John Schaefer News

In its tenth anniversary season, THE CROSSING -- the extraordinary chamber choir from Philadelphia, dedicated to new music and conducted by Donald Nally -- comes to New York on Thursday, June 16, 2016 to perform the NY premiere of THE FIFTH CENTURY, a large-scale work for the rare combination of choir and saxophone quartet by the iconic avant-garde English composer GAVIN BRYARS.

The Met teams up with the New York Guitar Festival for an unprecedented six-hour guitar marathon exploring the stunning sonic possibilities of The Met Cloisters' interior spaces and outdoor gardens.

From June 1-15 in both Philadelphia (Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts) and New York (Roulette in Brooklyn), PRISM-dubbed 'one of America's finest saxophone quartets for three decades' by The New Yorker -- will partner with the PARTCH Ensemble and So Percussion, and composers Ken Ueno, Steven Mackey and Stratis Minakakis to perform, explore, and record a new body of music combining saxophones with a breathtaking range of percussion instruments in COLOR THEORY.

Director Heiner Goebbels' dreamlike interpretation of Louis Andriessen's magnum opus De Materie will make its North American stage premiere this March in the Armory's soaring Wade Thompson Drill Hall. The new production interprets Andriessen's four-part masterwork through a series of visually dramatic non-narrative tableaus that call upon key milestones in cultural innovation. Woven together, these seemingly disparate moments explore the relationship between worldly matter and spirit. Goebbels' production, which received its world premiere at the Ruhrtriennale in 2014, marks the first time this work has been staged in more than 25 years.

Tribeca New Music continues its 2016 season with Bonjour – Music of Florent Ghys.  Emerging out of the fertile environment of the Yale School of Music and Bang on a Can fellowships, five gifted performing artists (Ashley Bathgate, Florent Ghys, James Moore, Eleonore Oppenheim, and Owen Weaver) formed friendships and a new band, led by composer/performer Florent Ghys.  This concert will debut the complete works from their new album, Bonjour, at nancy manocherian's the cell, 338 West 23rd Street (bet. 8th & 9th Ave.) in NYC, on Sunday, March 20 at 4PM.  Tickets range in price from $20 to $35 and to buy tickets, please go to tribecanewmusic.org.

The Metropolitan Museum recently announced new performances and talks as part of the spring 2016 season. Leading with live arts by visionary artists, the 2015-16 season has presented unexpected and adventurous offerings in new spaces, and this spring, that line of singular programming will continue with newly added events.

To honor Arvo Part, one of the world's most remarkable and frequently performed composers alive today, the New York Choral Society, the Mannes School of Music at the New School, and the Arvo Part Project have designated Sunday, January 24, 2016 as Arvo Part Day.

Performances of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, a radio drama inspired by the Charles Dickens classic, have become a beloved holiday tradition at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC and WQXR. This year, for the first time, the legendary role of Scrooge will be played by a woman -- acclaimed Golden Globe-winning actress Kathleen Turner.

Performances of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, a radio drama inspired by the Charles Dickens classic, have become a beloved holiday tradition at The Jerome L. Greene Performance Space at WNYC and WQXR. This year, for the first time, the legendary role of Scrooge will be played by a woman -- acclaimed Golden Globe-winning actress Kathleen Turner. And BroadwayWorld is excited to report the full cast has just been announced!

New York City, NY --- Marking the commencement of the 2015-16 Tribeca New Music festival, AN AMERICAN MAVERICK | JEROME KITZKE AT 60 celebrates composer-storyteller JEROME KITZKE in a two-night concert series November 13-14, 2015, at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Known for creating works that are uniquely and bracingly American, where freedom and ritual converge, Kitzke shares his career-long dedication to social justice and the human condition in this special program comprised of a dozen of his works composed between 1987 and 2015, including the world premiere of For Pte Tokahewin Ska. From the premier string quartet ETHEL and pianist Anthony de Mare to Hammond B-3 rising star Wil Smith and accordionist Guy Klucevsek, 26 of today's top contemporary artists will come together to perform and honor the inimitable musical language of Jerome Kitzke.

The 50th season of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series and the sixth season of its White Light Festival commence on October 14 with tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis in the first of three highly-anticipated Schubert song recitals.

Below, get a first listen to Tori Amos' performance of 'Darkest Hour' from the Original Cast Recording of THE LIGHT PRINCESS, a musical by Tori Amos and Samuel Adamson.

New York City, NY --- Marking the commencement of the 2015-16 Tribeca New Music festival, AN AMERICAN MAVERICK | JEROME KITZKE AT 60 celebrates composer-storyteller JEROME KITZKE in a two-night concert series November 13-14, 2015, at The DiMenna Center for Classical Music. Known for creating works that are uniquely and bracingly American, where freedom and ritual converge, Kitzke shares his career-long dedication to social justice and the human condition in this special program comprised of a dozen of his works composed between 1987 and 2015, including the world premiere of For Pte Tokahewin Ska. From the premier string quartet ETHEL and pianist Anthony de Mare to Hammond B-3 rising star Wil Smith and accordionist Guy Klucevsek, 26 of today's top contemporary artists will come together to perform and honor the inimitable musical language of Jerome Kitzke.

The 50th season of Lincoln Center's Great Performers series and the sixth season of its White Light Festival commence on October 14 with tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis in the first of three highly-anticipated Schubert song recitals.

Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2015 Lincoln Center engagement kicked off with a star-studded Ailey Spirit Gala on Wednesday, June 10th. The one-night-only benefit performance and party honoring the Ford Foundation and sponsored by FedEx featured supermodel and actor Tyson Beckford as Honorary Chair. Gala Co-Chairs were Gina F. Adams, Ricki Lander, Almaz & Marc S. Strachan, Pamela Zilly & John Schaefer and Daria L. & Eric J. Wallach, and the Vice Chairs were Michele & Timothy Barakett, Dr. N. Anthony & Robyn Coles, and Leslie & Tom Maheras. The evening helped raise over $1 million for Ailey's extensive educational programs for young people, including AileyCamp and scholarships to The Ailey School.

Led by Artistic Director Robert Battle, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater's 2015 Lincoln Center engagement kicked off with a star-studded Ailey Spirit Gala on Wednesday, June 10th. The one-night-only benefit performance and party honoring the Ford Foundation and sponsored by FedEx featured supermodel and actor Tyson Beckford as Honorary Chair. Gala Co-Chairs were Gina F. Adams, Ricki Lander, Almaz & Marc S. Strachan, Pamela Zilly & John Schaefer and Daria L. & Eric J. Wallach, and the Vice Chairs were Michele & Timothy Barakett, Dr. N. Anthony & Robyn Coles, and Leslie & Tom Maheras. The evening helped raise over $1 million for Ailey's extensive educational programs for young people, including AileyCamp and scholarships to The Ailey School. Scroll down for photos from the event!

The League of Composers/ISCM presents The Orchestra of the League of Composers' Season Finale concert tonight, June 11th at 8pm at Miller Theater. Featured on this program will be the world premiere of a commissioned work, A League of Notions, by Morris Rosenzweig and the U.S. premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Leino Songs, her 2008 settings of Eino Leino's poetry, with soprano Heather Buck as soloist.

The League of Composers/ISCM presents The Orchestra of the League of Composers' Season Finale concert on Thursday, June 11th at 8pm at Miller Theater. Featured on this program will be the world premiere of a commissioned work, A League of Notions, by Morris Rosenzweig and the U.S. premiere of Kaija Saariaho's Leino Songs, her 2008 settings of Eino Leino's poetry, with soprano Heather Buck as soloist.

On Saturday, April 25, at 7 p.m., SubCulture, New York City's intimate new downtown performing arts venue, will be transformed into a radio recording studio, when the Young People's Chorus of New York City conducted by Artistic Director/Founder Francisco J. Nuñez sings the world premieres of five compositions commissioned for its Radio Radiance broadcast/digital new music series. The music is being recorded that evening for later broadcast by WWFM, The Classical Network, other public radio stations, and digitally through podcasts.