Percussia Presents Broadway Boogie-Woogie, a Concert on May 11 at Manhattan’s Christ & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church

In a rare Manhattan concert performance, the innovative Queens-based ensemble Percussia will present the World Premiere of Frank Cassara Broadway Boogie-Woogie on Monday, May 11 @ 7:30 PM at Christ & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 122 W. 69th St. in Manhattan. 

They’ll also perform Portals of Light new composition by Tom Nazziola, Play of Hands by the Grammy award-winning Pedro Giraudo and Seth Bedford’s song cycle Canciones Para Medusa. 

Mr. Nazziola’s commission is funded by a Classical Commissioning: A Responsive Shift grant, funded by Chamber Music America, with generous support from the Sewell Family Foundation. 

Cassara has written this about his new work, which was commissioned with a New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Grant: 

“Hanging at the Museum of Modern Art is a painting by Piet Mondrian titled Broadway Boogie-Woogie, a vibrant grid of colored lines and rectangles that evokes the constant motion of Manhattan traffic. The rhythm and pulse of the city seem to radiate from the canvas, and this visual energy serves as the inspiration for my composition of the same name.

Broadway Boogie-Woogie is a piece that is always in motion, just like city traffic. Sometimes rushing, sometimes slowing, sometimes stopping abruptly, the work captures the chaos and pacing of an urban commute. Structured in sections that reflect the unpredictable stop-and-go rhythm of city driving, the piece follows the journey of a car weaving through Manhattan’s ever-changing flow of traffic.”

Performers will be Percussia members Ingrid Gordon and Frank Cassara, percussion, harpist Susan Jolles, flutist Margaret Lancaster and violist Lev (Ljova) Zhurbin. Special guest artist will be  Melissa Fogarty, soprano.

Percussia’s performance is free and open to the public. Christ & St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church is ADA accessible. For MTA transportation information, visit https://www.mta.info/.

Led by Artistic Director and percussionist Ingrid Gordon, Percussia’s unique and varied repertoire is an eclectic combination of contemporary chamber music, world, and popular music styles, and original arrangements. Percussia’s repertoire crosses genres, styles, and cultural boundaries. Visit their website at https://www.percussia.org/ and follow them at @percussia_nyc and https://www.facebook.com.  Ensemble photos are available at http://www.percussia.org/media/.

Percussia’s programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. Additional funding is made possible by Ridgewood Bank, the Music Performance Trust Fund, as well as the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Percussia is also the proud recipient of Chamber Music America’s Classical Commissioning: A Responsive Shift grant, funded by Chamber Music America, with generous support from the Sewell Family Foundation. Percussia also wishes to express its thanks to the many individual donors who support our programs and mission. For a full list of current and past funders, please visit their Support page.                                      

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