It wouldn’t be summer without a lazy day by the sea, preferably with a delightful beach read. And for arts lovers like us, what could be better than a murder mystery set in a performing arts center located on the campus of a SUNY school in Westchester County, NY? Roberta Mantell’s Angels’ Blood: Murder in the Chorus follows an intrepid arts reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper on her quest to find the killer. Was it the conductor, or perhaps the chorister with ambitions to become a soloist, or the expert vetting a historical bombshell? Pick up a copy of Mantell’s debut novel, grab your beach chair and some sunscreen, and start reading to find out who dunnit. And then after the beach, head out to experience one or more of the arts events featured in this month’s Culture Picks!

Jazz Forum Arts presents Free Outdoor Summer Concerts in August
Enjoy live jazz with your friends and family in your neighborhood park! Jazz Forum Arts has been presenting free outdoor summer concerts since 1985 and will present 32 concerts this July and August at five Hudson River locations: Dobbs Ferry Waterfront Park, Lyndhurst and Pierson Park in Tarrytown, Horan’s Landing in Sleepy Hollow, and Henry Gourdine Park in Ossining.
View the Jazz Forum Arts Summer Concerts schedule

 Jacob’s Pillow presents Jacob’s Pillow Live
Stay tuned for Jacob’s Pillow Live all summer long, and beyond. Enjoy livestreams, Encore Streams of summer performances, and exclusive live presentations, all in one place and all for free.
Access Jacob’s Pillow Live

Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute presents the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America
Every summer, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute brings together dazzling up-and-coming musicians at Purchase College for its trio of youth ensembles: the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), NYO2, and NYO Jazz. Teen instrumentalists from across the nation audition to be part of these free, rigorous training programs that culminate in performances on illustrious stages around the globe.  This summer’s stats are impressive—the 208 young participants hail from 40 states plus the District of Columbia and Guam.  Following their July concerts at Carnegie Hall, the groups embark on overseas tours, including inaugural visits by NYO-USA to Japan as part of a larger tour to Asia, NYO2 to Europe, and NYO Jazz to Latin America.
Listen On-Demand: National Youth Orchestra of the USA
Relive an unforgettable performance by the National Youth Orchestra of the USA, led by Gianandrea Noseda — featuring superstar violinist Ray Chen in Mendelssohn’s beloved Violin Concerto. Also on the program was Carlos Simon’s Festive Fanfare and Overture and Rachmaninoff’s Symphony No. 2, performed by this powerhouse group of young musicians ages 16–19, selected from across the United States.
Listen to NYO on WQXR

Ending soon!
Lincoln Center’s Summer for the City
Through August 9
In and around Lincoln Center, NYC
Hundreds of free and Choose-What-You-Pay performances and cultural activities for all ages.
View the Summer for the City events schedule

Tanglewood Recital Series presents Music for New Bodies
Thursday, August 7, 8pm
Tanglewood’s Seiji Ozawa Hall, Lenox/Stockbridge, MA
American Modern Opera Company (AMOC)
Libretto based on poetry by Jorie Graham, selected by Matthew Aucoin and Peter Sellars
Matthew Aucoin, conductor; Staged by Peter Sellars; Song Hee Lee, soprano; Megan Moore, mezzo-soprano; Paul Appleby, tenor; William Socolof, baritone
Matthew Aucoin’s Music for New Bodies (2024) is an uncategorizable work of music-theater: part opera, part song cycle, part vocal symphony. Based on poetry by Jorie Graham, the piece is a portrait of our moment in history as seen through the eyes of a cancer patient undergoing a drastic medical procedure. As the patient experiences the transformation of her own body, she meditates on questions that range from the personal to the cosmic: in a time when life is more and more virtual, what does it mean to have a body? And above all, after our species has poisoned the planet with countless toxins, can we still listen to what the earth has to tell us? The Purchase PAC is proud to have hosted Music for New Bodies rehearsals earlier this summer.
Learn more and get tickets on Tanglewood’s website

The Public Theater presents Free Shakespeare in the Park:  Twelfth Night, directed by Saheem Ali
Thursday, August 7 – Sunday, September 14
In Central Park’s revitalized Delacorte Theater, NYC
After a two-year renovation, the Delacorte Theater in Central Park re-opens with a star-studded cast that includes Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lupita Nyong’o, Sandra Oh, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Junior Nyong’o, b, Khris Davis, John Ellison Conlee, Ariyan Kassam, Valentino Musumeci, Moses Sumney, Kapil Talwalker, Joe Tapper, and Purchase College alum Precious Omigie.
Can’t get to the city? PBS will broadcast this production as part of its Great Performances series beginning November 14.
Learn more on the Public Theatre’s website

Battery Dance presents the 44th Annual Battery Dance Festival
Saturday, August 9, 7pm
Robert F. Wagner Park, Battery Park City, 20 Battery Place, New York, NY
and
Tuesday, August 12-Saturday, August 16, at 7pm
Rockefeller Park, Battery Park City, 75 River Terrace (North Esplanade), New York, NY
The Battery Dance Festival is New York City’s longest-running free public dance festival, showcasing American and international dance companies. Each year, the Festival draws a combined audience of over 12,000 in-person and over 35,000 virtual viewers.
Vist the Battery Dance website for event schedule and more information

The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents
Summer Season at Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Sunday, August 10, 3pm and Sunday, August 17 at 3pm
Doors open at 2pm and the house opens at 2:30pm
Spa Little Theatre, 19 Roosevelt Drive, Saratoga Springs, NY
Enjoy the SPAC debut of the Viano Quartet in a program featuring classic string quartets by Haydn, Mendelssohn, and Shostakovich on August 10, followed by the final program of the CMS Summer Season on August 17, with major works by Shostakovich and Dohnányi and featuring CMS artistic co-director and cellist David Finckel.
Visit the Saratoga Performing Arts website for tickets and more information

Can’t make it to Saratoga Springs but can’t wait to hear CMS at The PAC? 
View WNET’s All Arts series In Concert with CMS, hosted by CMS artist Kristin Lee. Tune in to the ALL ARTS broadcast channel to view individual episodes.
Visit the All Arts broadcast channel

Hudson Valley Shakespeare presents Octet
Monday, August 11 – Sunday, September 7
Hudson Valley Shakespeare, 2015 Route 9, Garrison, NY
From the celebrated author of Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 comes a hauntingly original new musical about the search for human connection in the digital age. Featuring rich harmonies and intricate vocal arrangements, Octet finds compelling human drama in our middle-of-the-night anxieties about the impact of technology on the nature of our relationships.  The HVS production is the first to follow the original Off-Broadway version, which won the 2020 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Musical.
Visit the Hudson Valley Shakespeare website for tickets and more information

The Metropolitan Opera in association with PBS and The WNET Group presents
Great Performances at the Met:  Le Nozze di Figaro
Premieres Sunday, August 17 on PBS
Conductor Joana Mallwitz makes her Met debut leading the cast in Mozart’s comic masterpiece. Michael Sumuel is the clever valet Figaro opposite Olga Kulchynska as his betrothed, the wily maid Susanna. Joshua Hopkins plays the skirt-chasing Count, Federica Lombardi portrays his anguished wife, and Marianne Crebassa takes on the role of the adolescent page Cherubino.
Watch Great Performances on PBS.org

The Katonah Museum of Art presents Drop-in Drawing
Saturday, August 23, noon-2pm
Katonah Museum of Art, 134 Jay Street, Katonah, NY
Whether you’re an experienced artist or want to learn, drop in for an inspiring session of gallery sketching. KMAA artist and Purchase PAC staff member Monique Ford will be on hand to offer tips and techniques. Basic supplies are provided. Open to adults and free with admission.  Drop-In Drawing will also be offered on Saturday, September 27.
Register for Drop-In Drawing

The Purchase PAC presents Bassist Endea Owens
Sunday, October 12, 7pm
Tickets to see Endea Owens at The Purchase PAC are on sale now.
Known as one of Jazz’s most vibrant emerging artists, Endea Owens is a Detroit-raised recording artist, bassist, and composer. In 2018, Owens joined the “Late Show with Stephen Colbert” as a member of the house band, Stay Human. Since then, Endea has won an Emmy, a Grammy, and a George Foster Peabody Award. Endea’s work has appeared on Jon Batiste’s Grammy Award-winning album We Are, Oscar-nominated film Judas and the Black Messiah, and H.E.R.’s widely acclaimed Super Bowl LV performance.
Learn more about this inspiring artist!
Watch “Believe in Yourself,” an interview with Endea Owens, on YouTube
Listen to Endea Owen’s story of going from a shelter to “The Late Show” stage
Learn about Owens’ work with Jazz at Lincoln Center’s education programs
Hear Endea Owen’s performance at Montreux Jazz Festival
Listen to the original studio recording of Endea Owens’ composition “Ida’s Crusade”

—

Culture Picks celebrates the performing arts. In each post, PAC staff member Coni Guhl shines the spotlight on work by artists that you know and love from their appearances at The Purchase PAC, and offers recommendations about other performing arts events that you really should not miss. Experience them all!

All times are EDT unless otherwise noted.

Pictured: Music for New Bodies. Photo (c) Lynn Lane.