Five Borough Songbook, Volume III
$25 ($15 senior/student with ID)
- Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble
- Erika Switzer, piano
- Pala Garcia, violin
- John Popham, cello
Brian Lawlor — Mantras from Jesup (The Bronx; text by Valerie Seeley)
Laura Jobin-Acosta — The Rocking Chair (The Bronx; text by Noel Quiñones)
Darian Donovan Thomas — TimesSquare (Manhattan; text by Darian Donovan Thomas)
Nkeiru Okoye — We Met at the Symphony (Manhattan; text by Nkeiru Okoye)
Juri Seo — by the bone dry fountain of an early winter (Manhattan; text by Nick Main)
Arianne Abela — You Can Find Queens (Queens; text by Tom Lee)
Colin Britt — Others Will See (Queens; text by Walt Whitman & Amy Lowell)
Majel Connery — The Sea Rolls Along (Queens; text by Majel Connery)
Kinan Azmeh — جزيرة ("The Island") (Staten Island; text by Firas Sulaiman)
Jessica Meyer — Nonnas (Staten Island; text by Jessica Meyer)
Aaron Siegel — Song of Fresh Kills (Staten Island; text by Aaron Siegel)
Jonathan Woody — In Kings (Brooklyn; texts by Petrus Stuyvesant & Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt from historical records)
Raquel Acevedo Klein — Between Two Islands (Brooklyn; text by Raquel Acevedo Klein)
Angélica Negrón — Hello Beautiful (Brooklyn; text by Angélica Negrón)
5BMF’s 2022-2023 Season kicks off with a bang this fall with the culmination of the Five Borough Songbook, Volume III's citywide tour!
A special co-production with ON SITE OPERA, this new cycle of fifteen songs, duets, and ensembles by fifteen composers was commissioned in honor of 5BMF's 15th Anniversary and On Site Opera's 10th Anniversary seasons, and marks the third installment of 5BMF’s critically-acclaimed quinquennial FIVE BOROUGH SONGBOOK project.
After its celebrated premieres in Brooklyn and Staten Island in April 2022, the Songbook returns on October 21, 22 and 23 for borough premieres in Queens, Manhattan and the Bronx. We welcome back an all-star lineup of artists, including performers from the acclaimed vocal super-group KALEIDOSCOPE VOCAL ENSEMBLE — sopranos Nicole Joseph and Gitanjali Mathur, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte, tenor Haitham Haidar, and bass-baritone Jonathan Woody — as well as pianist Erika Switzer, violinist Pala Garcia, and cellist John Popham.
PROGRAM
Featuring new works by Arianne Abela, Raquel Acevedo Klein, Kinan Azmeh, Colin Britt, Majel Connery, Laura Jobin-Acosta, Will Healy, Brian Lawlor, Jessica Meyer, Angélica Negrón, Nkeiru Okoye, Juri Seo, Aaron Siegel, Darian Donovan Thomas, and Jonathan Woody, the Songbook derives its inspiration from locations scattered throughout New York City — three songs for each borough — to create a mosaic of the city’s past, present and future. The Songbook's texts are drawn from a variety of sources: written by the composers themselves; drawn from existing poetry by Nick Main, Amy Lowell, Joseph Tusiani, and Walt Whitman; or featuring new texts, including lyrics in Arabic by Firas Suleiman, in Spanish and English by Noel Quiñones, and in English by Tom Lee and Valerie Seeley.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
FRIDAY, OCT 21, 2022 | 7:00 PM
FLUSHING TOWN HALL 137-35 NORTHERN BLVD. | QUEENS
SATURDAY, OCT 22, 2022 | 7:00 PM
BRONX MUSIC HERITAGE CENTER LABORATORY 1303 LOUIS NIÑÉ BLVD | BRONX
SUNDAY, OCT 23, 2022 | 3:00 PM
THE CHAPEL AT HEBREW UNION COLLEGE 1 WEST 4TH ST | MANHATTAN
The Five Borough Songbook, Vol. III is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts. More information: https://5bmf.org/five-borough-songbook/