By Tracy Zwick
With snow and freezing temperatures forecast, make sure to stay warm, but don’t be a complete recluse! We’ve got a few opportunities this weekend to listen to and learn about music in the neighborhood, from jazz, to classical, to songs of resilience in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday. Warm up with music in a local church, synagogue, or library. And clean out your own library while you watch the snowflakes or rain fall! You can donate children’s volumes to a terrific book drive.
Let’s Weekend!
January 17th to 19th, 2025
Members of the New York Philharmonic Play Bach at Cathedral of St. John the Divine: Friday, Jan. 17 at 7:30 p.m., 1047 Amsterdam Avenue at West 112th Street; free advance tickets required
Enjoy the warmth of music on a cold winter evening at St. John the Divine. Nathalie Stutzmann, music director of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, will lead members of the New York Philharmonic, including the cathedral’s own music director, Kent Tritle, in a 70-minute Baroque program. The Voices of Harlem chorus will lend their vocals, as will soprano Talise Trevigne and baritone Leon Košavić.
Rhythm is My Business: Women Who Shaped Jazz, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; 111 Amsterdam Avenue between West 64th and 65th streets; Tuesday to Saturday 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. (with late hours Thursday, when it’s open until 8); free
What’s cozier than the library in this frigid season? Bring a book or check out one of the library’s volumes and settle in for a few hours at any of the NYPL branches (I was at the beautiful, historic Jefferson Market branch earlier this week.). If you visit the branch at Lincoln Center, you can also take a walk through jazz history that’s centered on the accomplishments of women in the field. This exhibition showcases the groundbreaking work of female musicians through photos, posters, video, audio, and other archival items in the collection of the NYPL’s Music and Recorded Sound Division. There’s a free audio guide on site at the library, or you can listen to the audio guide on Bloomberg Connects, a free arts and culture app.
“Soul to Soul” – African American and Jewish music meet in a concert honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. Day; January 19th at 7 p.m., Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, 30 West 68th Street, tickets start at about $38
Inspired by the partnership between the Black and Jewish communities during the Civil Rights Movement, this concert will feature both Yiddish and English songs written and performed by Black and Jewish artists. It will begin with introductions by Rep. Ritchie Torres, who represents the South Bronx in Congress, and Peter A. Geffen, founder of the Upper West Side’s The Heschel School, and it will culminate in a celebration of songs that accompanied the sit-ins and marches of the Civil Rights Movement. The music will be presented alongside historic and artistic imagery, including video selections from milestone speeches and marches, as well as commentary from those who were there.
Donate children’s books you no longer need!
Another at-home activity that’s perfect for weather that makes you want to stay at home is organizing your library. For many of us, that includes getting rid of volumes we no longer need. If your pile of books to donate includes works written for children, take them to the JCC all this week. They’ll be distributed at a free children’s book fair organized by Brewer and hosted by the JCC (334 Amsterdam Avenue at West 76th Street) on Friday, January 24. Beginning this Monday, take any children’s books you can donate to the JCC from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Last year’s event saw over 3,000 books donated, and visitors to the free book fair may take as many as they’d like.
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I have been meaning to clean out my library for months. This post is a real inspiration to me, as are all of your columns. As always, thank you for the motivation to do something useful to mind and body!
Monday is a great day to watch the peaceful transfer of power.