Tag Archives: Live Music

Rising in the Heights: Randy Mason & Jamell Ogbonna

Friday, June 27, 2025 – 5:00pm to 5:45pm
Word Up Community Bookshop / Librería Comunitaria
2113 Amsterdam Ave. & 165th St.
New York, NY 10032

Hip hop artist Randy Mason and keyboardist Jamell Ogbonna join Leadlights Ensemble for an afternoon of hip hop, rhyme, and string music, featuring My Block Looks Like by Janelle Harper. Free copies of the book will be available. 

Rising in the Heights is a festival of free outdoor public arts performances curated by Leadlights Ensemble in partnership with Word Up Community Bookshop. The festival celebrates the rich artistic contributions of Latinx and Black cultures and promotes children’s literacy through music and bilingual storytelling. Free copies of the featured book will be available.

This project is made possible in part with funds from UMEZ Arts Engagement, supported by the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ); and Creative Engagement, supported by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) in partnership with the City Council and the Howard Gilman Foundation. UMEZ Arts Engagement and Creative Engagement are administered by LMCC.

WHCO: Summer Picnic Concerts! (Various Locations)

WHCO’s Summer Picnic Concerts!

Soak up every moment of summer with WHCO!

Bring your own picnic (and blanket and chairs and bug spray, etc.) to enjoy during the concerts. *For all ages* Approx. 1 hr

June 29th at 5pm: Café Lawn, Fort Tryon Park

July 12th at 4pm: Bennett Park near the flagpole

August 2nd at 5pm: The Dyckman Farmhouse Museum porch

Jazz WaHi: Melting Pot Jazz

Join us for The Melting Pot Jazz Series- A FREE family-friendly outdoor concert series celebrating the rich influence of immigrants on American jazz 🎷Every Thursday from May 29 to June 26 at 6:30pm on the lawn of the St. Frances Cabrini Shrine in Washington Heights, or indoors in case of rain.

Presented with support from a Cultural Development Fund grant from the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
— in Washington Heights.

Hudson View Gardens Lounge: Cellist Peter Stumpf

The Performing Arts Group at Hudson View Gardens is thrilled to present a member of the Weiss-Kaplan-Stumpf Trio, after that group’s wildly popular performance here in January. On Sunday, May 18 at 5 pm, cellist Peter Stumpf returns to The Lounge at HVG for a recital that features Bach’s Cello Suite No. 5 and sonatas by Mendelssohn and Prokofiev with pianist Noreen Cassidy-Polera.

Peter Stumpf is a member of the Weiss-Kaplan-Stumpf Trio. As a soloist, he has appeared with the Boston Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and was the former principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for over a decade. He’s performed on chamber series and festivals around the world, and is Professor of Cello at Indiana University.

The pianist Noreen Cassidy-Polera is the winner of the Accompanying Prize at the VIII International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. She maintains a career that has taken her to every major American music center and abroad to Europe, Russia, and Asia, including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, The Kennedy Center and Jordan Hall. She has recorded for Sony, EMI, Audiophon, and Centaur Records.

The Performing Arts Group’s Spring 2025 concert season at The Lounge wraps up on Sunday, June 22 with HVG’s own pianist Evelyne Luest and the ThEMA Ensemble with cellist Angela Lee and guest clarinetist Nikki Pet. Details are below; more information and updates are at Facebook.com/HVGPAG.

Just the Facts

Sunday, May 18, 2025 at 5 pm

HVG Performing Arts Group presents:

Peter Stumpf, cello

Noreen Cassidy-Polera, piano

The Lounge at Hudson View Gardens
128 Pinehurst Ave at W. 183rd Street (Manhattan)

Admission: $15 suggested donation
($12 seniors/children, children under 8 are free)

PROGRAM

J.S. Bach: Cello Suite No. 5 in C Minor

Felix Mendelssohn: Cello Sonata #1 in B Flat Major Op. 45

Sergei Prokofiev: Cello Sonata in C Major Op. 119

Details and updates at Facebook.com/HVGPAG

WHCO: 10th Anniversary Season Finale!

Featuring the string players of the orchestra, the Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra concludes our season with Landscapes, a musical homage to the distant lands that are a part of our heritage.

Program:

  • Fela Sowande: African Suite for Strings
  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: Serenade for Strings

Even those born and raised in Washington Heights tend to look back to their heritage in a distant homeland. Talking about “where we are from” is one of the most common unifying conversations in our community. We conclude our 10th anniversary season exploring heritage with Landscapes, featuring the string players of the WHCO in two large format works hailing from Nigeria and Russia. Fela Sowande is considered the father of modern Nigerian music, and his piece African Suite for Strings seamlessly blends both original and traditional themes from countries like Nigeria and Ghana into its five contrasting movements. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is synonymous with the Russian musical output of the late 19th century and was responsible for other powerhouse works like 1812 Overture and The Nutcracker. We conclude the program with his Serenade for Strings. Tchaikovsky himself believed that this work was one of the finest pieces he ever wrote, stating it is “a piece from the heart, and so, I venture to hope that this work is not without artistic qualities.”

Prior to the concert, at 2:15pm, bring the whole family to our “Meet the Instruments” petting zoo where even our youngest listeners can get up close and personal with their favorite instruments before seeing them come alive onstage. This event will take place (weather permitting) in the beautiful setting of the Fort Washington Green, the community garden space at FWCC.