Top Pop Stars Headline Free Concerts in Central Park

There’s a full schedule of free concerts in Central Park all summer, featuring such top pop, R&B and rap stars as Miley Cyrus, Black Eyed Peas and Mary J. Blige. It’s the annual SummerStage series, and it starts on Tuesday, June first with the New York Pops Orchestra, the only independent professional orchestra in the U. S. specializing in popular music, especially Broadway show tunes. New York Pops was founded in 1983 by NBC Music Director Skitch Henderson. 2010 is the 25th anniversary of SummerStage, and we can all celebrate with 33 free concerts. The Central Park SummerStage is at the Rumsey Playfield, Central Park West at 72nd St. The New York Pops performance is at 7 p.m. Check the SummerStage website for a full listing of free concert performances, which include –