Wave Hill Announces its 2015‒2016 Concert Season
Ten Sunday Performances in Historic Armor Hall, September 2015‒April 2016
Wave Hill kicks off its 2015‒2016 concert season in late September with the first of ten extraordinary performances in Armor Hall. This season’s adventurous mix of musical styles and performers is selected by Wave Hill Performing Arts Curator Amy Roberts Frawley, and offers a spicy mix of traditional and innovative sounds—from string quartets and a brass quintet to a baroque ensemble and a swingtime big band. Originally built to house the remarkable collection of arms and armor of former Wave Hill House resident Bashford Dean, Armor Hall’s soaring windows afford views of the stunning garden landscape, while the gracious intimacy of the space offers superb acoustics. Come early to enjoy a leisurely stroll through the gardens or lunch in The Café before the concert begins at 2PM.
September 20: Tanya Bannister, Intimate Piano Concertos
“...a revelation to hear Chopin’s lines rendered with such filigree clarity...”
The New York Times
This concert is a rare opportunity for Wave Hill audiences to enjoy chamber ensemble arrangements of piano concertos by Chopin and Mozart. Lauded by The Washington Post for playing “with intelligence, poetry and proportion,” pianist Tanya Bannister is joined by a complement of gifted string players. As a bonus, the pianist offers Chopin’s gorgeous Ballade No. 4.
October 25: Bohemian Trio
“This chamber-like trio specializes in music of traditional Latin American origin, though its methods are cosmopolitan.”
The New York Times
The adventurous, romantic and inspiring artists of the Bohemian Trio (saxophone & chekeré, cello, piano), return to Armor Hall with their signature fiery assortment of traditional and new jazz works, infused with Afro-Cuban rhythms and flair. Back by popular demand.
November 22: Canal Street String Band
“This is timeless music. These guys sound like they are having a great time.”
The Buffalo News
Don’t miss this! Be part of Harvest Weekend festivities and join the Canal Street String Band for rollicking fun, three-part harmonies and fancy string work that capture the American spirit as explored in folk music and blues—on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, banjo, bones, spoons, dobro and more. Concerts at 1:30 & 3PM in the Mark Twain Room.
December 6: Swingtime Big Band
“Musicians who make the sounds of the pre-rock era rock.”
The New York Times
Welcome the holidays with the 20-piece Swingtime Big Band under the direction of Steven Shaiman. Enjoy the unmistakable sound that defined our nation’s popular music from the 1930s to the ‘50s, that unique combination of -2- reeds, brass and rhythm section, in selections from the American Song Book, Sinatra favorites—in honor of his 100th birthday—and seasonal tunes.
January 10: Hermès String Quartet
“...world-class quartet playing...will likely take their place among the top quartets of our time.”
The Washington Post
Founded in 2008 at the Lyon Conservatory, the Hermès String Quartet is a luminous young Paris-based ensemble and winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions. The Quartet offers an all-French program of quartets by Ravel and Fauré to showcase its “intense and colorful playing” (The New York Times).
January 31: Michael Brown, piano
“...one of the leading figures in the renaissance of performer-composers...”
The New York Times
The honors bestowed upon this brilliant young artist keep mounting—the latest is a 2015 Avery Fisher Career Grant. Join Michael Brown in Armor Hall for another distinctive program of classics paired with his own works, introduced by his insightful commentaries.
February 21: Rebel Baroque Ensemble
“Rebel enchanted a rapt audience...with virtuoso élan on their instruments...”
The Times Union
Rebel presents an elegant and energized program of works for harpsichord and strings by Bach, Vivaldi and Telemann. Described as “sophisticated and beguiling” by The New York Times, the ensemble originated in the Netherlands and now tours nationally and internationally from its home base in New York. It is well known for its longtime residencies at Trinity Church and with National Public Radio.
March 6: Sweet Plantain
“...not your mother’s string quartet...” wickershamsconscience.com
Sweet Plantain is four immensely talented, classically trained musicians who fuse their skill, diverse backgrounds and eclectic musical interests to bridge the gap between genres and generations. Their sound is unique, the styles spanning classical, Cuban, Venezuelan joropo, hip-hop and rap. The ensemble has toured throughout the US, Europe, Russia and the Caribbean, with local appearances at Carnegie Hall and Birdland.
March 20: Daria Rabotkina, piano
“...talent, poise, technical power and stage presence...”Winnipeg Free Press
Daria Rabotkina’s ascending career has already led to solo appearances with the San Francisco and New World Symphonies with Michael Tilson Thomas, and a North American tour with the Kirov Orchestra and Maestro Valery Gergiev. She is “a pianist full of fire and warmth” (The Plain-Dealer), attributes that will be on display at Wave Hill when she offers works of Prokofiev and Rachmaninoff. The artist is a winner of the Concert Artists Guild Competition.
April 3: Boston Brass Quintet
“...powerful style and grace...lightning flashes of brilliance...”
All About Jazz
The stellar Boston Brass Quintet offers a virtuosic showcase for brass with works by Bach, de Falla, Bernstein and Ellington. Performing together for more than a quarter century, the group has been featured on “The Early Show” on CBS and National Public Radio’s “Performance Today,” and performed in 49 states and 30 countries world-wide.
RECAP--
September 20, 2015 Tanya Bannister, piano concertos
October 25, 2015 Bohemian Trio (saxophone & chekeré, cello, piano)
November 22, 2015 Canal Street String Band
December 6, 2015 Swingtime Big Band
January 10, 2016 Hermès String Quartet
January 31, 2016 Michael Brown, piano
February 21, 2016 Rebel Baroque Ensemble
March 6, 2016 Sweet Plantain
March 20, 2016 Daria Rabotkina, piano
April 3, 2016 Boston Brass Quintet
Performances start at 2PM, and last approximately one hour.
Programs subject to change.
WHERE: Armor Hall, Wave Hill House
West 249th Street and Independence Avenue
Bronx, NY 10471
TICKETS: SINGLE TICKETS:
$28 general admission, $15 child (ages 8‒18)
Wave Hill Member: $22 adult, $12 child
CREATE YOUR OWN SERIES!
Pick any 4 performances and receive a 15% discount.
ON-SALE DATES:
Member pre-sale: Wednesday, August 12
General public: Wednesday, August 26
Purchase tickets online at wavehill.org or onsite at the Perkins Visitor Center. A $2 surcharge will be added to registrations made by telephone. Ticket prices include admission to the grounds.
The Performing Arts at Wave Hill are supported by the Cathy and Stephen Weinroth Commissioning Fund for the Arts. The buildings and grounds of Wave Hill are owned by the City of New York. Wave Hill’s operations are supported with public funds through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the Zoos, Botanical Gardens and Aquariums Grant Program administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; the National Endowment for the Arts; the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State
Legislature.
