Isaiah Sheffer News

The Harlem Resonance Festival (April 2 - May 11) is Symphony Space's second annual multi-disciplinary thematic spring festival, following last year's celebration of Gertrude Stein's Paris.

On Saturday, March 9 (7 pm), as part of Symphony Space's The Music of Now Series, pianist Anthony de Mare returns to the Peter Jay Sharp Theatre for the second installment of Liaisons: Reimagining Sondheim from the Piano. Marrying his reputation as a champion of contemporary classical music with his deep respect for legendary musical theater composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, de Mare is building a unique piano repertory by commissioning 36 leading contemporary composers from the classical, jazz, theater, and film worlds to write short solo piano pieces inspired by Sondheim's music.

Symphony Space's long-running public radio program, Selected Shorts, is pleased to be joined by an all-star line-up of guest hosts in 2013. Stephen Colbert, Neil Gaiman, John Lithgow, Cynthia Nixon, David Sedaris, and BD Wong, writers and performers who have all participated in previous Selected Shorts shows, each bring their own unique voice, humor, and insight to the hosting duty and honor the memory of Selected Shorts' creator and long-time host, Isaiah Sheffer, who passed away last month after a brief illness.

It is with both heavy hearts and deep gratitude that the staff, board, and community of artists of Symphony Space honor the memory of Founding Artistic Director Isaiah Sheffer, who died on Thursday evening of last week from complications after a stroke. He was 76 years old.

Tonight, October 25 marks the return of THALIA FOLLIES, NYC's only political cabaret series, coming back for its ninth season of songs, sketches, and satire on all the issues New Yorkers hold dear. Always funny, definitely pointed, and often moving, these original evenings created by Symphony Space's founding Artistic Director Isaiah Sheffer and Martin Sage are guaranteed to get you talking and laughing.

Tonight, October 16 brings one of Symphony Space's starriest presentations of the season: "Crazy for…Gershwin!," headlined by violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. They're accompanied by one of New York's most dynamic young music collectives: Le Train Bleu, conducted by Ransom Wilson. It all takes place at Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharpe Theatre.

Tonight, Saturday, October 13 (7:30 pm), Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia hosts Parallel Exit in EXIT, STAGE LEFT, the story of a theatre performance that just can't seem to go right. Thursday, October 25 marks the return of THALIA FOLLIES, NYC's only political cabaret series, coming back for its ninth season of songs, sketches, and satire on all the issues New Yorkers hold dear.

On Saturday, October 13 (7:30 pm), Symphony Space's Leonard Nimoy Thalia hosts Parallel Exit in EXIT, STAGE LEFT, the story of a theatre performance that just can't seem to go right. Thursday, October 25 marks the return of THALIA FOLLIES, NYC's only political cabaret series, coming back for its ninth season of songs, sketches, and satire on all the issues New Yorkers hold dear.

Tuesday, October 16 brings one of Symphony Space's starriest presentations of the season: "Crazy for…Gershwin!," headlined by violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and pianist Anne-Marie McDermott. They're accompanied by one of New York's most dynamic young music collectives: Le Train Bleu, conducted by Ransom Wilson. It all takes place at Symphony Space's Peter Jay Sharpe Theatre.

Symphony Space's Gertrude Stein's Paris, a month-long, multi-disciplinary festival devoted to the vibrant cultural milieu of Gertrude Stein's Paris, continues tonight, April 27 with two fully staged productions devoted to the inspiration Stein's work had on vocal and operatic repertoire. Encompass New Opera Theatre will present two one-act operas based on texts by Stein, Virgil Thomson's Capital Capitals and Ned Rorem's Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters. Directed by Nancy Rhodes, this salute to Stein's work through American opera is a fresh examination of the influence Stein has had throughout the arts.

As the 2012 presidential election season begins, Symphony Space, host of the popular comedy and literary events Uptown Showdown and Selected Shorts, welcomes back its popular political cabaret, The Thalia Follies, for its seventh season with its newest production, Race for the White House.

Tonight, April 16, 2012, Symphony Space presents its third annual Access to the Arts Awards to Morley Safer for his arts reportage on CBS' 60 Minutes, international corporate lawyer Alain Coblence for his support of the arts and programs that encourage international cultural exchange, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for their generous ongoing support of our Selected Shorts series.

On April 16, 2012, Symphony Space will present its third annual Access to the Arts Awards to Morley Safer for his arts reportage on CBS' 60 Minutes, international corporate lawyer Alain Coblence for his support of the arts and programs that encourage international cultural exchange, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for their generous ongoing support of our Selected Shorts series.

Symphony Space's Gertrude Stein's Paris, a month-long, multi-disciplinary festival devoted to the vibrant cultural milieu of Gertrude Stein's Paris, continues on Friday, April 27 with two fully staged productions devoted to the inspiration Stein's work had on vocal and operatic repertoire. Encompass New Opera Theatre will present two one-act operas based on texts by Stein, Virgil Thomson's Capital Capitals and Ned Rorem's Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters.

Symphony Space's Gertrude Stein's Paris, a month-long, multi-disciplinary festival devoted to the vibrant cultural milieu of Gertrude Stein's Paris, continues on Friday, April 27 with two fully staged productions devoted to the inspiration Stein's work had on vocal and operatic repertoire. Encompass New Opera Theatre will present two one-act operas based on texts by Stein, Virgil Thomson's Capital Capitals and Ned Rorem's Three Sisters Who Are Not Sisters. Directed by Nancy Rhodes, this salute to Stein's work through American opera is a fresh examination of the influence Stein has had throughout the arts.

On Sunday, April 1, the hometown of California cuisine hosts a day of "Delicious Fictions" featuring Golden Globe Award-winner Jill Eikenberry and Emmy Award-nominee Michael Tucker.

As part of Pulitzer Prize nominee Eisa Davis's two-year position as artist-in-residence at Symphony Space, she will present an evening of songs from her most recent recording, Something Else, as well as other original works, and offers a sneak preview from her new music-theater work, Flowers are Sleeping, commissioned by Symphony Space that will receive its world premiere performance in April of 2013 as part of Symphony Space's Harlem Renaissance festival.