WELCOME
Park Avenue Armory strives to engage audiences with high-quality classical music, becoming a “locus for important chamber music concerts” (The New Yorker). Set in the intimate and lush surroundings of the Board of Officers Room, the Armory provides “a space for chamber music, which marries excellent acoustics and an austerely elegant Gilded Age interior. With its blood-red mahogany paneling and chandeliers that diffuse a soft caramel glow while bronzed chain curtains filter out the daylight, the room creates an atmosphere of luxury and concentration” (The New York Times).
For the 2025 Season, the Recital Series includes highly anticipated recital debuts, thoughtfully curated programs of lieder, art song, and contemporary works by some of today’s most exciting musical interpreters, and thrilling performances that explore signal works and take the art form in bold new directions.
In February, we welcome BBC Next Generation Artist baritone Konstantin Krimmel for his North American recital debut, in a program of works by Schubert, Loewe, and Ralph Vaughan Williams with pianist Ammiel Bushakevitz. Soprano Erin Morley brings her sought-after lyric coloratura to the intimate Board of Officers Room stage in April with an artfully curated program of works from her recent album Rose in Bloom, including repertoire connected to flowers, gardens, and nature from Schumann and Berg to Saint-Saëns and Rimsky-Korsakov and a song cycle by Ricky Ian Gordon.
The series continues in the fall with Samoan tenor Pene Pati following his glowing reviews at his Met Opera debut earlier this year, making his North American recital debut with pianist Ronny Michael Greenberg in September. One of America’s foremost pianists, Jeremy Denk, gives a marathon performance in October of Bach’s Six Partitas, presumably the most famous and challenging collection of suites in music history, showcasing his virtuosic playing and sensitive musicality.
Two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo soprano Sasha Cooke gives a new program titled “Of Thee I Sing” in November, an artfully curated program with pianist Myra Huang of works by Debussy, both Alma and Gustav Mahler, and the New York premieres of a song cycle by Scott Ordway and an Armory-commissioned work by American composer Jasmine Barnes. Finally, the Attacca Quartet closes out the 2025 Recital Series with a wide-ranging program of classic quartets by Bartók and Felix Mendelssohn, quartet-arranged interpretations of signal works for other instrumentation, and the North American premiere of “Daisy”—an Armory-commissioned new composition by David Lang.
Over the past decade of recitals at the Armory, we are proud to have held more than 130 intimate performances by almost 240 internationally renowned musicians, including 16 important North American, US, and New York debuts of dynamic artists including tenor Allan Clayton, soprano Barbara Hannigan, and pianist Igor Levit. We have also been proud to serve as the locale for 18 premieres by contemporary composers, including works by Michael Hersch, Anna Thorvaldsdóttir, John Zorn, Dai Fujikura, Michael Gordon, Jake Heggie, Chris Cerrone, Viet Cuong, and others.
This year’s lineup offers audiences even more chances to enjoy the intimacy of a beautiful range of chamber music experiences performed by artists with a highly distinctive international profile, in “an invaluable place to hear unconventional singers and programs” (The Wall Street Journal)—the Board of Officers Room. We hope you join in our excitement for witnessing these magical moments in music.
Rebecca Robertson
Adam R. Flatto Founding President and Executive Producer
Pierre Audi*
Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director
*In memoriam
2025 RECITAL SERIES
IN THE RESTORED BOARD OF OFFICERS ROOM
SASHA COOKE, MEZZO-SOPRANO MYRA HUANG, PIANO
thursday, november 13, 2025 at 7:30pm saturday, november 15, 2025 at 8:00pm
The Recital Series is supported, in part, by the Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation.
Bloomberg Philanthropies is Park Avenue Armory’s 2025 Season Sponsor. Leadership support for the Armory’s artistic programming has been generously provided by the Anita K. Hersh Philanthropic Fund, Charina Endowment Fund, Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, the Pinkerton Foundation, the Starr Foundation, and the Thompson Family Foundation.
Major support was also provided by the Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the SHS Foundation, and Wescustogo Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Armory’s Artistic Council. Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature as well as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne Adams.
Cover image by James Ewing.
PROGRAM
Aaron Copland
Samuel Barber
John Musto
Charles Ives
Leslie Adams
Jasmine Arielle Barnes
Intermission
Sergei Rachmaninoff
Alma Mahler
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Kurt Weill
Spiritual, arr. Moses Hogan
Leonard Bernstein
Michael Tilson Thomas
Stephen Sondheim
George Gershwin
“At the River”
“Sure on this Shining Night” “Recuerdo” “Circus Band” “Prayer”
American Lament (New York premiere)
1. Let America be America Again, Part I – Langston Hughes
2. The River Remembers – Jasmine Arielle Barnes
3. Let America be America Again, Part II – Langston Hughes
4. America – Claude McKay
5. Let America be America Again, Part III – Langston Hughes
“Lilacs” “Laue Sommernacht” “Was du mir bist” “Youkali” “Give Me Jesus”
“Simple Song” “Grace” “Children Will Listen” “Of Thee I Sing”
This program is approximately 80 minutes including a 15-minute intermission.
This concert is being recorded by WQXR for future broadcast on 105.9 FM and streaming on wqxr.org.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
Langston Hughes once described America as “the mighty dream,” and that phrase is what drew me to the theme of today’s program. Have we come close to realizing that dream? Are we truly the “land of the free” we so proudly proclaim? What does it mean to be American today, on the eve of our nation’s 250th anniversary? These are questions I’ve been turning over in my head, and I can think of no better way to explore them than through song, where art provides a safe space and reminds us of our shared humanity.
America has long been both a beacon and a paradox: a symbol of hope for the estranged and persecuted, and yet a place still struggling with its own identity. Where else but in America could Kurt Weill find refuge after fleeing Nazi Germany, or Rachmaninoff after escaping the Bolshevik Revolution? By coming here, they helped shape what we call American music, and in turn, America reshaped them. The musical fabric of this country is vast, as much a melting pot of cultures as it is of people. My own family reflects that mixture. On one side, I trace ancestors back to the Mayflower, later missionaries who came to Honolulu in the 1830s to teach Hawaii’s royal family. On the other, my grandparents were wartime refugees from Dnipro, Ukraine. Taken during the German occupation as forced laborers (“Östarbeiter”), they became displaced persons in Yugoslavia before finally finding refuge in the United States in 1956. They were naturalized citizens by 1961. Growing up at the end of the Cold War, I identified as Russian-American, then after Ukraine declared independence in 1991, as Ukrainian-American. Of course, there are no “purely American” composers, or people for that matter, except Native American composers. America has, for the most part, been a nation of arrivals. Aaron Copland, George Gershwin, and Leonard Bernstein were Jewish Americans with roots in Lithuania, Ukraine, and what was then Russian Poland, and yet their music is woven into the fabric of American sound. The ironies and surprises are many: Irving Berlin, a Jewish emigrant from czarist Russia, gave us White Christmas! More recently, Kennedy Center honorees Tania León and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Cuban-American and Puerto Rican-American respectively, have redefined what American composition can mean. Even Charles Ives and Samuel Barber, whose families had been in New England for centuries, were the descendants of immigrants.
I usually describe myself as a “music person.” I tend to gravitate more to melodies than words. But in this program, it was the texts that spoke most powerfully to me. Hughes’s poem “Let America Be America Again,” nearly a century old, opens Jasmine Barnes’ new song cycle American Lament. The fact that its words feel as urgent now as they did then, perhaps even more so, is sobering. When Jasmine and I spoke about the piece, she shared her hope that a hundred years from now the poem will read like a relic of the past. Her music weaves in fragments of well-known American patriotic songs, creating a kind of dialogue with our national identity. I can’t think of another work that invokes America in quite this way. It feels as though the music itself is holding up a mirror, asking us to take a hard look at who we are. And the melody that sets us off is from the spiritual “Deep River,” another vital piece of our American musical history.
Other parts of this program resonate in unexpected ways as well. In Copland’s “At the River,” the line “Soon our pilgrimage will cease” drawn from a hymn nearly two hundred years old, offers a sense of comfort. Leslie Adams’ “Prayer” simply asks, “Which way to go?” In Michael Tilson Thomas’ “Grace (written in the 1980s), he pleads, “So many people calling out to one another, Help us to hear them, Teach us that all men are brothers.” The spiritual “Give Me Jesus,” with its refrain “You may have all this world,” takes on new meaning when considered alongside Hughes’s vision of an America that has “never been yet—and yet must be.”
Hughes’s poem (and Jasmine’s cycle) does not end in despair but in hope: a call for “we, the people” to redeem the land and “make America again.” It is the people who have made America and who must continue to do so. That spirit of hope runs through all the music in this program. It seems to be woven into the American spirit itself. However complex our history, wherever we stand on the issues, hope has always been part of our imagination, and it is through hope that we continue moving together toward “the mighty dream.” I hope you enjoy our journey.
— Sasha Cooke
O, let America be America again— The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—the land where every man is free. —langston hughes
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
SASHA COOKE
Praised by Opéra Magazine for her “agile, glamorous presence,” two-time Grammy Award-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke has been called a “luminous standout” by The New York Times and “equal parts poise, radiance and elegant directness” by Opera News. Cooke has sung at the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, English National Opera, Seattle Opera, Opéra National de Bordeaux, and Gran Teatre del Liceu, among others, and with over eighty symphony orchestras worldwide, frequently in the works of Mahler. In the 2025-2026 season, Cooke returns to Houston as Hänsel in Houston Grand Opera’s Hänsel und Gretel opposite Mané Galoyan, and later joins Seattle Opera for her role debut in the title role of Bizet’s Carmen in a production by Paul Curran. In recital, Cooke tours her program Of Thee I Sing with pianist Myra Huang, appearing at the Kennedy Center presented by the Vocal Arts Society of DC, Baylor University’s Distinguished Artists Series, Park Avenue Armory, and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. On the concert stage, she sings Mahler’s Symphony no. 2 at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Marin Alsop, followed by the world premiere of Alex Turley’s the ocean’s dream of itself at the Grand Teton Music Festival, conducted by Sir Donald Runnicles. She joins Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Philadelphia Orchestra for Verdi’s Requiem at Saratoga Performing Arts Center and appears with Baltimore Symphony, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía, and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, a signature piece of hers. She sings Handel’s Messiah with Music of the Baroque and Jane Glover, and with the Cincinnati Symphony, also conducted by Glover. She returns to the San Francisco Symphony for Mozart’s Requiem conducted by Manfred Honeck, and joins the Wiener Symphoniker in Mahler’s Symphony no. 3 conducted by Petr Popelka. Additional concert appearances include Elgar’s Sea Pictures with the Sydney Symphony and Sir Donald Runnicles and Verdi’s Requiem with Detroit Symphony. She joins the Boston Symphony Orchestra Chamber Players for Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, which she also sings with Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonika.
MYRA HUANG
Huang is a two-time Grammy nominated artist, and performs concerts all around the world. Her album Gods and Monsters with tenor Nicholas Phan was nominated for “Best Classical Vocal Solo Album” at the 60th Grammy Awards in 2018, and their album Clairières featuring the music of Lili and Nadia Boulanger was nominated in the same category for the 63rd Grammy Awards in 2021. She regularly travels around the world in concert with today’s leading opera and classical singers, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, 92NY, Park Avenue Armory, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Wigmore Hall.
Huang is the Head of Music at the Lindemann Young Artist Development Program at The Metropolitan Opera. She is also the Head of Music at the Aspen Opera Theater Vocal Arts Program, as well as a faculty member of the Collaborative Piano department at The Manhattan school of Music. Huang has served on the music staffs of the Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, New York City Opera, and the Palau De Les Arts in Valencia, Spain. She was Head of Music for New York City Opera from 2011-2013, as well as staff pianist for the Operalia Competition from 2005-2019, performing at opera houses around the world from Teatro alla Scala in Milan Italy to The Royal Opera House in London. Myra Huang is a Steinway Artist.
TEXTS AND TRANSLATIONS
AARON COPLAND (1900–1990)
“At the River” (1952) from Old American Songs, Set 2
Text and hymn by Robert Lowry (1865)
Shall we gather at the river, Where bright angel’s feet have trod, With its crystal tide forever Flowing by the throne of God?
Yes, we’ll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river, Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God.
Soon we’ll reach the shining river, Soon our pilgrimage will cease, Soon our happy hearts will quiver With the melody of peace.
Yes, we’ll gather at the river, The beautiful, the beautiful river, Gather with the saints at the river That flows by the throne of God.
SAMUEL BARBER (1910–1981)
Sure on this Shining Night, op. 13 no. 3 (1938) Text by James Agee (1909–1955)
Sure on this shining night Of star made shadows round, Kindness must watch for me This side the ground.
The late year lies down the north. All is healed, all is health. High summer holds the earth. Hearts all whole.
Sure on this shining night I weep for wonder Wand’ring far alone Of shadows on the stars.
JOHN MUSTO (b. 1954)
“Recuerdo” (1988)
Text by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950)
We were very tired, we were very merry — We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry. It was bare and bright, and smelled like a stable — But we looked into a fire, we leaned across a table, We lay on a hill-top underneath the moon; And the whistles kept blowing, and the dawn came soon.
We were very tired, we were very merry — We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
And you ate an apple, and I ate a pear, From a dozen of each we had bought somewhere; And the sky went wan, and the wind came cold, And the sun rose dripping, a bucketful of gold. We were very tired, we were very merry, We had gone back and forth all night on the ferry.
We hailed, “Good morrow, mother!” to a shawl-covered head, And bought a morning paper, which neither of us read; And she wept, “God bless you!” for the apples and pears, And we gave her all our money but our subway fares.
CHARLES IVES (1874–1954)
The Circus Band (1894)
Text by Charles Ives
All summer long we boys dreamed ’bout circus joys!
Down Main Street comes the band, Oh! “Ain’t it a grand and glorious noise!
Horses are prancing, knights advancing Helmets gleaming, pennants streaming, Cleopatra’s on her throne! That golden hair is all her own. Where is the lady all in pink? Last year she waved to me I think, Can she have died? Can! that! rot! She is passing but she sees me not.
LESLIE ADAMS (1932–2024)
Prayer (1961)
Text by Langston Hughes (1901–1967)
I ask you this: Which way to go? I ask you this: Which sin to bear? Which crown to put Upon my hair? I do not know, Lord God, I do not know.
JASMINE ARIELLE BARNES (b. 1991)
American Lament (2025)
1. Let America be America Again, Part I
Text by Langston Hughes (1901–1967)
Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking home where [all are] free. (America never was America to me.)
Let America be [America again.] [Let it be] the dream the dreamers dreamed— Let it be that [land] of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
(It never was America to me.)
[Say,] who are you that mumbles in the dark?
I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the [black man] bearing slavery’s scars. I am the [Native] driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching hope I seek— [I am] the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain
Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land!
Of grab the gold! [Of] take the pay!
Of owning everything for one’s own greed!
I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. [I am the people,] humble, hungry, mean— Hungry yet [despite] the dream.
2. The River Remembers
Text by Jasmine Arielle Barnes
I am a body of water
Generations housed within me
I was born of the water
Swept the canal
Wrapped in blankets of rivers
Flowing with time
Drenched in past
Vapor of future
I remember
Pollution tried
To muddy my waters make a swamp out of me
But with sweat and tears I found home over Jordan
I am lifeguard
Current director
Of my body of water
3. Let America be America Again, Part II
Text by Langston Hughes
I’m the one who [dreamt] a dream so strong, so brave, so true, O, I’m the [one] who sailed those early seas
In search of what I meant to be my home— [who] left dark Ireland’s shore, And Poland’s plain, and England’s grassy lea, And torn from Africa’s strand I came To build a “homeland of the free.”
The free?
Who said the free? Not me?
Surely not me? The millions on relief today?
The millions shot down when we strike?
For all the dreams we’ve dreamed [the] songs we’ve sung [hopes] we’ve held
And all the flags we’ve hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay—
Except the dream that’s almost dead today.
4. America
Text by Claude McKay
Although she feeds me bread of bitterness, And sinks into my throat her tiger’s tooth, Stealing my breath of life, I will confess I love this cultured hell that tests my youth. Her vigor flows like tides into my blood, Giving me strength erect against her hate, Her bigness sweeps my being like a flood. Yet, as a rebel fronts a king in state, I stand within her walls with not a shred
Of terror, malice, not a word of jeer.
Darkly I gaze into the days ahead, And see her might and granite wonders there, Beneath the touch of Time’s unerring hand, Like priceless treasures sinking in the sand.
5. Let America be America Again, Part III
Text by Langston Hughes
[Let] America be America again—
The land that never has been yet— And yet must be—[where] every [one] is free. The land that’s mine—[ poor] man’s, [black man]’s, [Native]’s, [Immigrant’s], ME—
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, [plow] in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.
From those who live like leeches on the people’s lives, We must take back our land again, [We,] the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— All [the] stretch of these great green states—
And make America again!
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF (1873–1943)
Сирень, op. 21 no. 5 (1902)
Text by y Ekaterina Andreyena Beketova (1855 - 1892)
По утру, на заре,
По росистой траве,
Я пойду свежим утром дышать;
И в душистую тень,
Где теснится сирень,
Я пойду своё счастье искать...
В жизни счастье одно
Мне найти суждено,
И то счастье в сирени живёт;
На зелёных ветвях,
На душистых кистях
Моё бедное счастье цветёт…
ALMA MAHLER (1879–1964)
Laue Sommernacht (1910)
Text by Otto Julius Bierbaum (1865–1910)
Laue Sommernacht: am Himmel
Stand kein Stern, im weiten Walde Suchten wir uns tief im Dunkel, Und wir fanden uns.
Fanden uns im weiten Walde
In der Nacht, der sternenlosen, Hielten staunend uns im Arme In der dunklen Nacht.
War nicht unser ganzes Leben So ein Tappen, so ein Suchen?
Da: In seine Finsternisse Liebe, fiel Dein Licht.
ERICH KORNGOLD (1897–1957)
Was du mir bist? op. 22 no. 1 (1930)
Text by Eleonore van der Straaten (1873–1960)
Was du mir bist?
Der Ausblick in ein schönes Land, Wo fruchtbelad’ne Bäume ragen, Blumen blüh’n am Quellenrand.
Was du mir bist?
Der Sterne Funkeln, das Gewölk durchbricht, Der ferne Lichtstrahl, der im Dunkeln spricht: O Wanderer, verzage nicht!
Und war mein Leben auch Entsagen, Glänzte mir kein froh’ GeschickWas du mir bist? Kannst du noch fragen?
Mein Glaube an das Glück.
Lilacs
English translation by Philip Ross Bullock
In the morning, at dawn, Through the dew-clad grass, I shall walk, breathing in the freshness of morning; And to the fragrant shade, Where lilacs cluster, I shall go in search of happiness… In life there is but one happiness That I am fated to find, And that happiness dwells in the lilacs; On their green branches, In their fragrant clusters
My poor happiness blooms…
Mild summer night
English translation by Richard Stokes
Mild summer night: in the sky
Not a star, in the deep forest
We sought each other in the dark And found one another.
Found one another in the deep wood
In the night, the starless night, And amazed, we embraced In the dark night.
Our entire life – was it not Such a tentative quest? There: into its darkness, O Love, fell your light.
What are you to me?
English translation by Uri Liebrecht
What are you to me?
The sight of a beautiful countryside, Where fruit-laden trees tower, The blossoming of flowers at the edge of a spring.
What are you to me?
The resplendence of stars piercing the clouds, The distant ray of light that speaks in the darkness: O traveler, do not despair!
And even if my life was also a renunciation, [and] before me no bright fate gleamed -What are you to me? Need you still ask? : My belief in happiness.
KURT WEILL
(1900-1950)
Youkali (1946)
Text by Roger Fernay (1905–1983)
C’est presqu’au bout du monde, Ma barque vagabonde,
Errant au gré de l’onde, M’y conduisit un jour.
L’île est toute petite
Mais la fée que l’habite
Gentiment nous invite
A en faire le tour
Youkali,
C’est le pays de nos désirs, Youkali,
C’est le bonheur, c’est le plaisir, Youkali,
C’est la terre où l’on quitte tous les soucis,
C’est dans notre nuit,
Comme une éclaircie,
L’étoile qu’on suit,
C’est Youkali.
C’est le respect de tous les vœux échangés, C’est le pays des beaux amours partagés,
C’est l’espérance
Que est au cœur de tous les humains, La délivrance
Que nous attendons tous pour demain,
Mais c’est un rêve, une folie, Il n’y a pas de Youkali!
Mais c’est un rêve, une folie, Il n’y a pas de Youkali!
Et la vie nous entraîne
Lassante, quotidienne
Mais la pauvre âme humaine
Cherchant partout l’oubli
À pour quitter la terre
Su trouver le mystère
Où nos rêves se terrent
En quelque Youkali
Youkali…
Youkali
English translation provided by the artist
It is almost at the end of the world, My wandering boat, Drifting with the current, Led me to the shore
The island is entirely small but the fairy who dwells there politely invites us to tour it
Youkali,
It is the land of our desires, It is happiness, it is pleasure, It is the land where one leaves behind all worries, It is in our night, like a clearing, The star we follow, It is Youkali.
But it is a dream, a folly, There is no Youkali!
It is the respect of all of the exchanged vows, it is the land of the beautiful shared loves, it is the hope that is in the heart of all humans, the deliverance that we all are waiting for until tomorrow, but it is a dream, a folly, there is no Youkali!
And life drags us along, wearily, where one leaves but the poor human soul, seeking obliviously everywhere, has known how to find the mystery, in order to leave the earth where our dreams are buried in some Youkali
Youkali…
TRADITIONAL SPIRITUAL
Give Me Jesus
Arranged by Moses Hogan (1957–2003)
In the morning when I rise, In the morning when I rise, In the morning when I rise, Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus.
You may have all this world, Give me Jesus.
Dark midnight was my cry, Dark midnight was my cry, Dark midnight was my cry, Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus.
You may have all this world, Give me Jesus.
Oh, when I comes to die, Oh, when I comes to die, Oh, when I comes to die, Give me Jesus.
Give me Jesus, Give me Jesus.
You may have all this world, Give me Jesus.
LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918–1990)
Simple Song, from MASS (1971) Text and music by Bernstein
Sing God a simple song: Lauda, Laudē Make it up as you go along: Lauda, Laudē Sing like you like to sing. God loves all simple things, For God is the simplest of all, For God is the simplest of all.
I will sing the Lord a new song To praise Him, to bless Him, to bless the Lord. I will sing His praises while I live All of my days.
Blessed is the man who loves the Lord, Blessed is the man who praises Him. Lauda, Lauda, Laudē And walks in His ways.
I will lift up my eyes
To the hills from whence comes my help. I will lift up my voice to the Lord Singing Lauda, Laudē.
For the Lord is my shade, Is the shade upon my right hand, And the sun shall not smite me by day Nor the moon by night.
Blessed is the man who loves the Lord, Lauda, Lauda, Laudē, And walks in His ways. Lauda, Lauda, Laudē, Lauda, Lauda di da di day. All of my days.
MICHAEL TILSON THOMAS (b. 1944)
Grace (1988)
Music and text by Michael Tilson Thomas
Thanks to whoever is there
For this tasty plate of herring!
Thanks to whoever may care
For this tasty plate of herring.
Yesterday, swimming swift in a salty sea And today, silver offerings made to me
So, if you please, won’t you pass me whatever’s still left Of this tasty treat we’re sharing ’Cause the truth is, it tastes good.
Um um um.
Thanks to whoever is there
For the sacred joy of music
(and thank you fiddlers and flutists and divas and rock and roll drummers)
Thanks to whoever has dared
Give us brave new sounds of music (thank you composers, professors, and casual off-the-cuff hummers)
So commend Singers down through the centuries
Cherished friends Wolfgang, Gustav, George, dear Lenny
It seems to me that we all feel so close to the truth
In the notes our souls declaring
And the truth is it feels good.
Um um um.
So many people calling out to one another, Help us to hear them,
Teach us that all men are brothers,
So many people,
So many stories,
So many questions, So many blessings
Make us grateful whatever comes next In this life on earth we’re sharing For the truth is life is good
So many memories… Ah-ah-ah Amen
STEPHEN SONDHEIM (1930–2021)
“Children Will Listen”from Into the Woods (1986) Text and music by Stephen Sondheim
Careful the things you say Children will listen Careful the things you do Children will see And learn
Children may not obey But children will listen Children will look to you For which way to turn To learn what to be
Careful before you say “Listen to me” Children will listen
Careful the wish you make Wishes are children
Careful the path they take— Wishes come true Not free
Careful the spell you cast Not just on children
Sometimes the spell may last Past what you can see And turn against you…
Careful the tale you tell That is the spell Children will listen…
GEORGE GERSHWIN (1898–1937)
Of Thee I Sing (1931)
Text by Ira Gershwin (1896–1983)
From the island of Manhattan to the Coast of Gold
From north to south, from east to west
You are the love I love the best
You’re the dreamboat in the sweetest story ever told A dream I sought both night and day
For years through all the U.S.A.
The star I’ve hitched my wagon to Is very obviously you
Of thee I sing, baby
Summer, autumn, winter, spring, baby
You’re my silver lining
You’re my sky of blue
There’s a love light shining
Just because of you
Of thee I sing, baby
You have got that certain thing, baby
Shining star and inspiration
Worthy of a mighty nation
Of thee I sing
Of thee I sing, baby
You have got that certain thing, baby
Shining star and inspiration
Worthy of a mighty nation
Of thee I sing
ABOUT THE RECITAL SERIES
Park Avenue Armory presents more intimate performances and programs in its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe in an intimate salon setting. Founded in 2013, the series has held the debuts of many world-class artists, including: the North American recital debuts of pianist Igor Levit, soprano Sabine Devieilhe, tenors Ilker Arcayürek and Allan Clayton, baritones Benjamin Appl and Roderick Williams, clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer, and cellist István Várdai; the North American solo recital debuts of tenor Michael Spyres and mezzo soprano Emily D’Angelo; the US Recital debuts of sopranos Barbara Hannigan and Anna Lucia Richter and baritone Thomas Oliemans; and the New York debuts of pianist Severin von Eckardstein and the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam
The Recital Series has programmed the world premieres of: Roger Reynolds’ FLiGHT, performed by the JACK Quartet; Michael Hersch’s “…das Rückgrat berstend,” performed by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Jay Campbell; and Chris Cerrone’s Ode to Joy, performed by Sandbox Percussion and commissioned by the Armory. Actor Charlotte Rampling and cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton gave the US premiere of The Night Dances on the series in 2015, which brought together Benjamin Britten’s suites for solo cello and poetry by Sylvia Plath; Wieder-Atherton returned to the Armory in 2017 for the North American premiere of Little Girl Blue, a program that reimagined the music of Nina Simone. New York premieres include: Anna Thorvaldsdottir’s In the Light of Air and Shades of Silence performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble; Dai Kujikura’s Minina, John Zorn’s Baudelaires, and a new arrangement of Messiaen’s Chants de terre et de ciel, also performed by ICE; Michael Gordon’s Rushes performed by the Rushes Ensemble; Michael Harrison’s Just Constellations performed by Roomful of Teeth; David Lang’s depart, Gabriel Jackson’s Our flags are wafting in hope and grief and Rigwreck, Kile Smith’s “Conversation in the Mountains” from Where Flames A Word, Louis Andriessen’s Ahania Weeping, Suzanne Giraud’s
Johannisbaum, David Shapiro’s Sumptuous Planet, Benjamin CS Boyle’s Empire of Crystal, and Ted Hearne’s Animals (commissioned by Park Avenue Armory), all performed by The Crossing under conductor Donald Nally; John Zorn’s Jumalattaret sung by soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Stephen Gosling; and Viet Cuong’s Next Week’s Trees, performed by Sandbox Percussion. Additional notable programs include performances by: baritone Christian Gerhaher with pianist Gerold Huber; the Flux Quartet; tenor Ian Bostridge with pianist Wenwen Du; pianist David Fray; soprano Lisette Oropesa with pianist John Churchwell; countertenor Andreas Scholl with harpsichordist Tamar Halperin; soprano Kate Royal with pianist Joseph Middleton; pipa player Wu Man and the Shanghai Quartet; tenor Lawrence Brownlee with pianists Myra Huang and Jason Moran; mezzo soprano Isabel Leonard with pianist Ted Sperling; soprano Nadine Sierra with pianist Brian Wagorn; soprano Rosa Feola with pianist Iain Burnside; cellist Nicolas Altstaedt; tenor Paul Appleby with pianist Conor Hanick; baritone Will Liverman with pianist Myra Huang; mezzo soprano Jamie Barton with pianist and composer Jake Heggie; new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound; French period choir and chamber orchestra Ensemble Correspondances under the direction of harpsichordist and organist Sébastien Daucé; baritone Justin Austin and pianist Howard Watkins; soprano Ying Fang with pianist Ken Noda; baritone Stéphane Degout with pianist Cédric Tiberghien; pianist Pavel Kolesnikov in a two-night residency featuring Bach’s Goldberg Variations and a program entitled Celestial Navigation, inspired by Joseph Cornell’s orrery of the same name; soprano Julia Bullock with pianist John Arida; mezzo soprano Kate Lindsey with pianist Justina Lee; soprano Jeanine de Bique with pianist Warren Jones; tenor Matthew Polenzani with pianist Ken Noda; soprano Leah Hawkins with pianist Kevin Miller; tenor Karim Sulayman with guitarist Sean Shibe; and soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Bertrand Chamayou
NEXT AT THE ARMORY
THE FAGGOTS AND THER FRIENDS BETWEEN REVOLUTIONS
DECEMBER 2 – 14
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
This cult book of fables and myths serves as the starting point for a new music theater adaptation from the creative minds of composer Philip Venables and director Ted Huffman. Together they conjure up a world that takes the original text on a kaleidoscopic journey that ignores boundaries just like the characters on stage do, drawing on theater, dance, and song from the Baroque to Broadway and beyond. The performers serve as actors, storytellers, and musicians all rolled into one, continually swapping roles while doing away with gender and genre norms and replacing them with unapologetic individuality and a lust for life. The resulting cabaret-like spectacle is both vulnerable and daring, a fantastic parable hiding a political manifesto for survival that gives voice to the marginalized and oppressed everywhere.
ARTISTS STUDIO
SANDRA MUJINGA
NOVEMBER 20 & 21
Norwegian artist and musician Sandra Mujinga uses speculative fiction in the Afrofuturist tradition to investigate economies of visibility and disappearance, in which she typically reverses established identity politics of presence. After recent exhibitions at the Kunsthalle Basel, the Guggenheim, and the Venice Biennale, the multifaceted creator comes to the Veterans Room to broaden and expand her practice in the performative spectrum by creating an otherworldly sonic environment that plays off the architecture of the room.
RECITAL SERIES ATTACCA QUARTET
DECEMBER
16 – 18
Attacca Quartet are recognized as one of the most versatile and outstanding ensembles of the moment, gliding through traditional classical repertoire to electronica, video game music, and contemporary collaborations. They come to the Armory with a wide-ranging program of classic quartets by Bartók and Felix Mendelssohn, quartet-arranged interpretations of signal works for other instrumentation, and the North American premiere of “Daisy”—a new Armory-commissioned composition by David Lang.
ABOUT PARK AVENUE ARMORY
Part palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory supports unconventional works in the performing and visual arts that cannot be fully realized in a traditional proscenium theater, concert hall, or white wall gallery. With its soaring 55,000-square-foot Wade Thompson Drill Hall—reminiscent of 19th-century European train stations—and an array of exuberant period rooms, the Armory provides a platform for artists to push the boundaries of their practice, collaborate across disciplines, and create new work in dialogue with the historic building. Across its grand and intimate spaces, the Armory enables a diverse range of artists to create, students to explore, and audiences to experience epic, adventurous, relevant work that cannot be done elsewhere in New York.
The Armory both commissions and presents performances and installations in the grand Drill Hall and offers more intimate programming through its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe within the salon setting of the Board of Officers Room; its Artists Studio series curated by Jason Moran in the restored Veterans Room; Making Space at the Armory, a public programming series that brings together a discipline-spanning group of artists and cultural thought-leaders around the important issues of our time; and the Malkin Lecture Series that
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chairman Emeritus
Elihu Rose, PhD
Co-Chairs
Adam R. Flatto
Amanda J.T. Riegel
President
Marina
features presentations by scholars and writers on topics related to Park Avenue Armory and its history. In addition, the Armory also has a year-round Artists-in-Residence program, providing space and support for artists to create new work and expand their practices.
The Armory’s creativity-based arts education programs provide access to the arts to thousands of students from underserved New York City public schools, engaging them with the institutions artistic programming and outside-the-box creative processes. Through its education initiatives, the Armory provides access to all Drill Hall performances, workshops taught by Master Teaching Artists, and in-depth residencies that support the schools’ curriculum. Youth Corps, the Armory’s year-round paid internship program, begins in high school and continues into the critical post-high school years, providing interns with mentored employment, job training, and skill development, as well as a network of peers and mentors to support their individual college and career goals.
The Armory is undergoing a multi-phase renovation and restoration of its historic building led by architects Herzog & de Meuron, with Platt Byard Dovell White as Executive Architects.
Edward G. Klein, Brigadier General NYNG (Ret.)
Dabie
Ying
Avant-Garde Chair
Adrienne Katz
Directors Emeriti
Harrison M. Bains
Angela E. Thompson*
Wade F.B. Thompson* Founding Chairman, 2000-2009
Pierre Audi*
Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director
*In memoriam
PARK AVENUE ARMORY STAFF
Rebecca Robertson Adam R. Flatto Founding President and Executive Producer
Pierre Audi* Anita K. Hersh Artistic Director
ARTISTIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING
Michael Lonergan Senior Vice President and Chief Artistic Producer
Chris Greiner General Manager
Rachel Rosado Producer
Samantha Cortez Producer
Darian Suggs Associate Director, Public Programming
Kanako Morita Company Manager/Associate Producer
Oscar Peña Programming Coordinator
ARTISTIC PRODUCTION
Paul E. King Director of Production
Claire Marberg Deputy Director of Production
Nicholas Lazzaro Technical Director
Lars Nelson Technical Director
Mars Doutey Technical Director
Rachel Baumann Assistant Production Manager
ARTS EDUCATION
Cassidy L. Jones Anita K. Hersh Chief Education Officer
Monica Weigel McCarthy Director of Education
Naima Warden Associate Director of School Programs
Biviana Sanchez School Programs Manager
Nadia Parfait Education Programs Manager
Ciara Ward Youth Corps Manager
Bev Vega Youth Corps Manager
Milen Yimer Youth Corps Assistant
Drew Petersen Education Special Projects Manager
Emily Bruner, Donna Costello, Alberto Denis, Alexander Davis, Asma Feyijinmi, Shar Galarza, Hawley Hussey, Larry Jackson, Drew Petersen, Leigh Poulos, Neil Tyrone Pritchard, Bairon Reyes Luna, Vickie Tanner, Jono Waldman Teaching Artists
Daniel Gomez, Nancy K. Gomez, Maxim Ibadov, sunyoung kim, Amo Ortiz Teaching Associates
Arabia Elliot Currence, Victoria Fernandez, Sebastian Harris, Oscar Montenegro, Adriana Taboada Teaching Assistants
Shatisha Bryant, Han Bumanlag, Alexus Heiserman, Melina Jorge Teaching Apprentices
Eden Battice, Teja Caban, Koralys De La Cruz, Azrael Hernandez, Nephthali Mathieu, Blue Price, AJ Volkov Youth Corps Advisory Board
Felipe Aguirre, Eden Battice, Terry Beaupierre, Andrew Duer, Hillary Ramirez Perez, Naomi Santos, Brianna Trivino Youth Corps, Post High School Advanced Interns
Mariela Bonilla, Adriana Bottex, Kaylani Ellington, Gabi Gonzalez, Besa Hasanovic, Ria Matula, Alejandro Mayorquin, Jacy Melendez, Steven Merino, Gabe Morris, Tirso Reyna Youth Corps, High School Interns
BUILDING OPERATIONS
Marc Von Braunsberg Chief of Building Operations
Samuel Denitz Director of Facilities
Xavier Everett Security/Operations Manager
Emma Paton Administrative and Office Coordinator
Williams Say Superintendent
Olga Cruz, Leandro Dasso, Mayra DeLeon, Jeferson Avila, Felipe Calle, Jose Campoverde, Edwin Fell, Jacob Garrity, Jonathan Mays, Tyrell
Shannon Castillo Maintenance Staff
Jason Moran Curator, Artists Studio
Tavia Nyong’o Curator, Public Programming
DEVELOPMENT
Patrick Galvin Chief Development Officer
Alan Lane Director of Development
Caity Miret Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer
Jessica Pomeroy Rocca Major Gifts Officer
Chiara Bosco Manager of Individual Giving
Angel Genares Director of Institutional Giving
Hans Rasch Manager of Institutional Giving
Margaret Breed Director of Special Events
Séverine Kaufman Manager of Special Events
Michael Buffer Director of Database and Development Operations
Maeghan Suzik Manager of Development Operations
EXECUTIVE OFFICE
Lori Nelson Executive Assistant to the President
Nathalie Etienne Administrative Assistant, President’s Office
Simone Elhart Rentals and Project Manager
FINANCE, HR, AND IT
Judy Rubin Chief Financial Officer
Philip Lee Controller
Khemraj Dat Accounting Manager
Zeinebou Dia Junior Accountant
Neil Acharya Human Resources Manager
Oku Okoko Director of IT
Jorge Sanchez IT Helpdesk Administrator
MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS, AND AUDIENCE SERVICES
Tom Trayer Chief Marketing Officer
Nick Yarbrough Associate Director of Digital Marketing
Dileiny Cruz Digital Marketing Coordinator
Allison Abbott Senior Press and Editorial Manager
Mark Ho-Kane Graphic Designer
Joe Petrowski Director of Ticketing and Customer Relations
Monica Diaz Box Office Manager
John Hooper Assistant Box Office Manager
Jordan Isaacs Box Office Lead
Victor Daniel Ayala, Fiona Garner, Sylvie Goodblatt, Sarah Jack, Matthew Kamen, Emma Komisar, Michelle Meged, Caleb Moreno, Arriah Ratanapan, Ester Teixeira Vianna Box Office Associates
Caitlin O’Keefe, Anne Wolf Tour Guides
Natasha Michele Norton Director of House Management
Clayton McInerney, Nancy Gill Sanchez, Kimberly Chatterjee, Rachel Carmona House Managers
Becky Ho, Cody Castro, Kyle McClellan, Neda Yeganeh Assistant House Managers
Adonai Fletcher-Jones, Aiyana Greene, Beth Miller, Billie Martineau, Blue Price, Christina Johns, Christine Lemme, David Lawson, Denise Williams, Eboni Greene, Edwin Adkins, Eileen Rourke, Elijah Tejeda, Eliza Goldsteen, Emmett Pryor, Felipe Aguirre, Glori Ortiz, Heather Sandler, Hector Rivera, Hillary Ramirez Perez, John Summers, Kathleen Rodriguez, Kathleen White, Kedesia Robinson, Kin Tam, Konlan Yenupaak, Lana Hankinson, Mae Cote, Maria Inkateshta, Mariel Mercedes, Mathew Tom, Melina Jorge, MJ Ryerson, Myren
Mandap, Naomi Santos, Regina Pearsall, Sandra Kitt, Sarah Gallick, Sebastian Harris, Shannon Wallace, Tess Kondratiev, Yesenia Mayers, Zulay Calamari Ushers
Resnicow + Associates Press Representatives
PRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Matthew Epstein Consultants for Vocal Recitals
Steinway & Sons
JOIN THE ARMORY
Become a Park Avenue Armory member and join us in our mission to present unconventional works that cannot be fully realized elsewhere in New York City. Members play an important role in helping us push the boundaries of creativity and expression and enjoy the following exclusive benefits.
CHAIRMAN’S CIRCLE STARTING AT $2,500
Chairman’s Circle members provide vital support for the Armory’s immersive arts and education programming and the restoration of our landmark building, and receive unparalleled access to the Armory, including exclusive experiences and intimate engagements with our world-class artists.
*Subject to ticket availability
AVANT GARDE STARTING AT $350
The Avant Garde is a dynamic group for adventurous art enthusiasts in their 20s to early 40s. Members enjoy an intimate look at Armory productions, as well as exclusive invitations to forward-thinking art events around New York City.
For more information about membership, please contact the Membership Office at (212) 616-3958 or members@armoryonpark.org. For information on ticketing, or to purchase tickets, please contact the Box Office at (212) 933-5812 or visit us at armoryonpark.org.
ARTISTIC COUNCIL
The Artistic Council is a culturally adventurous leadership group that champions our full season of “only at the Armory” productions in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall.
Chair
Lisa Miller
Abigail and Joseph Baratta
Blavatnik Family Foundation♦
Jeanne-Marie Champagne
Sasha Cutter and Aaron Hsu
Hélène and Stuyvesant Comfort
Caroline and Paul Cronson
Jessie Ding and Ning Jin
Misook Doolittle♦
Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz
The Lehoczky Escobar Family
Adam and Abigail Flatto
Robin Fowler
Roberta Garza and Roberto Mendoza
Lorraine Gallard and Richard H. Levy
Barbara and Peter Georgescu
LEGACY CIRCLE
Joan Granlund♦
Kim and Jeff Greenberg Lawrence and Sharon Hite
Samhita and Ignacio Jayanti
Carola Jain
Wendy Keys
Irene Kohn
Fernand Lamesch
Almudena and Pablo Legorreta
Christina and Alan MacDonald
Andrew Martin-Weber and Beejan Land♦
John and Lisa Miller
Lily O’Boyle
Valerie Pels
Slobodan Randjelović and Jon Stryker♦
Amanda J.T. and Richard E. Riegel
Ben Rodriguez-Cubeñas
Thomas Rom
Susan and Elihu Rose
Janet C. Ross
Caryn Schacht and David Fox
Stephanie and Matthew Sharp
Brian S. Snyder
Sarah Billinghurst Solomon
Joan and Michael Steinberg
Emanuel Stern
Saundra Whitney
Maria Wirth
Ku-Ling Yurman
Ying Zhou and Run Ye Anonymous (2)
Artistic Council Luminary Member. Recognizes individuals whose generous philanthropic support helps underwrite a specific Drill Hall production in this or future seasons.
The Armory’s Legacy Circle is a group of individuals who support Park Avenue Armory through a vitally important source of future funding, a planned gift. These gifts will help support the Armory’s out-the-box artistic programming, Arts Education Programs, and historic preservation into the future.
Founding Members
Angela and Wade F.B. Thompson*
Co-Chairs
Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz
Marjorie and Gurnee Hart
Members
The Estate of Ginette Becker
Wendy Belzberg and Strauss Zelnick
Emme and Jonathan Deland
Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz
Adam R. Flatto
Roberta Garza
Marjorie and Gurnee Hart
Anita K. Hersh*
Ken Kuchin
Heidi McWilliams
Gwendolyn and Peter Norton
Michelle Perr
Amanda J.T. Riegel
Rebecca Robertson and Byron Knief
Susan and Elihu Rose
Francesca Schwartz
Joan and Michael Steinberg
Angela and Wade F.B. Thompson*
Park Avenue Armory expresses its deep appreciation to the individuals and organizations listed here for their generous support for its annual and capital campaigns.
$1,000,000 +
Charina Endowment Fund
Empire State Local Development Corporation
Adam and Abigail Flatto
Anita K. Hersh Philanthropic Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Peter L. Malkin and The Malkin Fund, Inc.
Richard and Ronay Menschel
New York City Council and Council Member
Daniel R. Garodnick
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs
New York State Assemblymember Dan Quart and the New York State Assembly
Susan and Elihu Rose
The Arthur Ross Foundation and J & AR Foundation
Joan Smilow and Joel Smilow*
Sanford L. Smith*
Starr Foundation
The Thompson Family Foundation
Wade F.B. Thompson*
Anonymous (3)
$500,000 to $999,999
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz
Almudena and Pablo Legorreta
Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan
Marvin and Donna K. Schwartz
Emanuel Stern
$250,000 to $499,999
American Express
Abigail and Joseph Baratta
Michael Field and Doug Hamilton
Kim and Jeff Greenberg
Ken Kuchin and Tyler Morgan
Marshall Rose Family Foundation
$100,000
R.
The
Wescustogo
Ying
$25,000
Judith
Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation
Barbara and Peter Georgescu
John R. and Kiendl Dauphinot Gordon
Agnes Gund*
Janet Halvorson
Janine and J. Tomilson Hill
Howard Hughes Corporation
Carola Jain
The Lehoczky Escobar Family
Christina and Alan MacDonald
Marc Haas Foundation
James C. Marlas
Andrew Martin-Weber and Beejan Land
Lisa S. Miller and John N. Miller
New York State Council on the Arts
Lily O’Boyle
Slobodan Randjelović and Jon Stryker
Rhodebeck Charitable Trust
Genie and Donald Rice
Rebecca Robertson and Byron Knief
Jordan Roth and Richie Jackson
The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation
The SHS Foundation
The Shubert Foundation
Sydney* and Stanley S. Shuman
Amy and Jeffrey Silverman
The Society of Memorial Sloan Kettering
Joan and Michael Steinberg
TEFAF NY
Tishman Speyer
Susan Unterberg
Doris Valle Risso
Van Cleef & Arpels
Saundra Whitney
Maria Wirth
Ku-Ling Yurman
Anonymous (5)
$10,000 to $24,999
The Achelis and Bodman Foundations
AECOM Tishman
Barbara Goldstein Amster
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Kenneth Ashley Anne-Victoire Auriault / Goldman Sachs Gives
and Sally Avery Arts Foundation
Chuck and Stacy Rosenzweig
Valerie Rubsamen and Cedomir Crnkovic
Fiona and Eric Rudin
Mrs. William H. Sandholm
Cynthia and Tom Sculco
Brian S. Snyder
Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation
Agnes Hsu-Tang and Oscar Tang
Barbara D. Tober
Dabie Tsai
Michael Tuch Foundation
Wendy vanden Heuvel
Nina and Nicholas von Moltke
Shanshan Xu and George Wang
Diane Wege
Anonymous (2)
$5,000 to $9,999
Carolina Abed Gaona
Amy and David Abrams
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.
Page Ashley
Candace and Rick Beinecke
John and Gaily Beinecke
Rick Berndt and Marie-Camille Havard
Stephanie Bernheim
The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation
Melanie Bouvard and Matthew Bird
Nicholas Brawer
Matthew Brown
Amanda M. Burden
Arthur and Linda Carter
Nancy Coles and Jeffrey Goldstein
Michael Woloz
Judith-Ann Corrente
Andrew and Mimi Crawford
Joshua Dachs / Fisher Dachs Associates
David L. Klein, Jr. Foundation
Jennie L. and Richard K. DeScherer
Therme US
Beatrice M Disman
Jamie Drake
Mrs.
Suzanne
Mark Kingdon and Anla Cheng
Suzie and Bruce Kovner
Sheila and Bill Lambert
Fernand Lamesch
Judy and Leonard* Lauder
Leon
Nancy Maruyama
Danny and Audrey Meyer
Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation
Stéphanie and Jesse Newhouse
Michael Peterson
Susan Porter
The Prospect Hill Foundation
Katharine Rayner
Marjorie P. Rosenthal
Dr. Nancy Eppler-Wolff and Mr. John Wolff
The Felicia Fund
Andrew and Theresa Fenster
Jennivée Fiorese
Amandine Freidheim
Bart Friedman and Wendy A. Stein
The Georgetown Company
Kurt Gilman and Paul Phillips
Elaine Golin
Great Performances
George and Patty Grunebaum
Harkness Foundation for Dance
Rolf Heitmeyer
Barbara Hoffman
Shujaat Islam and Fay Sardjono
Adrienne Katz
Amelia Kaymen
Leona
Claire
Claudia
Perennial
Susan
Joan
Anne
Preserve
Sara
Toni Young
Jessie Zhou Anonymous (6)
$2,500 to $4,999
Allen Adler and Frances Beatty
Susan Baker and Michael Lynch
Ashwyn Balani
Lauren and Suprotik Basu
Tony Bechara Catherine Behrend
Elaine S. Bernstein
Elaine and Dan Brownstein Ann Marie E. Carr
Veena
Constance and H. Roemer McPhee
Peter Mensch and Anita Bitton
Joyce F. Menschel
Julia Moody
Saleem and Jane Muqaddam
New York City Department of Education
Susan Numeroff
Ellen Oelsner
Office of the Manhattan Borough President
Kathleen O’Grady
Antoniev
Sanjay and
The
Nora
Sam
Diana and Frederick Elghanayan
Anonymous (5)
ABOUT THE BOARD OF OFFICERS ROOM
“The
restoration of the Park Avenue Armory seems destined to set a new standard, not so much for its scale, but for its level of respect and imagination.”
— The New York Times
The Board of Officers Room is one of the most important historic rooms in America and one of the few remaining interiors by Herter Brothers. After decades of progressive damage and neglect, the room completed a revitalization in 2013 by the architecture team at Herzog & de Meuron and executive architects Platt Byard Dovell White Architects to transform the space into a state-of-the-art salon for intimate performances and other contemporary art programming. The Board of Officers Room is the third period room at the Armory completed (out of 18) and represents the full range of design tools utilized by the team including the removal of accumulated layers on the surfaces, the addition of contemporary lighting to the 1897 chandeliers, new interpretations of the stencil patterns on areas of loss, the addition of metallic finishes on new materials, new programming infrastructure, and custom-designed furniture. The room’s restoration is part of an ongoing $215-million transformation, which is guided by the understanding that the Armory’s rich history and the patina of time are essential to its character. A defining component of the design process for the period rooms is the close collaboration between architect and artisan. Highly skilled craftspeople working in wood, paint, plaster, and metals were employed in the creation of the building’s original interiors and the expertise—and hand—of similar artisans has been drawn upon for the renovation work throughout.
The renovation of the Board of Officers Room was made possible through the generosity of The Thompson Family Foundation.
