Park Avenue Armory continues the 2023 Recital Series this fall with performances by Julia Bullock, Kate Lindsey, & Sandbox Percussion

Series celebrates 10^th Season bringing intimate chamber music to New York audiences with 16 recital debuts and 17 premieres since its inception in 2013

New York, NY – Monday, July 31, 2023 – Park Avenue Armory continues the 10^th anniversary season of its celebrated Recital Series this fall, bringing intimate chamber music programs by world-renowned artists to the Armory’s historic period rooms.

The Armory’s Fall 2023 programming opens on September 11^th and 13^th with recitals by “one of today’s smartest, most arresting vocalists in any genre” (NPR), soprano Julia Bullock. Bullock returns to the Armory following her appearance in Michel van der Aa’s Upload—this time in the Board of Officers Room—joined by pianist John Arida for a program spanning the song repertoire, from German Lied to Italian arias to American jazz standards. Grammy-award winning ensemble Sandbox Percussion brings the Recital Series to the Veterans Room on October 1^st and 3^rd for a lively program of contemporary percussion works, including the world premiere of a new piece by Chris Cerrone commissioned by the Armory and the New York premiere of Viet Cuong’s Next Week’s Trees. Finally, mezzo soprano Kate Lindsey offers performances of two song cycles—Schumann’s Frauen-Liebe und Leben and Fauré’s La chanson d’Ève—as well as a selection of Sondheim songs with pianist Justina Lee.

By the end the 2023 season, the Recital Series will have presented over 120 intimate performances by 240 internationally renowned musicians throughout its decade of existence. Programs include 16 North American, US, and New York debuts, most notably including the North American recital debut of pianist Igor Legit and tenor Allan Clayton and the US recital debut of soprano Barbara Hannigan. The series has served as the locale for the premiere of new works by contemporary composers, including three world, two US, two East Coast, and 10 New York premieres of pieces by composers such as Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, John Zorn, Dai Fujikura, Michael Gordon, Jake Heggie, Viet Cuong, and Chris Cerrone. Earlier this season, the Recital Series presented the long-awaited North American recital debut of tenor Allan Clayton, an evening of French art song and German Lieder by baritone Stéphane Degout, and a two-program residency by pianist Pavel Kolesnikov featuring J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations and a selection of works inspired by artist Joseph Cornell’s orrery Celestial Navigation. Please see "About the Recital Series" for a full list of premieres, debuts, and musicians that have appeared on the Armory’s Recital Series.

Ticket prices, dates, and repertoire information for recitals in the fall of 2023 are below.

2023 Recital Series
Fall Recital Programs
Board of Officers Room

Julia Bullock, soprano
John Arida, piano

Known for “communicat[ing] intense, authentic feeling, as if she were singing right from her soul” (Opera News), American soprano Julia Bullock has headlined productions and concerts at preeminent opera houses, concert halls, and festivals around the world. Most recently appearing at the Armory in the North American premiere of Michel van der Aa’s technologically ambitious chamber opera Upload in 2022, the acclaimed vocalist returns in a much more intimate space—the Board of Officers Room—with a program spanning the breadth of the song repertoire from the Romantic period to today that beautifully showcases her versatile artistry and probing intellect.

Franz Schubert: Suleika I, D720
Hugo Wolf: “In dem Schatten meiner Locken”
Hugo Wolf: “Bedeckt mich mit Blumen”
Franz Schubert: “Rastlose Liebe”
Connie Converse: “There Is a Vine,” arr. Jeremy Siskind
Connie Converse: “One by One,” arr. Jeremy Siskind
Kurt Weill: Lost in the Stars
Kurt Weill: “Denn wie man sich bettet,” from Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny
Kurt Weill: “Wie lange noch?”
Kurt Weill: “The Princess of Pure Delight,” from Lady in the Dark
Luciano Berio: Quattro canzoni popolari, no. 1 “Dolce cominciamento”
Gioachino Rossini: Mi lagnerò tacendo, “Stabat Mater”
Luciano Berio: Quattro canzoni popolari, no. 2 “La donna ideale”
Gioachino Rossini: Mi lagnerò tacendo, “Sorzico”
Luciano Berio: Quattro canzoni popolari, no. 4 “Ballo”
John Cage: She is Asleep, no. 2 “Duet”
Pat Castleton/Spencer Williams: “Driftin’ Tide,” arr. Jeremy Siskind
Cora “Lovie” Austin/Alberta Hunter: “Downhearted Blues,” arr. Jeremy Siskind
Cora “Lovie” Austin: Lovie Austin Tribute, arr. Jeremy Siskind
Billie Holiday/Sonny White: “Our Love is Different,” arr. Jeremy Siskind
Nina Simone/Weldon Jonathan Irvine Jr.: “Revolution,” arr. Julia Bullock
Nina Simone: “Four Women,” arr. Jeremy Siskind
Billy Taylor: “I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free,” arr. Jeremy Siskind and Julia Bullock

Monday, September 11 at 7:30pm
Wednesday, September 13 at 7:30pm
Board of Officers Room
Tickets: $75 (plus fees)

Sandbox Percussion

Sandbox Percussion has established themselves as a leading proponent of this generation of contemporary percussion chamber music, captivating audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally striking while showcasing the imagination, integrity, and courage of their music making. Their unique mix of youthful energy with the precision of a well-established group is on display in the Veterans Room with a program of contemporary percussion works that display their solid technique, rhythmical musicality, and lively showmanship, including a world premiere piece by Chris Cerrone commissioned by the Armory and the New York premiere of Viet Cuong’s Next Week’s Trees

Andy Akiho: Haiku 2
Viet Cuong: Next Week’s Trees (New York premiere)
Amy Beth Kirsten: may the devil take me
Juri Seo: vv
David Crowell: Verses for a Liminal Space
Chris Cerrone: World Premiere
Julius Eastman: “Joy Boy”
Andy Akiho: “Pillar V” from Seven Pillars

Sunday, October 1 at 3:00pm
Tuesday, October 3 at 7:30pm
Veterans Room
Tickets: $60 (plus fees)

Kate Lindsey, mezzo-soprano
Justina Lee, piano

Mezzo soprano Kate Lindsey is one of the most promising voices of her generation, receiving ovations in the world’s most prestigious opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Vienna State Opera, and Salzburg, Glyndebourne, and Aix-en-Provence festivals. She performs on a far more intimate stage with pianist Justina Lee in a chamber program of works by Schumann, Fauré, and Sondheim that beautifully highlights her vivacious musicality, agile technique, and unmatched command of an audience.

Robert Schumann: Frauen-Liebe und Leben, op. 42
Gabriel Fauré: La chanson d’Ève, op. 95
Stephen Sondheim: Selection of songs to be announced

Monday, October 16 at 7:30pm
Tuesday, October 17 at 7:30pm
Board of Officers Room
Tickets: $65 (plus fees)

TICKETING

Tickets may be purchased by phone through the Armory Box Office at (212) 933-5812, Monday through Friday from 10am to 6pm; and online at armoryonpark.org.

SPONSORSHIP

Citi and Bloomberg Philanthropies are the Armory’s 2023 Season Sponsors.

Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by the Thompson Family Foundation, Charina Endowment Fund, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, the Prospect Hill Foundation, the Reed Foundation, Wescustogo Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg, The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, the Richenthal Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Armory’s Artistic Council. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

The Recital Series is supported in part by the Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation.

ABOUT JULIA BULLOCK

Combining versatile artistry with a probing intellect and commanding stage presence, American classical singer Julia Bullock has headlined productions and concerts at preeminent arts institutions worldwide. This season, she makes debuts at New York’s Metropolitan Opera in El Niño and Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu in the European premiere of Antony & Cleopatra, having previously debuted at Covent Garden in Theodora, San Francisco Opera in the world premiere of Girls of the Golden West, Santa Fe Opera in Doctor Atomic, Féstival d’Aix-en-Provence in The Rake’s Progress, and English National Opera, Teatro Real, and Bolshoi Theatre in the title role of The Indian Queen. Other operatic highlights include the world premieres of Upload at Dutch National Opera and Fire Shut Up in My Bones at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. In concert, she has appeared with the world’s foremost orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, and London Symphony Orchestra, while recital highlights include appearances at New York’s Carnegie Hall, Boston’s Celebrity Series, Washington’s Kennedy Center, London’s Wigmore Hall, and the Mostly Mozart and Ojai Music festivals. Her signature projects include Perle Noire: Meditations for Joséphine, conceived in collaboration with Peter Sellars, Tyshawn Sorey, and Claudia Rankine; Five Freedom Songs, developed with Jessie Montgomery; and History’s Persistent Voice, which combines the songs of enslaved people with new music by Black American women. Released by Nonesuch, Bullock’s solo album debut, Walking in the Dark, was featured in the New York Times’s “Best Classical Music Tracks of 2022” and NPR’s 20 “Best Albums of 2022.” Her growing discography also includes the soundtrack of Amazon Prime Video’s The Underground Railroad and Grammy-nominated recordings of West Side Story and Doctor Atomic. An innovative and in-demand curator, Bullock’s past positions include collaborative partner of Esa-Pekka Salonen and Artist-in-Residence of New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Symphony, and London’s Guildhall School. Committed to integrating community activism with her musical life, she is a prominent voice for social consciousness and change.

ABOUT JOHN ARIDA

Pianist and coach John Arida has been praised as “an ardent accompanist… catching fire in the accompaniments and in the solo piece” by The Washington Post. The Philadelphia Inquirer heralded his interpretative prowess, proclaiming that “Arida was the great source illuminating text” and that his “…touch was just right.” His relationships with some of classical music’s most esteemed performers have led to international recital engagements across the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Notable venues include Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, the Aspen Music Festival, and Tanglewood. Arida’s 2023-2024 season includes recital appearances with Julia Bullock, Isabel Leonard, Samantha Hankey, Jack Swanson, and a tour with American Modern Opera Company performing Christian Reif’s arrangement of John Adams’ El Niño.

Beyond the concert stage, Arida has assisted many notable conductors including Harry Bicket, Daniela Candilari, John DeMain, Christian Reif, Speranza Scappucci, and Emmanuel Villaume. He has been a member of the music staff of several US companies and festivals including Santa Fe Opera, Washington National Opera, Central City Opera, Virginia Opera, and The Juilliard School. 

Arida has recorded two albums with frequent collaborator mezzo soprano Megan Marino. Their first collaboration, “The Traveled Road” was released on Ravello Records featuring the music of Evan Mack. Their second, “It’s You I Like” was released on Lexicon Classics with songs that celebrate childhood.

Arida has held fellowships at the Aspen Music Festival and Music Academy of the West. He holds a Master’s Degree in Collaborative Piano from The Juilliard School and a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from SUNY Purchase. While maintaining a private studio in New York City, Arida is currently a full-time faculty member in the Vocal Arts division at the Juilliard School. 

ABOUT SANDBOX PERCUSSION

Described as “exhilarating” (The New York Times) and “utterly mesmerizing” (The Guardian), GRAMMY®-nominated ensemble Sandbox Percussion brings out the best in composers through their unwavering dedication to artistry in contemporary chamber music. Brought together by their love of chamber music and the simple joy of playing together, Sandbox Percussion captivates audiences with performances that are both visually and aurally stunning.

Sandbox Percussion’s 2021 album Seven Pillars was nominated for two GRAMMY® awards—Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance and Best Contemporary Classical Composition. Sandbox Percussion performed Seven Pillars over 15 times in the 2022-23 season, with sold-out stops throughout the United States and Europe. In October last year, Sandbox Percussion performed the work live with the LA Dance Project and choreographer Benjamin Millepied at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

In addition to maintaining an international performance schedule, Sandbox Percussion holds the position of ensemble-in-residence and percussion faculty at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and The New School’s College of Performing Arts, where they have created a curriculum with entrepreneurship and chamber music at its core. In 2016, Sandbox Percussion founded the annual NYU Sandbox Percussion Seminar—a week-long seminar that invites percussion students from around the globe to rehearse and perform today’s leading percussion chamber music repertoire.

Sandbox Percussion endorses Pearl/Adams musical instruments, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, Remo drumheads, and Black Swamp accessories.

ABOUT KATE LINDSEY

Mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey is one of the most exciting voices of her generation and appears regularly in the world’s most prestigious opera houses and orchestras, with many of the most distinguished conductors.

Highlights of the 2022-23 season includes Idamante in the Metropolitan Opera’s Idomeneo, Dido in Dido and Aeneas at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and returning to the Wiener Staatsoper to perform Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Der Komponist in Ariadne auf Naxos, and Penelope in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria.

Career highlights include a Kurt Weill double bill of Mahagonny Songspiel and Die sieben Todsünden at Teatro alla Scala, and multiple productions at the Wiener Staatsoper, where she premiered the title role in Olga Neuwirth’s Orlando and completed the company’s Monteverdi opera triptych. Additional premieres include the lead role in the English National Opera premiere of Paul Ruders’s The Handmaid’s Tale and the title role of Miranda in the Katie Mitchell production at Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique in Paris. At the Metropolitan Opera, she has sung over 100 performances in over a dozen roles, including Cherubino, Hänsel, Annio, Zerlina, Idamante, Nicklausse, and Nerone.

Lindsey’s first solo album, Thousands of Miles, with pianist Baptiste Trotignon, includes works by Weill, Korngold, and Zemlinsky. Her second album, Arianna, features the Arcangelo orchestra conducted by Jonathan Cohen. Lindsey’s most recent album, Tiranno, focuses on the character of Nero, and features world premiere recordings of cantatas by Scarlatti and Bartolomeo Monari. She records exclusively with Outhere Music / Alpha.

ABOUT JUSTINA LEE

American collaborative artist Justina Lee has served as assistant conductor, pianist, and coach for such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Castleton Festival, and Wolf Trap Opera Company. She is a frequent collaborator with acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee and has appeared with him on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert series. Recital highlights include collaborations with Alyson Cambridge, Gordon Hawkins, Linda Mabbs, Lisette Oropesa, Dimitri Pittas, and Tamara Wilson. Lee has appeared under the auspices of the Marilyn Horne Foundation residency program and on recital series that include On Wings of Song at Carnegie Hall, the Harriman-Jewell Series, the Washington Performing Arts Series at the Kennedy Center, and on Renée Fleming’s VOICES recital series. She can also be seen on Medici.tv as pianist for Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute master classes with Joyce DiDonato.

Lee is an alumna of the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at the Metropolitan Opera and holds degrees from the University of California, Los Angeles and the Manhattan School of Music. She joined the University of Maryland, College Park faculty in 2008 and currently serves as principal coach of the Maryland Opera Studio.

ABOUT THE RECITAL SERIES

Park Avenue Armory presents more intimate performances and programs in its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe in an intimate salon setting. Now celebrating its tenth season, the series has held the debuts of many world-class artists, including: the North American recital debuts of pianist Igor Levit, soprano Sabine Devieilhe, tenor Ilker Arcayürek, baritones Benjamin Appl and Roderick Williams, clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer, and cellist István Várdai; the North American solo recital debuts of tenor Michael Spyres and mezzo soprano Emily D’Angelo; the US Recital debuts of sopranos Barbara Hannigan and Anna Lucia Richter and baritone Thomas Oliemans; and the New York debut of pianist Severin von Eckardstein and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam.

The Recital Series has programmed the world premieres of Roger Reynolds’ FLiGHT performed by the JACK Quartet and Michael Hersch’s “…das Rückgrat berstend” performed by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Jay Campbell. Actor Charlotte Rampling and cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton gave the US premiere of The Night Dances on the series in 2015, which brought together Benjamin Britten’s suites for solo cello and poetry by Sylvia Plath; Wieder-Atherton returned to the Armory in 2017 for the North American premiere of Little Girl Blue, a program that reimagined the music of Nina Simone. New York premieres include: Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s In the Light of Air and Shades of Silence performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble; Dai Kujikura’s Minina, John Zorn’s Baudelaires, and a new arrangement of Messiaen’s Chants de terre et de ciel, also performed by ICE; Michael Gordon’s Rushes performed by the Rushes Ensemble; Michael Harrison’s Just Constellations performed by Roomful of Teeth; David Lang’s depart, Gabriel Jackson’s Our flags are wafting in hope and grief and Rigwreck, Kile Smith’s “Conversation in the Mountains” from Where Flames A Word, Louis Andriessen’s Ahania Weeping, Suzanne Giraud’s Johannisbaum, David Shapiro’s Sumptuous Planet, Benjamin CS Boyle’s Empire of Crystal, and Ted Hearne’s Animals (commissioned by Park Avenue Armory), all performed by The Crossing under conductor Donald Nally; and John Zorn’s Jumalatteret sung by soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Stephen Gosling.

Additional notable programs include performances by: baritone Christian Gerhaher with pianist Gerold Huber; the Flux Quartet; tenor Ian Bostridge with pianist Wenwen Du; pianist David Fray; soprano Lisette Oropesa with pianist John Churchwell; countertenor Andreas Scholl with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin; soprano Kate Royal with pianist Joseph Middleton; pipa player Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet; tenor Lawrence Brownlee with pianists Myra Huang and Jason Moran; mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard with pianist Ted Sperling; soprano Nadine Sierra with pianist Brian Wagorn; soprano Rosa Feola with pianist Iain Burnside; cellist Nicolas Altstaedt; tenor Paul Appleby with pianist Conor Hanick; baritone Will Liverman with pianist Myra Huang; mezzo soprano Jamie Barton with pianist and composer Jake Heggie; new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound; French period choir and chamber orchestra Ensemble Correspondances under the direction of harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé; baritone Justin Austin and pianist Howard Watkins; soprano Ying Fang with pianist Ken Noda; and members of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program.

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For more information, or to request images, please contact:
Tom Trayer, tomtrayer@armoryonpark.org or (212) 933-5801
Allison Abbott, aabbott@armoryonpark.org or (212) 933-5834