Culture Picks: March 24

This week, our Culture Picks line-up includes quite a few performances by artists beloved by Purchase PAC audiences. Have you seen any of them here?

Black Violin Impossible Tour
Live at The Ridgefield Playhouse
Sunday, April 10, 4:30pm and 7:30pm
PAC audience favorite Black Violin is led by classically trained string players Wil B. (viola) and Kev Marcus (violin); joining them onstage are DJ SPS and drummer Nat Stokes. The band uses its unique blend of classical and hip-hop music, often described as “classical boom,” to overcome stereotypes and encourage people of all ages, races, and economic backgrounds to join together to break down cultural barriers. NPR says “their music will keep classical music alive for the next generation.” The Impossible Tour spreads the message that anything is possible and there are no limits to what one can achieve, regardless of circumstance! Listen to their Take the Stairs album here.
Get tickets to see Black Violin’s Impossible Tour at The Ridgefield Playhouse

Emmet Cohen w/ Samara Joy Duo: Live from Verona, Italy
On-demand
Enjoy this performance featuring Purchase College alum Samara Joy on vocals with Emmet Cohen on piano. Recorded live at the Teatro Ristori in Verona, Italy, on February 22.
Watch Emmet Cohen w/ Samara Joy Duo Live from Verona, Italy on YouTube

CBS Sunday Morning presents
Pianist Jeremy Denk: Why Practice Matters
On-demand
CBS News correspondent John Dickerson sits down with the acclaimed classical pianist Jeremy Denk, recipient of a so-called MacArthur “genius” grant, to talk about Denk’s new book, “Every Good Boy Does Fine,” in which the performer professes love for what many music students actually hate: practice.
Watch pianist Jeremy Denk on why practice matters on YouTube

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents
Artist Series: Juho Pohjonen
On-demand until March 30
The brilliant Finnish pianist Juho Pohjonen is spotlighted in performance, supplemented by the premiere of a documentary film featuring a profile of his life and work. Mr. Pohjonen is joined in this program of Mozart, Schumann, and Bartók, by pianist Orion Weiss, violinists Adam Barnett-Hart and Dambi Um, violist Pierre Lapointe, cellist Brook Speltz, and bassist (and Purchase College professor) Timothy Cobb.
MOZART: Concerto No. 12 in A major for Piano and String Quintet, K. 414 (1782)
SCHUMANN: Arabesque in C major for Piano, Op. 18 (1838-39)
BARTÓK: The Miraculous Mandarin for Piano, Four Hands, Op. 19 (1918-19)
Watch CMS’s Artist Series featuring Juho Pohjonen on their website

Midtown Concerts presents
Musical Thievery
Live stream Thursday, March 24, 1:15pm
The pardessus de viole came into vogue at the height of the Ancien Régime as means for women to play Italiante violin sonatas. This program will explore the musical boundaries of this hybrid instrument, both within and beyond the borders of its motherland.
Arnie Tanimoto, pardessus de viol
Motomi Igarashi, pardessus de viol
Dongsok Shin, harpsichord
Cullen O’Neil, cello
Watch and listen to Musical Thievery on YouTube

Kölner Philharmonie presents
Rachmaninoff – Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini | Denis Kozhukhin | WDR Symphony Orchestra
Livestream premiere March 25, 11am
Denis Kozhukhin, piano
WDR Symphony Orchestra
Cristian Măcelaru, conductor
Watch and listen on YouTube

Music at St. Andrew’s presents Friday Noontime Recital
Livestream Friday, March 25, 12:10pm
With the ongoing situation in Ukraine, we’re all concerned. Tune in to Music at St. Andrew’s weekly noon-hour recital series online to hear Ukrainian-Canadian soprano Natalya Gennadi and pianist Stéphane Mayer perform Ukrainian art songs and opera arias.
Listen to Music at St Andrew’s Friday Noontime Recital

PBS presents Great Performances: The Conductor
Premiering on PBS Friday, March 25, at 9pm (check local listings)
(Also available on pbs.org/gperf, and the PBS Video app in celebration of Women’s History Month)
Follow Marin Alsop’s journey from playing the violin as an ambitious nine-year-old who longed to conduct, to attending Juilliard, to creating her own all-female string orchestra and swing band, and ultimately to becoming the first female music director of a major American symphony despite repeated rejection by the classical music industry. Features archival footage with her mentor Leonard Bernstein and is set to a soundtrack of her performances.
Learn more about The Conductor on PBS.org

The Greenburgh Public Library presents
Jazz Conversations with Frank De Ligio: Women in Jazz
Livestream Saturday, March 26, 2pm
It is Women’s History Month and the women in jazz history are extraordinary though often overlooked. There are so many great singers, players, composers, arrangers, and leaders that we will fall far short of presenting all of them. From the renowned Billie Holiday to the forgotten Valaida Snow, the world of jazz has been filled with brilliant women who deserved to be seen and heard more than they were!
Access the Zoom link for Jazz Conversations

Symphony Space presents Wall to Wall Selected Shorts
Livestream Saturday, March 26, 11am-11pm
Symphony Space began the Selected Shorts series in 1985 as part of its literature-in-performance mission. The series has developed over the decades across radio, podcasts, and national tours. The free all-day event of readings will be live-streamed and as well as presented in person at Symphony Space in New York City.
The initial cast to read this year’s pieces so far includes Tony Shalhoub, Edie Falco, BD Wong, Holly Hunter, Brandon J. Dirden, Stephen Lang, Purva Bedi, Arian Moayed, Maulik Pancholy, Becca Blackwell, Jane Curtin, Crystal Dickinson, Jane Kaczmarek, Fred Hechinger, Sonia Manzano, Emily Skeggs, James Naughton, and Rita Wolf.
Authors Rabih Alameddine, Jenny Allen, Aimee Bender, Marie-Helene Bertino, Jai Chakrabarti, Patrick Cottrell, Elizabeth Crane, Michael Cunningham, Patrick Dacey, Edwidge Danticat, Dave Eggers, Omar El Akkad, Lauren Groff, Jacob Guajardo, A.M. Homes, Mira Jacob, Jac Jemc, Etgar Keret, Lisa Ko, Victor LaValle, J. Robert Lennon, Ben Loory, Carmen Maria Machado, Juan Martinez, Maile Meloy, Joe Meno, Lesley Nneka Arimah, Susan Perabo, Helen Phillips, Namwali Serpell, Rivers Solomon,Elizabeth Strout, Luis Alberto Urrea, Jess Walter, and Weike Wang have all contributed works.
As part of the multidisciplinary event, cartoonist Roz Chast, illustrator Michael Arthur, filmmaker Adam Douglas Thompson, choreographers Larry Keigwin, Heidi Latsky, and Leonardo Sandoval, musicians Lakecia Benjamin, Laura Gibson, Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich, DJ Raydar Ellis, and more have all created works inspired by the stories.
Learn more about Wall to Wall Selected Shorts on SymphonySpace.org

CSO & Pops Digital Concert Series presents
Symphonie Fantastique
Livestream Saturday, March 26, 7:30pm
Louis Langrée, conductor
Eighth Blackbird
Wynton Marsalis: Herald, Holler and Hallelujah [CSO Co-commission]
Kinds of Kings: Nine Mothers [World Premiere, CSO Co-commission]
Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Access the livestream on the CSO website

Tarrytown Music Hall presents
A Show of Caring: A Concert to Benefit Ukraine
Sunday, March 27, at 8pm at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY
You are invited to an evening of song and solidarity to benefit the citizens of Ukraine who are fighting for their families, their country— and their lives. Performers include Ukrainian artists Irena Portenko on piano, Metropolitan Opera bass Stefan Szkafarowsky, and the Ukrainian “Dumka” Chorus (seen on Saturday Night Live on February 26) — plus countertenor Jeffrey Charles Palmer and pianist Svetlana Gorokhovich. Here’s your opportunity to show you care – by buying tickets and filling the hall for this special all-volunteer event. All proceeds after ticket fees will be donated to charities supporting Ukrainian rescue efforts.
Get tickets for “A Show of Caring”

The Greene Space presents
Lara Downes & John McWhorter: Scott Joplin’s New York
Live stream Wednesday, March 30, 7pm
On her chart-topping new album Reflections: Scott Joplin Reconsidered, iconoclastic pianist Lara Downes examines Scott Joplin’s music through a 21st-century lens, revealing its subtle nuances to retell the fascinating and complex story of an innovator who helped define the sound of the American 20th century. Lara is joined by author and cultural commentator John McWhorter (who’s also an amateur pianist and Joplin fanatic!) for an intimate evening of music and conversation about Joplin’s New York, a century of progress, and the contradictions that shape our American life.
Watch “Scott Joplin’s New York” on YouTube

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Culture Picks is a weekly feature celebrating the performing arts. The arts are back and there is so much to take in, both live and virtual. Cultural connoisseur and PAC staff member Coni Guhl is here to help you sort through it all. Each week we will post her curated selection of events featuring the artists you know and love from The PAC Center Series, work being done by Purchase alums, plus a sampling of arts experiences you just can’t miss. Enjoy!

All times are EDT unless otherwise noted.