Pop-Up Orchestra Concerts Come to Bryant Park This Month

Bryant Park will host pop-up orchestra concerts throughout September. The first concert takes place on September 14.

A string quartet featuring musicians from ASO will perform a program of works by Black composers. The quartet is comprised of ASO's concertmaster Cyrus Beroukhim, violinist Phillip Payton, principal viola William Frampton, and cellist Alberto Parrini. This program was curated by Philip Payton to celebrate and explore the significant contributions to classical music by Black composers.

Audience members will have a chance to hear music ranging from traditional gospel and folk songs arranged for string quartet by Florence Price-the first Black woman to have a composition performed by a major orchestra-to mesmerizing works by contemporary composers Jessie Montgomery and Trevor Weston.

Watch the entire program live on our Facebook or Instagram pages. Limited socially distanced seating will also be avalible on a first come, first served basis. Visitors to the park are asked to adhere to park rules, to maintain six feet of distance from other park visitors, and encouraged to wear a face mask at events.

Program:

Adolphus Hailstork, Three Spirituals for string quartet

Jessie Montgomery, Voodoo Dolls for string quartet

Florence Price, Negro Folksongs in Counterpoint for String Quartet

Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, String Quartet No. 1, "Calvary"

Trevor Weston, Juba for String Quartet

William Grant Still, 'Lyric Quartette' (Musical Portraits of Three Friends) (1960) in three movements

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