Gabriela Lena Frank, Piano
Kirya Traber, Playwright, and Narrator

GABRIELA LENA FRANK Alborada from Quijotadas
TRADITIONAL Andean song
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Himno de Zampoñas from Leyendas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Mujeres Cantando from Milagros
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Danza de Tingo Maria from Milagros
TRADITIONAL Andean song
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Chasqui from Leyendas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Serenata Serrana from Cuentos Errantes


FREE COMMUNITY CHAMBER CONCERTS
FREE and open to the public; information can be found here.

St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
Kirya Traber, Playwright, and Narrator

SATURDAY, MARCH 23, 2019, 2:00 PM
Queens: Flushing Town Hall
Gallery

GABRIELA LENA FRANK Alborada from Quijotadas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Himno de Zampoñas from Leyendas
CHOU WEN-CHUNG Leggierezza from String Quartet No. 1, Clouds
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Danza de Tingo Maria from Milagros
ANJNA SWAMINATHAN* Duplicity**
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Chasqui from Leyendas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Coqueteos from Leyendas

SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2019, 2:00 PM
Brooklyn: RestorationART
The Billie Holiday Theatre

GABRIELA LENA FRANK Alborada from Quijotadas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Himno de Zampoñas from Leyendas
CHOU WEN-CHUNG Leggierezza from String Quartet No. 1, Clouds
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Danza de Tingo Maria from Milagros
MATTHEW EVAN TAYLOR* Dawn of a New Day**
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Chasqui from Leyendas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Coqueteos from Leyendas

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2019, 7:00 PM
Bronx: Hostos Center for the Arts and Culture
Art Gallery

GABRIELA LENA FRANK Alborada from Quijotadas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Himno de Zampoñas from Leyendas
CHOU WEN-CHUNG Leggierezza from String Quartet No. 1, Clouds
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Danza de Tingo Maria from Milagros
MARCO-ADRIÁN RAMOS* Capilla breve**
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Chasqui from Leyendas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Coqueteos from Leyendas

THURSDAY, APRIL 4, 2019, 6:00 PM
Manhattan: Harlem School of the Arts
Gallery

GABRIELA LENA FRANK Alborada from Quijotadas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Himno de Zampoñas from Leyendas
CHOU WEN-CHUNG Leggierezza from String Quartet No. 1, Clouds
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Danza de Tingo Maria from Milagros
IMAN HABIBI* Uproot**
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Chasqui from Leyendas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Coqueteos from Leyendas

SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 2019, 2:00 PM
Staten Island: Snug Harbor Cultural Center

GABRIELA LENA FRANK Alborada from Quijotadas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Himno de Zampoñas from Leyendas
CHOU WEN-CHUNG Leggierezza from String Quartet No. 1, Clouds
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Danza de Tingo Maria from Milagros
CHRISTINE DELPHINE HEDDEN* Cuimhne**
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Chasqui from Leyendas
GABRIELA LENA FRANK Coqueteos from Leyendas


*Fellows of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music.

**World Premiere, co-commissioned by Orchestra of St. Luke's and the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music.
About Orchestra of St. Luke's
Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is one of America's most versatile and distinguished orchestras. Now in its 44th season, the Orchestra performs a variety of musical genres at New York City's major concert venues and has collaborated with artists ranging from Renée Fleming and Joshua Bell to Bono and Metallica. In September 2018 Bernard Labadie, a world-renowned conductor of Baroque and Classical repertoire, joined OSL as Principal Conductor, continuing the Orchestra's tradition of working with champions of historical performance practice. In 2019, OSL launches two major initiatives: the inaugural OSL Bach Festival in New York City and the opening of the DeGaetano Composition Institute. The three-week Bach Festival will feature 15 performances, including orchestral concerts conducted by Bernard Labadie, keyboard concerts, and the Paul Taylor Dance Company performing Paul Taylor's complete Bach dances. OSL's signature programming includes a subscription series presented by Carnegie Hall; an annual summer residency at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; and a chamber music series at The Morgan Library & Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Merkin Hall. The Orchestra has participated in 118 recordings, four of which have won Grammy Awards, has commissioned more than 50 new works, and has given more than 175 world, U.S., and New York City premieres.

OSL's Education & Community Engagement programs reach over 11,000 New York City public school students each year. Youth Orchestra of St. Luke's (YOSL) provides free instrumental coaching for public school children, while the Chamber Music Mentorship Program provides professional development opportunities and workshops for pre-professional musicians. OSL built and operates The DiMenna Center for Classical Music in Hell's Kitchen. New York City's only rehearsal, recording, education, and performance space expressly dedicated to classical music, The DiMenna Center serves over 500 ensembles and over 30,000 musicians annually.

About St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble
St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble was founded in 1974 when a group of virtuoso musicians began performing chamber music concerts at Greenwich Village's Church of St. Luke in the Fields. Today, the 24 Ensemble musicians make up the artistic core of Orchestra of St. Luke's. Every season, OSL features the Ensemble in its Chamber Music Series, which explores beloved chamber works and brings attention to lesser-known or rarely-performed works through three distinct programs performed at The Morgan Library & Museum, Brooklyn Museum, and Merkin Hall. Throughout the season, musicians of the St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble perform on almost every program presented by OSL.