NYC Free: NY Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks

It’s that time of year again – time for the annual New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks, with a week of FREE classical music concerts and fireworks in parks in all five boroughs, starting next week.  The 2017 concert series caps off the Phil’s 175 years of music.

The Concerts in the Parks series began in 1965, and have become a summer tradition, as have the Metropolitan Opera Summer Concert Series  also in parks in all five boroughs.

SEE ALSO

SummerStage FREE concerts in NYC parks

Live at the Archway FREE concerts by local musicians

So get your picnic blankets and picnic baskets ready for classical music.  Please be courteous to your neighbors — no loud conversations during the music, either person to person or on cellphones.  And remember to turn off the ringer.

Each concert this year includes Dvořák’s New World Symphony  and its theme of home. It was written while Dvořák was living and working in New York City, inspired by his reflections as an immigrant in America. The New York Philharmonic premiered the symphony at Carnegie Hall in 1893.

You can sing or play along with the orchestra to the familiar strains of the the “Goin’ Home” theme from the Largo, conducted by Music Director Alan Gilbert.

Also on the schedule are musical selections by New Yorkers Leonard Bernstein and George Gershwin, from their iconic West Side Story and An American in Paris.

All performances begin at 8:00 p.m. except the concert in Staten Island, which begins at 3:00 p.m.

Performances in Bronx, Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn are outdoors and end with fireworks.  The Staten Island concert is indoors, so no fireworks.

Again this year, New York Philharmonic Concerts are preceded by Share the Stage, performances by local musicians in their home boroughs, to salute the diversity of New York City’s resident musicians.

Here’s the schedule:

Tuesday, June 13 – Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx

• Enter the park from Broadway, near West 251st Street. Concert site is north of the baseball fields

Wednesday, June 14 – On the Great Lawn in Central Park

• Westside entrances: West 81st or 86th Streets at Central Park West
• Eastside entrances: East 79th or 85th Streets at Fifth Avenue

Thursday, June 15 – Cunningham Park, Queens

• Enter at 193rd Street, near 81stst Avenue or Union Turnpike. Concert site is at 193rd Street Field

Friday, June 16 – On the Great Lawn in Prospect Park, Brooklyn

• Enter at Grand Army Plaza, Prospect Park West at 9th Street or Bartel-Pritchard Circle at the intersection of Prospect Park West, Prospect Park Southwest and 15th Street

Sunday, June 18 – Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Staten Island

Thanks to all the individuals, charitable foundations and corporations funding this series.

• The New York Philharmonic Concerts in the Parks are presented by Didi and Oscar Schafer.
• MetLife Foundation, Citi, and Emirates Airline are Major Corporate Sponsors of Concerts in the Parks.
• Concerts in the Parks are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.
• Made possible, in part, by a grant from the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Inc.

YAI will be operating an accessibility section for all Concerts in the Parks. This does not include the Free Indoor Concert in Staten Island. Please call 212-273-6100 ext. 5239 for details.