Free Annual New Year’s Eve “Concert For Peace” At UWS Cathedral Of Saint John The Divine
Photo: David Goldman for The New York Times
If you’re looking for a low-key (and free) New Year’s Eve activity in the neighborhood, the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine (1047 Amsterdam, at 112th) is hosting its 29th annual “Concert For Peace” on Saturday evening.
Reserved seating is $60, but general admission is free. The concert starts at 7:00 pm and I believe the program is only 90 minutes, so you should have plenty of time to head out afterwards.
Full details are available at StJohnDivine.org. I’m getting the 90-minute figure from NYC Arts. A brief description from the organizers:
The Cathedral marks the New Year with the annual New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace: a celebration of music, dance, prayer and words, to the light of thousands of candles held by everyone attending. This is one of the most glorious events at the Cathedral, and, indeed, in the city: the new year, still dark and cold, is welcomed with light and song as the Muses drop in to bind us to each other with beauty.
The New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace was conceived by Leonard Bernstein. On December 31, 1983, he conducted a program starting with Aaron Copland’s “Fanfare for the Common Man,” reminding us that wars may be dreamed up and promulgated by the rich, but they are fought by the common men and women of this country, and all countries.
The 2011 New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace is a celebration of African-American Music and the Spiritual as a place of sanctuary for all people. The centerpiece of the concert will be the oratorio A Child of our Time by the distinguished British composer Sir Michael Tippett.
Featured artists at this year’s concert include:
- Judy Collins, Artist in Residence
- Harry Smith, NBC Correspondent
- Indra Thomas, Soprano
- Rachel Calloway, Mezzo-Soprano
- Noah Stewart, Tenor
- Soloman Howard, Bass
- The Dessoff Symphonic Choirs, Chris Shepard, Music Director
- UBUNTU-SHRUTI Orchestra
- George Mathew, Conductor and Artistic Director, New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace
Full bios for each of the above are available here.
Here’s a brief write-up about the 2008 concert from the NYT if you’re looking for some background. Note the last line that says the concert included “clergymen from the cathedral, along with a rabbi, an imam and two Tibetan Buddhist priests.” No word on whether or not the group “walked into a bar” after the concert…
The free general admission is first-come, first-served. If anyone has attended in previous years and has suggestions on what time to show up, please drop me a line and I’ll update this post with the information: alerts [at] myupperwest.com, facebook.com/myupperwest, or @MyUpperWest.
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Tags: 1047 Amsterdam, Cathedral Of Saint John The Divine, Chris Shepard, Concert For Peace, George Mathew, Harry Smith, Indra Thomas, Judy Collins, Leonard Bernstein, New Year's Eve, New Year’s Eve Concert for Peace, New York City, Noah Stewart, NYC, Rachel Calloway, Soloman Howard, The Dessoff Symphonic Choirs, UBUNTU-SHRUTI Orchestra, Upper West Side, UWS
