Culture Picks: April 7

Spring has sprung, and the music scene is in full bloom!

Ailey All Access presents
Robert Battle’s For Four
On-demand through Sunday, April 10
“With a quartet of dancers bounding to feverish jazz by Wynton Marsalis, it’s a seven-minute affirmation that [Robert] Battle the artist is back in business.” –The New York Times
Watch Robert Battle’s “For Four” on Ailey All Access

Caramoor presents
Callisto Quartet
On-demand through Sunday, April 10
Beethoven: String Quartet No. 15 in A Minor, Op. 132
Mendelssohn: String Quartet No. 2 in A Minor, Op. 13
The Callisto Quartet, Caramoor’s 2021-22 Ernst Stiefel String Quartet-in-Residence, concludes their extended residency with works by Beethoven and Mendelssohn. Both works share similar temperaments of introspection, suffering, and deliverance.
Watch the Callisto Quartet on Caramoor’s website

Chorus America presents
Celebrating Baltimore’s Choral Community
Premiering on Thursday, April 7 at 7pm, then on demand
This performance helps to kick off Chorus America’s 2022 Conference, which includes online events as well as an In-Person Event in Baltimore on June 15-17. In anticipation of our June in-person gathering, this virtual performance highlights some of the choral groups that make the Baltimore choral community so special.
Watch the celebration on YouTube

PBS presents
Chamber Music Society Returns
Premiering Friday, April 8 & Friday, April 15, 10pm both nights
Check local listings (in New York on WNET Channel 13)
The exciting, new two-part PBS film, Chamber Music Society Returns, tells the story of CMS’s return to live concerts at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall and the six-city national tour, the first of its kind in almost two years. This documentary-style film captures the passion for making music that pushed the CMS community forward at every turn. Take a look inside the planning and execution of the celebratory first concert back, complete with all the obstacles involved with mounting a tour in these fraught times, and the culmination of the fall season with the beloved annual tradition of Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos. The return of live chamber music to Lincoln Center is a story of many trials as well as ultimate resilience and hope; a fantastic encapsulation of the collective experience over the last two years.
Learn more and watch the trailer on the CMS website

Carnegie Hall presents
Spring Family Day
Sunday, April 10, at 12pm in the Resnick Education Wing
Carnegie Hall’s Spring Family Day is a daylong open house that invites children (ages 5-10) and their adults to explore the idea of Afrofuturism. In a fitting nod to the boundless imagination of Afrofuturism, families enjoy an array of social experiences, art activities, music-making, concerts, and more. Design your own comic-book hero and super-powered instruments for harmony and justice, and participate in a group songwriting session. Sing and dance to soulful funk music, build your own instruments from recycled materials, and more! This very special part of Carnegie Hall’s Afrofuturism festival lets you create and learn alongside other families throughout the Resnick Education Wing.
View Carnegie Hall’s Family Day schedule of events on their website

Aspen Armchair Concerts presents
Orion Weiss, piano
Livestream Monday, April 11, 8pm
On-demand for three days
J.S. BACH Aria with 30 Variations, BWV 988, “Goldberg Variations”
J. S. BACH/BRAHMS Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004, for the Left Hand
Visit the Aspen Music Festival Virtual Stage

The Ossining Public Library presents
Alan Sklar Reading Robert Frost
Wednesday, April 13, from 7-8pm
For National Poetry Month, we are welcoming renowned voiceover actor Alan Sklar, who will be reading selected works of Robert Frost. Don’t miss this special evening of poetry!
Please register to receive the Zoom link

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts presents
Lincoln Center’s American Songbook: American Music in a Changing America
Moderated by Julyssa Lopez. Panelists include Linda Briceño, Carlos Chirinos, Jaime Lozano, and Sofia Rei.
Live in the David Rubenstein Atrium
Wednesday, April 13, 7:30pm
Generation after generation, America’s changing population has changed its musical landscape. Join us for a conversation that explores the diversity of Latin music and culture, and how these rhythms and traditions have been integral to American music from its historical roots to the present day. The panelists will share their musical influences, talk about how cross-cultural experiences have shaped their artistry, and consider how Latin culture is represented in the American music industry through a critical lens. Spanning personal stories, historical context, and the contemporary music scene, this talk will open a dialogue on how the global exchange of art and culture continues to expand and define the American songbook.
This event is free and open to the public. Seating and entry are first-come, first-served; the line will form at the Atrium’s entrance on Broadway, between 62nd and 63rd Street.
Learn more about the program on LincolnCenter.org

ITV presents Concert for Ukraine
On-demand
A star-studded event raising money for the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal, featuring Camila Cabello, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Gregory Porter, Snow Patrol, Nile Rodgers and Chic, Becky Hill, The Kingdom Choir, Manic Street Preachers, Anne-Marie, Paloma Faith, and Tom Odell.
Watch “Concert for Ukraine” 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.