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WELCOME Park Avenue Armory strives to engage audiences with eclectic, immersive, and thought-provoking works that are in direct dialogue with the Armory’s unconventional spaces to gain new sonic perspectives. Our celebrated Recital Series expands during the 2022 Season to include performances of classical and contemporary music not only in the intimate setting of the Board of Officers Room, but also in other spaces including the Wade Thompson Drill Hall. The Recital Series opens the season with performances by two notable ensembles performing repertoire from opposite ends of the musical spectrum. New music ensemble Alarm Will Sound take over the Drill Hall to perform Grammy and Pulitzer Prizewinning composer John Luther Adams’ Ten Thousand Birds, walking through the space as they play while the audience follows. A major force in the 17th-century French repertory Ensemble Correspondances under the direction of founder Sébastien Daucé presents Plaisirs du Louvre, music from the Chamber of Louis XIII including works by Couperin, Boësset, de Chancy, and others performed on period instruments. Celebrated baritone Justin Austin comes to the Board of Officers Room for an intimate program with pianist Howard Watkins, featuring art songs by Ricky Ian Gordon set to the poems of Langston Hughes as well as works by American composers Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Weill, Damien Sneed, and more. And after appearing on some of the world’s most important opera stages, soprano Ying Fang comes to the austerely elegant space with pianist Ken Noda to showcase her unique sensibility and operatic range. We are proud to continue our tradition of fostering rising talent by hosting the North American solo recital debuts of tenor Michael Spyres and mezzo soprano Emily D’Angelo. One of the most sought-after tenors of his generation, Spyres showcases his brilliant artistry with a program of Rossini’s art songs and cantatas with pianist Mathieu Pordoy. D’Angelo partners with pianist Sophia Muñoz to perform works from her debut album enargeia (Deutsche Grammophon), including songs by Sarah Kirkland Snider, Missy Mazzoli, Hildegard von Bingen, and Hildur Guðnadóttir. This year’s lineup offers audiences even more chances to enjoy a beautiful range of chamber music experiences performed by artists with a highly distinctive international profile. We hope you join in our excitement for witnessing these magical moments in music. Rebecca Robertson Founding President and Executive Producer Pierre Audi Marina Kellen French Artistic Director
2022 RECITAL SERIES IN THE RESTORED BOARD OF OFFICERS ROOM
JUSTIN AUSTIN, baritone HOWARD WATKINS, piano tuesday, may
24, 2022 at 7:30pm
The Recital Series is supported in part by The Reed Foundation and the Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation. Support for Park Avenue Armory’s artistic season has been generously provided by the Charina Endowment Fund, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Howard Gilman Foundation, the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, the Marc Haas Foundation, The Prospect Hill Foundation, The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation, the Leon Levy Foundation, the May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg, the Richenthal Foundation, and the Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation. Additional support has been provided by the Armory’s Artistic Council.
2022 SEASON SPONSORS
PROGRAM Ricky Ian Gordon
“Prayer” “Daybreak in Alabama” “Harlem Night Song” “Kid in the Park” “Song for a Dark Girl” “My People” “When Sue Wears Red” “Luck” “Drum”
Margaret Bonds
Three Dream Portraits “Minstrel Man” “Dream Variation” “I, Too”
Intermission Robert Owens
Mortal Storm, Op. 29 “A House in Taos” “Little Song” “Jaime” “Faithful One” “Genius Child”
Aaron Copland
Old American Songs, Set 2, no. 1 “The Little Horses”
Leonard Bernstein
Songfest, no. 4 “To what you said”
William Bolcom
Old Addresses, no. 4 “Ballad of the Landlord”
Kurt Weill
Little Threepenny Music, no. 4 “Ballad of the Easy Life”
Hall Johnson
“Oh, Glory!”
Shawn Okpebholo
“Oh, Freedom”
Duke Ellington
Black, Brown and Beige, no. 4 “Come Sunday”
Damien Sneed
“I Dream a World”
This program is approximately 85 minutes with a 10-minute intermission.
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Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
ARTIST’S STATEMENT What does it mean to be an American? If you ask any two people, you’ll likely get two different answers. America is known as “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” I like to think of it rather as “the home of the free and the land of the brave.” To me, this slight distinction paints a picture that allows everyone who calls America home to have the freedom to build a future. Land of the brave; land of the ones who overcome. Land of the ones who aren’t afraid to be afraid. Tonight’s recital showcases my point of view as an American and specifically the composers that have allowed me to pave my own path towards building a future. These stories explore an array of emotions that I have either experienced or to which I have borne witness. Despite their unique backgrounds and upbringings, they have in common the fact that they have all taken pride in being an American. It’s this country that has allowed them to express their true self and has allowed me to do the same. — Justin Austin, baritone
A NOTE ON THE SONGS OF RICKY IAN GORDON To begin with the “Prayer,” rather than to end with it. To acknowledge that there is so much to pray for right now: peace, wholeness, freedom, empathy, compassion, the earth, and above all, truth. The truth. That is why these songs begin with a prayer. Then the sun comes out and one can muse about what they’d like to be in the world, what I’d like to do, be a composer, write music to celebrate what is beautiful, and meaningful, to celebrate “Daybreak in Alabama,” to celebrate what I imagine Alabama and all the states of this great country could be if they acknowledged the freedoms and the rights due to every human being in them. If they stripped away their mask of orthodoxy and listened rather than barked. And then, to that music that I have written, to run, to roam, to dance, to love through the streets of Harlem, but really, through the streets of the world in the same prayer that asks for and shouts the birthright of every human being, life, the stars, the moon, and a voice. “Harlem Night Song.” There is on every bench in every park in every city a child, a “Kid in the Park,” who has twisted himself up into the question, who am I? Why am I here? What am I doing? And who loves me? Where is my home? Because this elusive freedom, this elusive love, is so out of reach and has been since the beginning of history, there are these incidents where hate wins and a body is hung from a tree to demonstrate how small and pitiless human beings can be. How ugly. Think James Byrd Jr., Emmett Till, George Floyd. “Song for a Dark Girl.” Break the heart of me, indeed. But what gets us through, what helps us to live: the people who love us, the people we love, the people we come from, our people. “My People.” We prevail because we are resilient. Resilience pulls us through—is our door, is our portal. The great poet Stanley Kunitz says, “What makes the engine go? Desire. Desire. Desire.” “When Sue Wears Red” is a paean to the power and the unflappability, the trajectory of desire, the irrepressible rise in the pants for connection. There is and always has been enormous inequality in who gets what, who deserves what, but God is watching and perhaps, eventually, with “Luck,” everyone will get everything. In the end is the “Drum” that signals death, but death may be a bridge, the bridge to transcendence, to the answer, to light. Death may be the beginning. I ask you this… — Ricky Ian Gordon
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ABOUT THE PROGRAM The art song—poetry set to vocally and stylistically demanding music—emerged as a major genre in 19th-century Europe. The masters of the German Lied (Schubert, Schumann) and the French mélodie (Gounod, Fauré) created an art form that achieved something that no other type of music could do. In the best art songs, great depth of feeling and even high drama is concentrated in just a few minutes’ duration—an entire ocean in a drop of water, as it were. In the 20th century, some of the greatest composers of art song worked in English—in Britain and then, increasingly, in the United States. Charles Ives, Samuel Barber, Ned Rorem, and others created a rich repertoire that gave the genre a new lease of life in America at a time when most European composers had largely turned their attention to other forms of music. And when Black composers began to embrace the art song, that opened a whole new chapter in the history of the genre. Justin Austin’s all-American song recital includes some classic favorites by Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Duke Ellington, and Kurt Weill (the latter represented by one of his best-known songs from his iconic Threepenny Opera, written a few years before his immigration from Germany). The bulk of the recital, however, will be devoted to settings of poetry by Langston Hughes. Hughes, one of the leading figures of the Harlem Renaissance, addressed the lives and feelings of everyday Black people, expressing their suffering, hopes, and dreams in deceptively simple language. Tender, humorous, passionate, or outright tragic (with all the shades and nuances in between), Hughes’ poems seem literally to cry out to be set to music and sung, not just read and recited. In one of them, “Daybreak in Alabama,” the poet even said it in so many words: “When I get to be a composer / I’m gonna write me some music about / Daybreak in Alabama…” One composer that produced such music is Ricky Ian Gordon, who has devoted an entire volume, Only Heaven, to Hughes’ settings. Gordon has long achieved the status of a living classic as a songwriter, having made a successful transition from Broadway to art song and opera years ago. Record producer Tommy Krasker, who has been responsible for an acclaimed CD release of these songs, has said: “[I’ve] always felt that Ricky’s Langston Hughes settings were among his finest work.” When the composer was asked why he set so many Hughes poems to music, he replied: “I love his work. He writes in a profound and economical way, and he has an honest and livedin philosophy that goes straight to the heart.”
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Among the other composers on tonight’s program who were inspired by Hughes, Margaret Bonds stands out on account of her long professional association and friendship with the poet. Another African American composer who was inspired by Hughes was Robert Owens, who spent much of his career in Germany, working as a composer, pianist, and actor on stage and screen. The five songs Owens published under the title Mortal Storm explore, as one reviewer noted, “the dark side of Hughes’ poetry” and “are far more operatic than the composer’s previous songs.” The reviewer continued: “The texts speak of isolation…loneliness…impossible dreams… faithfulness in spite of everything…and rejection.” The Hughes theme will continue with William Bolcom's “Ballad of the Landlord” from that eminent composer’s 2002 cycle Old Addresses. Yet this song is like no other on the program. It is a dramatic piece (partly comical, partly very serious) where the singer has to take on three different personas: those of the (presumably white) landlord, his Black tenant complaining about the landlord’s negligence, and an observer-narrator who, in clipped sentences, relates how news of the confrontation hits the papers, with the “Negro” inevitably ending up in the county jail. Other composers on the program, such as Hall Johnson or Shawn Okpebholo, will be represented by arrangements of spirituals. Then, with Duke Ellington’s “Come Sunday,” the recital will take another turn in the direction of jazz and gospel. This song, originally part of Ellington’s suite Black, Brown and Beige, was made famous by Mahalia Jackson. For his part, Damian Sneed, whose “I Dream a World” Austin premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2017, is known for his long collaboration with Aretha Franklin. This song, incidentally, is also based on a Langston Hughes poem. But Sneed’s setting is squarely in the classical tradition, reminding us that this exceptionally versatile musician has worked not only with Franklin but also with Jessye Norman, Wynton Marsalis, and numerous other great artists who have transcended all genre boundaries. Sneed has rendered Hughes’ prophetic vision of full racial equality in a truly grandiose manner, providing a fitting ending for this moving recital program. — Peter Laki
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
ABOUT THE ARTISTS JUSTIN AUSTIN, BARITONE
HOWARD WATKINS, PIANO
Praised in Opera News for his “vocally impressive, verbally elegant, and duly seductive baritone” Justin Austin makes his debut with the Metropolitan Opera in the company premiere of Brett Dean’s Hamlet. This spring, he also sings Elijah at Carnegie Hall with The Oratorio Society of New York.
American pianist Howard Watkins is a frequent associate of some of the world’s leading musicians on the concert stage and an Assistant Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera. His appearances throughout the Americas, Europe, Asia, Russia, and Israel have included collaborations with Joyce DiDonato, Diana Damrau, Thomas Hampson, Kathleen Battle, Grace Bumbry, Mariusz Kwiecien, Anna Netrebko, and Matthew Polenzani at such venues as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Spivey Hall, The Kennedy Center, the United States Supreme Court, Alice Tully Hall, the three stages of Carnegie Hall, the Elbphilharmonie, and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. His current and former faculty affiliations include The Juilliard School, Bard College Conservatory of Music, Merola Opera Program, Yale School of Music as a Visiting Presidential Fellow, Tanglewood Music Center, Aspen Music Festival, Mannes School of Music, North Carolina School of the Arts, International Vocal Arts Institute (Israel, Japan, and China), Brancaleoni Music Festival in Italy, Tokyo International Vocal Arts Academy (TIVAA), IIVA in Italy, and VOICExperience in Orlando, Tampa, and Savannah. Currently a guest Master Coach for the Cafritz Young Artists of Washington Opera and the Opera Theater of St. Louis, Watkins has worked on the music staffs of Palm Beach Opera, Washington National Opera, and Los Angeles Opera. A native of Dayton, Ohio, Watkins completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Accompanying and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. Honored as the 2004 recipient of the Paul C. Boylan Award from the University of Michigan for his outstanding contributions to the field of music, he is also the 2019 recipient of the Lift Every Voice Legacy Award from the National Opera Association.
As a multifaceted musician, Austin performs a wide range of repertoire from jazz, RnB and musical theater, to opera and oratorio. Recent highlights include the roles of Charles Blow in Fire Shut Up In My Bones at Chicago Lyric Opera, George Armstrong in Intimate Apparel with Lincoln Center Theater (recorded for future telecast on PBS’ Great Performances), and Thomas McKellar in An American Apollo, with Washington National Opera (and this summer at Des Moines Metro Opera). Austin has also appeared in opera with The Glimmerglass Festival, the Bayerishe Staatsoper, Opera Saratoga, Bard Festival Summerscape, Munich Opera Festival, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Grand Theatre de Geneve and Landestheater, Linz. Recital credits include programs with New York Festival of Song, Los Angeles Opera, Hamburg International Music Festival, Caramoor Center for Music, Moab Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, and IDAGIO. He has received awards from The Recording Academy, NAACP, George London Foundation, Opera Ebony, Gerda Lissner Foundation, and others. Graduate of the Choir Academy of Harlem, LaGuardia Arts, Heidelberg Lied Akademie and Manhattan School of Music. Bachelor of Music, Master of Music, Austin is under the tutelage and mentorship of Catherine Malfitano. Justin Austin appears by kind permission of The Metropolitan Opera.
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TEXTS RICKY IAN GORDON (b. 1956) Genius Child, no. 7 “Prayer” (1995) Text by Langston Hughes
Only Heaven, no. 2 “Harlem Night Song” (1997) Text by Langston Hughes
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.
Come, Let us roam the night together Singing. I love you.
Only Heaven, no. 2 “Daybreak in Alabama” (1997) Text by Langston Hughes I’m gonna write me some music about Daybreak in Alabama And I’m gonna put the purtiest songs in it Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist And falling out of heaven like soft dew. I’m gonna put some tall tall trees in it And the scent of pine needles And the smell of red clay after rain And long red necks And poppy colored faces And big brown arms And the field daisy eyes Of black and white black white black people And I’m gonna put white hands And black hands and brown and yellow hands And red clay earth hands in it Touching everybody with kind fingers And touching each other natural as dew In that dawn of music when I Get to be a composer And write about daybreak In Alabama.
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Across The Harlem roof-tops Moon is shining. Night sky is blue. Stars are great drops Of Golden dew. Down the street A band is playing. I love you. Come, Let us roam the night together Singing.
Genius Child, no. 3 “Kid in the Park” (1995) Text by Langston Hughes Lonely little question mark on a bench in the park: See the people passing by? See the airplanes in the sky? See the birds flying home before dark? Home’s just around the corner there– but not really anywhere.
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
Only Heaven, no. 11 “Song for a Dark Girl” (1997) Text by Langston Hughes
Only Heaven, no. 7 “Luck” (1997) Text by Langston Hughes
Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) They hung my black young lover To a cross roads tree.
Sometimes a crumb falls From the tables of joy, Sometimes a bone Is flung.
Way Down South in Dixie (Bruised body high in air) I asked the white Lord Jesus What was the use of prayer.
To some people Love is given, To others Only heaven.
Way Down South in Dixie (Break the heart of me) Love is a naked shadow On a gnarled and naked tree.
Only Heaven, no. 12 “Drum” (1997) Text by Langston Hughes
Genius Child, no. 9 “My People” (1995) Text by Langston Hughes The night is beautiful, So the faces of my people. The stars are beautiful, So the eyes of my people. Beautiful, also, is the sun. Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.
Only Heaven, no. 3 “When Sue Wears Red” (1997) Text by Langston Hughes When Susanna Jones wears red Her face is like an ancient cameo Turned brown with the ages.
Bear in mind That death is a drum Beating forever Till the last worms come To answer its call, Till the last stars fall, Until the last atom Is no atom at all, Until time is lost And there is no air And space itself Is nothing nowhere, Death is a drum, A signal drum, Calling life To come! Come! Come!
Come with a blast of trumpets, Jesus! When Susanna Jones wears red A queen from some time-dead Egyptian night Walks once again. Blow trumpets, Jesus! And the beauty of Susanna Jones in red Burns in my heart a love-fire sharp like pain Sweet silver trumpets, Jesus! Please turn page quietly. armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory
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MARGARET BONDS (1913-1972) Three Dream Portraits (1959) Text by Langston Hughes Minstrel Man Because my mouth Is wide with laughter And my throat Is deep with song, You do not think I suffer after I have held my pain So long?
I, Too I, too, sing America.
Because my mouth Is wide with laughter, You do not hear My inner cry? Because my feet Are gay with dancing, You do not know I die?
Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table When company comes. Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen,” Then.
Dream Variation To fling my arms wide In some place of the sun, To whirl and to dance Till the white day is done. Then rest at cool evening Beneath a tall tree While night comes on gently, Dark like me– That is my dream!
I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed– I, too, am America.
To fling my arms wide In the face of the sun, Dance! Whirl! Whirl! Till the quick day is done. Rest at pale evening… A tall, slim tree… Night coming tenderly Black like me.
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Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
ROBERT OWENS (1925-2017) Mortal Storm, Op. 29 (1969) Text by Langston Hughes A House in Taos Rain Thunder of the Rain God: And we three Smitten by beauty. Thunder of the Rain God: And we three Weary, weary. Thunder of the Rain God: And you, she, and I Waiting for nothingness. Do you understand the stillness Of this house In Taos Under the thunder of the Rain God? Sun That there should be a barren garden About this house in Taos Is not so strange, But that there should be three barren hearts In this one house in Taos — Who carries ugly things to show the sun? Moon Did you ask for the beaten brass of the moon? We can buy lovely things with money, You, she, and I, Yet you seek, As though you could keep, This unbought loveliness of moon. Wind Touch our bodies, wind. Our bodies are separate, individual things. Touch our bodies, wind, But blow quickly Through the red, white, yellow skins Of our bodies To the terrible snarl, Not mine, Not yours, Not hers, But all one snarl of souls. Blow quickly, wind, Before we run back Into the windlessness — With our bodies — Into the windlessness Of our house in Taos.
Little Song Lonely people In the lonely night Grab a lonely dream And hold it tight. Lonely people In the lonely day Work to salt Their dream away. Jaime He sits on a hill And beats a drum For the great earth spirits That never come. He sits on a hill Looking out to the sea Toward a mirage-land That will never be. Faithful One Though I go drunken to her door, I’m ever so sure she’ll let me in. Though I wander and stray and wound her sore, she’ll open the latch when I come again. No matter what I do or say, she waits for me at the end of the day. Genius Child This is a song for the genius child. Sing it softly, for the song is wild. Sing it softly as ever you can– Lest the song get out of hand. Nobody loves a genius child. Can you love an eagle, Tame or wild? Wild or tame, Can you love a monster Of frightening name? Nobody loves a genius child. Kill him–and let his soul run wild!
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AARON COPLAND (1900-1990)
WILLIAM BOLCOM (b. 1938)
Old American Songs, Set 2, no. 1, “The Little Horses” (1952) Traditional Text
Old Addresses, no. 4 “Ballad of the Landlord” (2002) Text by Langston Hughes
Hush you bye, Don’t you cry, Go to sleepy little baby. When you wake, You shall have, All the pretty little horses. Blacks and bays, Dapples and grays, Coach and six-a little horses. Blacks and bays, Dapples and grays, Coach and six-a little horses. Hush you bye, Don’t you cry, Go to sleepy little baby. When you wake, You’ll have sweet cake and All the pretty little horses. A brown and gray and a black and a bay and a Coach and six-a little horses. A black and a bay ad a brown and a gray and a Coach and six-a little horses. Hush you bye, Don’t you cry, Oh you pretty little baby. Go to sleepy little baby. Oh you pretty little baby.
Landlord, landlord, My roof has sprung a leak. Don’t you ‘member I told you ’bout it Way last week?
LEONARD BERNSTEIN (1918-1990) Songfest, no. 4 “To what you said” (1977) Text by Walt Whitman To what you said, passionately clasping my hand, this is my answer: Though you have strayed hither, for my sake, you can never belong to me, Nor I to you, Behold the customary loves and friendships the cold guards I am that rough and simple person I am he who kisses his comrade lightly on the lips at parting, And I am one who is kissed in return, I introduce that new American salute Behold love choked, correct, polite, always suspicious Behold the received models of the parlors — What are they to me? What to these young men that travel with me?
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Landlord, landlord These steps is broken down. When you come up yourself It’s a wonder you don’t fall down. Ten bucks you say I owe you? Ten bucks you say is due? Well, that Ten Bucks more’n I’ll pay you Till you fix this house up new. What? You gonna get eviction orders? You gonna cut off my heat? You gonna take my furniture and Throw it in the street? Um-huh! You talking high and mighty. Talk on – till you get through. You ain’t gonna be able to say a word If I land my fist on you. Police! Police! Come and get this man! He’s trying to ruin the government And overturn the land! Copper’s whistle! Patrol bell! Arrest. Precinct Station. Iron cell. Headlines in press: MAN THREATENS LANDLORD TENANT HELD NO BAIL JUDGE GIVES NEGRO 90 DAYS IN COUNTY JAIL.
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
KURT WEILL (1900-1950)
SHAWN OKPEBHOLO (b. 1981)
Little Threepenny Music, no. 4 “Ballad of the Easy Life” (1928) Text by Bertolt Brecht
Oh, Freedom (2013) Traditional spiritual text
A question please: Is this what you call living? Then take a little tip from Mack the Knife. While still a child, I heard it with misgiving: the bulging pocket makes the easy life.
No more mournin’. There’ll be no more mournin’. Oh, no more mournin’ over me. And, before I’d be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave. And be home with my Lord and be free.
They tell you that the best in life is mental Just starve yourself and do a lot of reading Up in some garret where the rats are breeding Should you survive, it’s purely accidental If that's your pleasure, go on, live that way But since I’ve had it up to here, I’m through There's not a dog from here to Timbuktu Would care to live that life a single day So listen closely to Mack the Knife The bulging pocket makes the easy life
No more crying. No more crying, Lord, there’ll be no more crying over me. And, before I’d be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave. And be home with my Lord and be free. There’ll be singin’! There’ll be shoutin’! There’ll be glory! Oh, freedom over me. And, before I’d be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave. And be home with my Lord and be free.
Now once I used to think it might be worthy To be a brave and sacrificing person I soon found out it wasn’t reimbursin’ Decided to continue being earthy The noble poor are nobly underfed And being brave will bring an empty fame You’re all alone with no one else to blame You’re mingling with the great but you are dead Where’s the percentage? Ask Mack the Knife The bulging pocket makes the easy life
DUKE ELLINGTON (1899-1974) Come Sunday (1943) Text by Duke Ellington Lord, dear Lord above, God Almighty, God of Love, please look down and see my people thru.
HALL JOHNSON (1888-1970) Oh, Glory! (1956) Traditional text, arranged by Hall Johnson Oh, Glory! There is room enough in Paradise – To have a home in Glory. Jesus, my all, to heaven is gone to have a home in Glory, He whom I fixed by hopes upon, to have a home in Glory. Oh, Glory! There is room enough in Paradise – To have a home in Glory. His track I see and I’ll pursue, to have a home The narrow way till Him I view to have a home. Oh, Glory! There is room enough in Paradise – To have a home in Glory.
Oh Freedom, oh freedom, oh freedom over me. And, before I’d be a slave, I’ll be buried in my grave. And go home to my Lord and be free.
I believe that God put sun and moon up in the sky. I don’t mind the grey skies ‘cause they’re just clouds passing by. Lord, dear Lord above, God Almighty, God of Love, please look down and see my people thru. Heaven is a goodness time. A brighter light on high. Do unto others as you would have them do to you, and have a brighter by and by. Lord, dear Lord above, God Almighty, God of Love, please look down and see my people thru. I believe God is now, was then, and always will be. With God’s blessing we can make it thru eternity. Lord, dear Lord above, God Almighty, God of Love, please look down and see my people thru.
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DAMIEN SNEED I Dream a World (2017) Text by Langston Hughes I dream a world where man No other man will scorn, Where love will bless the earth And peace its paths adorn I dream a world where all Will know sweet freedom’s way, Where greed no longer saps the soul Nor avarice blights our day. A world I dream where black or white, Whatever race you be, Will share the bounties of the earth And every man is free, Where wretchedness will hang its head And joy, like a pearl, Attends the needs of all mankind– Of such I dream, my world!
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Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
PARK AVENUE ARMORY STAFF Rebecca Robertson Founding President and Executive Producer Pierre Audi Marina Kellen French Artistic Director ARTISTIC PLANNING AND PROGRAMMING Michael Lonergan Chief Artistic Producer Kevin Condardo General Manager Jenni Bowman Producer Melanie Milton Producer Darian Suggs Associate Director, Public Programming Sam Cortez Associate Producer/Company Manager Oscar Peña Programming Coordinator
Jacqueline Babek, Emma Buford, Sarah Gallick, Daniel Gomez, Eboni Green, Nariah Green, Maxim Ibadov, Sandra Kitt, Christine Lemme, Beth Miller, Drew O’Bryan, Jon Ovadia, Regina Pearsall, Shimel Purnell, Eileen Rourke, Michael Simon, Kin Tam, Kathleen White, Ushers Liz Bickley Covid Compliance Team Manager CAPITAL PROJECTS & ARCHIVES Kirsten Reoch Director of Capital Planning, Preservation, and Institutional Relations David Burnhauser Collection Manager
ARTISTIC PRODUCTION Paul King Director of Production Claire Marberg Deputy Director of Production Nicholas Lazzaro Technical Director Lars Nelson Technical Director Rachel Baumann Production Coordinator ARTS EDUCATION Cassidy L. Jones Chief Education Officer Monica Weigel McCarthy Director of Education Chelsea Emelie Kelly Director of Youth Corps Aarti Ogirala Associate Director of Education, School Programs Drew Petersen Education Special Projects Manager Nadia Parfait School Programs Coordinator Bev Vega Youth Corps Coordinator Kate Bell, Emily Bruner, Donna Costello, Alexander Davis, Asma Feyijinmi, Hawley Hussey, Larry Jackson, Hector Morales, Peter Musante, Drew Petersen, Leigh Poulos, Neil Tyrone Pritchard, Vickie Tanner Teaching Artists Wilson Castro, Sharlyn Galarza, Daniel Gomez, Nancy Gomez, Maxim Ibadov, Stephanie Mesquita, Paola Ocampo, Ashley Ortiz, Catherine Talton Teaching Associates Zeinebou Dia, Taylor Maheia, Jason Quizhpi, Angela Reynoso, Lucille Vasquez, Milen Yimer Youth Corps BUILDING & MANAGEMENT OPERATIONS Jenni Kim Chief Operating Officer Marc Von Braunsberg Director of Operations Aurelio Roman Director of Facilities Patricia English Security Director Chris Sperry Facilities Manager Williams Say Superintendent Leandro Dasso, Mayra DeLeon, Mario Esquilin, Jeferson Avila, Olga Cruz, Justin DeLeon Nieto, Jazmin Dominguez, Howard Johnson, Cristina Moreira, Tyrell Shannon Castillo, Joshua Rosa, Cindy Fabara Maintenance Staff Oku Okoko Director of IT Ethan Cohen IT Administrator Bobby Wolf Senior House Manager Daniel George House Manager Alexandra Ortiz Assistant House Manager
Jason Moran Curator, Artists Studio Tavia Nyong’o Curator, Public Programming
DEVELOPMENT Melanie Forman Chief Development Officer Charmaine Portis Executive Assistant to the Chief Development Officer Sam Cole Director of Development Rachel Risso-Gill Senior Director of Individual Giving Billy Fidler Director of Institutional Giving Jennifer Ramon Associate Director of Individual Giving Michael Buffer Database Manager Kaitlin Overton Manager of Institutional Giving Yejin Kim Special Events Coordinator Adithya Pratama Individual Giving Coordinator EXECUTIVE OFFICE Lori Nelson Executive Assistant to the President Nathalie Etienne Administrative Assistant, President’s Office Simone Elhart Project Manager FINANCE Arthur Bulacan Interim Chief Financial Officer Christy Kidd Controller Khemraj Dat Accountant MARKETING, COMMUNICATIONS & BOX OFFICE Tom Trayer Chief Marketing Officer Nick Yarbrough Senior Digital Marketing Manager Allison Abbott Press and Editorial Manager Joe Petrowski Director of Ticketing and Customer Relations Monica Diaz Box Office Manager Emily Cifuentes, Janel Ridley Box Office Shift Leads Anne Amundson, Mary McDonnell, Rocky Nardone, Sienna Sherman, Danielle Shubsda, Laura Rizzo Box Office Associates Resnicow + Associates, Inc. Press Representatives PRODUCTION ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Sarah Billinghurst Solomon and Matthew Epstein Artistic Consultants for Vocal Recitals Steinway & Sons
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory
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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. Launched in 2013 with the revitalization of the Board of Officers Room, the series has held the debuts of many world-class artists, including: the North American recital debuts of pianist Igor Levit, soprano Sabine Devieilhe, tenor Ilker Arcayürek, baritones Benjamin Appl and Roderick Williams, clarinetist Andreas Ottensamer, and cellist István Várdai; the US Recital debuts of sopranos Barbara Hannigan and Anna Lucia Richter and baritone Thomas Oliemans; and the New York debut 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 and Michael Hersch’s “…das Rückgrat berstend” performed by violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja and cellist Jay Campbell. 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; and John Zorn’s Jumalatteret sung by soprano Barbara Hannigan with pianist Stephen Gosling.
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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; Rosa Feola with pianist Iain Burnside; cellist Nicolas Altstaedt; tenor Paul Appleby with pianist Conor Hanick; baritone Will Liverman with pianist Myra Huang; and mezzo soprano Jamie Barton with pianist and composer Jake Heggie.
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
NEXT IN THE RECITAL SERIES MICHAEL SPYRES & MATHIEU PORDOY
YING FANG & KEN NODA
One of the most sought-after tenors of his generation, Michael Spyres has been seen on stages across Europe and the United States including La Scala, Wiener Staatsoper, Aix-en-Provence Festival, and The Metropolitan Opera. His Armory debut will be a unique opportunity to see his command of a wide ranges of repertoire from Baroque to Classical to 20th-Century.
“Star in the making” (The New York Times) soprano Ying Fang is cultivating a burgeoning international career on some of the world’s most important opera stages. The New York Times praised her performance at The Metropolitan Opera as “a source of pure joy and light…sung with a soprano of succulent sweetness.”
september 7 & 9
october 26 & 27
EMILY D’ANGELO & SOPHIA MUÑOZ september 16 & 18
Internationally recognized Emily D’Angelo will present a program that will highlight pieces from her debut album enargeia on Deutsche Grammophon, including songs by Sarah Kirkland Snider, Missy Mazzoli, Hildegard von Bingen, and Hildur Guðnadóttir.
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory
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NEXT AT THE ARMORY HAMLET
MONOCHROMATIC LIGHT (AFTERLIFE)
The Olivier Award-winning director Robert Icke unleashes his visionary creativity at the Armory with the North American premiere of a radical new staging of Shakespeare’s classic. This highly charged staging transforms the traditional family drama into a psychological thriller, transporting the action to our current surveillance society in which rolling media news feeds provide juicy updates of a life lived on screen while blurring the lines between public and private life. Alex Lawther (The Imitation Game, The Last Duel, The French Dispatch, Black Mirror) portrays the obsessive prince consumed by grief, brilliantly embodying his mental decay to boldly examine the devastating effects his anguish has not only on his own psyche, but on his family and country.
Fifty years ago, composer Morton Feldman wrote music to commemorate the opening of the Rothko Chapel in Houston. A half-century later, composer, conductor, multiinstrumentalist and MacArthur “Genius” Tyshawn Sorey has created a new piece, commissioned by the Armory, as a tribute to both the deeply contemplative space and the work by this composer that has influenced his creative output. The resulting score provides the listener with the feeling of being enveloped in sound in much the same way that Mark Rothko’s paintings give in that space, revealing ever changing shades of color and texture. Visionary director Peter Sellars returns to the Armory following his unforgettable stagings of St. Matthew Passion (2014) and FLEXN (2015, 2017) to ritualize this deeply moving work. Within the confines of a ceremonial chamber, audiences are immersed in Sorey’s composition, works by celebrated visual artist Julie Mehretu, and choreography by flex pioneer Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray to gain new perspectives on time, space, and movement.
june 1 – august 13
september 27 – october 8
ORESTEIA
june 9 – august 13 Aeschylus’ greatest and final play is a searing familial saga that examines the sins of a family over several decades and explores whether justice can ever really be done. Robert Icke’s Olivier Award-winning adaptation comes to the Armory for its North American premiere following sold-out runs at the Almeida Theatre and in London’s West End. Icke radically reimagines this Greek drama for the modern stage, condensing the tragic trilogy into a single performance that electrifies and devastates in equal measure. Lia Williams (The Crown, His Dark Materials) returns as the enthralling Klytemnestra (Olivier nomination for Best Actress). This daring update allows audiences to investigate the justification of vengeance, the possibility of finding justice in retaliation, and the role of judicial democracy at work—themes that continue to resonate nearly two and a half millennia after the play was written.
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EUPHORIA
november 30, 2022 – january 1, 2023 Julian Rosefeldt returns to Park Avenue Armory with Euphoria, an immersive multi-channel film and musical installation that will explore the concepts of “capital, money, and greed” and what Rosefeldt describes as “the destructive potential of unlimited economic growth.” The installation, projected on screens that surround the audience, will feature fragments of quotations from Donna Haraway, Warren Buffet, Socrates, John Steinbeck, Ayn Rand, Ursula K. Le Guin, Milton Friedman, and others, that take on new meaning as they are offered in real and imagined scenes of “euphoric production and consumption.” Euphoria is scored with original music composed by Samy Moussa and with additional music by Cassie Kinoshi, performed by 140 singers from the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and five acclaimed jazz drummers: Terri Lyne Carrington, Steve Gadd, Yissy García, Eric Harland, and Antonio Sanchez.
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
ARTISTS STUDIO
MAKING SPACE AT THE ARMORY
RODNEY MCMILLIAN
ARCHER AYMES RETROSPECTIVE: A JUNETEENTH EXHIBITION
october 15
Conceptual artist Rodney McMillian presents his musical performance Hanging with Clarence, based on Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ 1985 commencement address at Savannah State University that was rich with conservative views on social programs, race, and sexual harassment. Performed by McMillian and two back-up singers, the theater work uses Thomas’ speech as its text, while weaving in the artist’s music and poetry.
CAMILLE NORMENT & CRAIG TABORN
november 18
Pianist, composer, and electronic musician Craig Taborn is joined by multimedia artist Camille Norment as they return to the Armory after their debut in 2016. Using the physical elements of automobiles to launch in their exploration of space and sound, these two mavericks explore what is known and unknown in the world of sonic play.
june 19
In commemoration of Juneteenth, Park Avenue Armory presents a retrospective of the newly discovered archive of Archer Aymes, subject of Carl Hancock Rux’s Obie awardwinning play Talk. At once a magical mystery tour through American history and a searing indictment of the unfulfilled promise of emancipation, this installation features a performance by mezzo soprano Alicia Hall Moran accompanied by Aaron Diehl. Curated and installed by Rux and Dianne Smith, this retrospective is presented in collaboration with concurrent events at HarlemStage and Lincoln Center.
SKILLSHARE
august 21
Artists-in-Residence activate the Armory as a space for mutual aid through skill share, maker spaces, and master classes.
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory
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ABOUT PARK AVENUE ARMORY Part palace, part industrial shed, Park Avenue Armory fills a critical void in the cultural ecology of New York, supporting 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 and an array of exuberant period rooms, 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. Programmatic highlights from the Wade Thompson Drill Hall include Ernesto Neto’s anthropodino, a magical labyrinth extended across the Drill Hall; Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s harrowing Die Soldaten, in which the audience moved “through the music”; the event of a thread, a site-specific installation by Ann Hamilton; the final performances of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company on three separate stages; an immersive Macbeth set in a Scottish heath with Kenneth Branagh; WS by Paul McCarthy, a monumental installation of fantasy, excess, and dystopia; a radically inclusive staging of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion staged by Peter Sellars and performed by Sir Simon Rattle and the Berliner Philharmoniker; eight-time Drama Desk-nominated play The Hairy Ape, directed by Richard Jones and starring Bobby Cannavale; Hansel & Gretel, a new commission by Ai Weiwei, Jacques Herzog, and Pierre de Meuron that explored publicly shared space in the era of surveillance; FLEXN and FLEXN Evolution, two Armorycommissioned presentations of the Brooklyn-born dance activists group the D.R.E.A.M. Ring, created by Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray and Director Peter Sellars; Simon Stone’s heralded production of Yerma starring Billie Piper in her North American debut; The Let Go, a site-specific immersive dance celebration by Nick Cave; Satoshi Miyagi’s stunning production of Antigone set in a lake; Sam Mendes’ critically acclaimed production of The Lehman Trilogy; the Black Artists Retreat hosted by Theaster Gates, which included public talks and performances, private sessions for the 300 attending artists, and a roller skating rink; Deep Blue Sea by Bill T. Jones and the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Companies; The Shape of Things, a multi-work installation, convening, and performance series by Carrie Mae Weems; Rashaad Newsome’s Assembly; and the North American premiere of Michel van der Aa’s Upload featuring Julia Bullock and Roderick Williams. Productions in the Armory’s Social Distance Hall included works by Bill T. Jones; David Byrne, Christine Jones, and Steven Hoggett; Laurie Anderson and Jason Moran; and Robert Icke. In its historic period rooms, the Armory presents more intimate performances and programs, including its acclaimed Recital Series, which showcases musical talent from across the globe within the intimate salon setting of the Board of Officers Room; the Artists Studio series curated by MacArthur “Genius” and jazz phenom Jason Moran in the newly restored Veterans Room, which features a diverse array of innovative artists and artistic pairings that reflect the imaginative improvisation of the young designers and artists who originally conceived the space; and a Public Programming series that brings diverse artists and thought-leaders together for discussion and performance around the important issues of our time. Among the performers who have appeared in the Recital Series and the Artists Studio in the Armory’s restored Veterans Room or the Board of Officers Rooms are: Christian Gerhaher; Ian Bostridge; Jason Moran; Lawrence Brownlee; Barbara Hannigan; Lisette Oropesa; Roscoe Mitchell; Conrad Tao and Tyshawn Sorey; Rashaad Newsome; and Krency Garcia (“El Prodigio”). Highlights from the public programs include: symposiums such as Carrie Mae Weems’ day-long event called The Shape of Things, whose participants included Elizabeth Alexander, Theaster Gates, Elizabeth Diller, and Nona Hendryx; a day-long Lenape Pow Wow and Standing Ground Symposium held in the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, the first congregation of Lenape Leaders on Manhattan Island since the 1700s; salons such as the Literature Salon hosted by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, whose participants included Lynn Nottage, Suzan Lori-Parks, and Jeremy O. Harris, and a Spoken Word Salon co-hosted with the Nuyorican Poets Cafe; and most recently, 100 Years | 100 Women, a multi-organization commissioning project that invited 100 women artists and cultural creators to respond to women’s suffrage.
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Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
Current Artists-in-Residence at the Armory include two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Lynn Nottage; Obie winner and Pulitzer short-listed playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Carmelita Tropicana; Reggie “Regg Roc” Gray and the D.R.E.A.M. Ring; singer and composer Sara Serpa; Tony Award-winning set designer and director Christine Jones and choreographer Steven Hoggett; and Mimi Lien, the first set designer to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. The Armory also supports artists through an active commissioning program including such artists as Bill T. Jones, Lynn Nottage, Carrie Mae Weems, Michel van der Aa, Tyshawn Sorey, Raashad Newsome, Julian Rosefeldt, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, and others. The Armory also offers creativity-based arts education programs at no cost to thousands of underserved New York City public school students, engaging them with the institution’s artistic programming and outside-the-box creative processes. The Armory has undertaken an ongoing $215-million renovation and restoration of its historic building designed by architects Herzog & de Meuron, with Platt Byard Dovell White as Executive Architects.
PARK AVENUE ARMORY BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chairman Emeritus Elihu Rose, PhD Co-Chairs Adam R. Flatto Amanda J.T. Riegel
Vice Presidents Ken Kuchin Pablo Legorreta Emanuel Stern
President Rebecca Robertson Vice Chair Wendy Belzberg
Founding Chairman, 2000–2009 Wade F.B. Thompson
Marina Abramović Sir David Adjaye OBE Abigail Baratta Martin Brand Joyce F. Brown Cora Cahan Hélène Comfort Paul Cronson Tina R. Davis Marc de La Bruyère Emme Levin Deland Jessie Ding Sanford B. Ehrenkranz David Fox Roberta Garza
Pierre Audi, Marina Kellen French Artistic Director
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory
Andrew Gundlach Marjorie L. Hart Branden Jacobs-Jenkins Samhita Jayanti Edward G. Klein, Brigadier General NYNG (Ret.) Ralph Lemon Heidi McWilliams Jason Moran Joel Press Janet C. Ross Joan Steinberg Mimi Klein Sternlicht Deborah C. van Eck Peter Zhou Directors Emeriti Harrison M. Bains, Jr. Angela E. Thompson
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JOIN THE ARMORY FRIEND $100 $28 is tax deductible » Members-only pre-sale or preferred access for performance tickets » Free admission for you and a guest to visual art installations » Invitations to visual art VIP preview parties, plus admission to installations for two » Discounts on Armory Historic Interiors Tours*** » Discounts at local partnered restaurants » 20% discount on member subscription packages*
SUPPORTER $250 $148 is tax deductible All benefits of the Friend membership plus: » Fees waived on ticket exchanges* » Two free tickets to Armory Historic Interiors Tours*** » Discount on tickets to the Malkin Lecture Series, Artist Talks, and Public Programming*
ASSOCIATE $500 $266 is tax deductible All benefits of the Supporter membership plus: » Access to concierge ticket service » Free admission for two additional guests (a party of four) to visual art installations » Two free art fair passes**
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. In grateful appreciation of their support, they are provided unique and exclusive opportunities to experience the Armory and interact with our world-class artists.
AVANT-GARDE starting at $350
The Avant-Garde is a group for individuals from their 20s to 40s. An Avant-Garde membership offers a deeper, more intimate connection to the unique and creative concepts behind the Armory’s mission. Each membership applies to one household, and one membership card is mailed upon membership activation. 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. *Subject to ticket availability **Certain restrictions apply ***Reservations required
BENEFACTOR $1,000 $766 is tax deductible All benefits of the Associate membership plus: » Recognition in Armory printed programs » No wait, no line ticket pick up at the patron desk » Handling fees waived on ticket purchases* » Invitation for you and a guest to a private Chairman’s Circle event » Two complimentary tickets to the popular Malkin Lecture Series*
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Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
PARK AVENUE ARMORY ARTISTIC COUNCIL Anonymous Anne-Victoire Auriault/Goldman Sachs Gives Abigail and Joseph Baratta Wendy Belzberg and Strauss Zelnick Sonja and Martin J. Brand Noreen Buckfire Elizabeth Coleman Hélène and Stuyvesant Comfort Caroline and Paul Cronson Emme and Jonathan Deland Leslie and Thomas DeRosa Jennie L. and Richard K. DeScherer Krystyna Doerfler Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz The Lehoczky Escobar Family
Adam R. Flatto Roberta Garza Barbara and Peter Georgescu Kim and Jeff Greenberg Barbara and Andrew Gundlach Anita K. Hersh Wendy Keys Ken Kuchin and Tyler Morgan Almudena and Pablo Legorreta Christina and Alan MacDonald Jennifer Manocherian Kim Manocherian Heidi and Tom McWilliams Gwen and Peter Norton Lily O’Boyle Valerie Pels
Amanda J.T. and Richard E. Riegel Susan and Elihu Rose Janet C. Ross Caryn Schacht and David Fox Stacy Schiff and Marc de La Bruyère Joan and Michael Steinberg Emanuel Stern Mimi Klein Sternlicht Jon Stryker and Slobodan Randjelović Merryl and James Tisch Deborah C. van Eck Bob Vila and Diana Barrett Mary Wallach Peter Zhou and Lisa Lee
LEGACY CIRCLE 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 outside-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
Ginette Becker Wendy Belzberg and Strauss Zelnick Emme and Jonathan Deland Adam R. Flatto Ken Kuchin Heidi McWilliams
Amanda Thompson Riegel Rebecca Robertson and Byron Knief Susan and Elihu Rose Francesca Schwartz Joan and Michael Steinberg
PATRONS 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 Citi Empire State Local Development Corporation Marina Kellen French Barbara and Andrew Gundlach Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, Inc. 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 The Pershing Square Foundation Susan and Elihu Rose The Arthur Ross Foundation and J & AR Foundation Joan Smilow and Joel Smilow* The Thompson Family Foundation Wade F.B. Thompson* The Zelnick/Belzberg Charitable Trust Anonymous
armoryonpark.org | @ParkAveArmory
$500,000 to $999,999 Bloomberg Philanthropies Lisa and Sanford B. Ehrenkranz Almudena and Pablo Legorreta The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Adam R. Rose and Peter R. McQuillan Donna and Marvin Schwartz Emanuel Stern
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$250,000 to $499,999 American Express Michael Field and Doug Hamilton Adam R. Flatto Ken Kuchin and Tyler Morgan The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation Marshall Rose Family Foundation
$100,000 to $249,999 The Achelis and Bodman Foundations R. Mark and Wendy Adams Linda and Earle Altman Abigail and Joseph Baratta Booth Ferris Foundation Sonja and Martin J. Brand Hélène and Stuyvesant Comfort Roberta Garza Howard Gilman Foundation Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation Marjorie and Gurnee Hart The Hearst Foundations Mary T. Kush Leonard & Judy Lauder Fund Meta Open Arts Mr. and Mrs. Lester Morse New York State Assembly New York State Council on the Arts Stavros Niarchos Foundation Gwendolyn Adams Norton and Peter Norton Daniel and Joanna S. Rose Mrs. Arthur Ross The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation Caryn Schacht and David Fox Stacy Schiff and Marc de La Bruyère Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust Joan and Michael Steinberg Mimi Klein Sternlicht Mr. William C. Tomson Deborah C. van Eck The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts Peter Zhou and Lisa Lee
$25,000 to $99,999 The Avenue Association Michael Bloomberg The Cowles Charitable Trust Caroline and Paul Cronson Emme and Jonathan Deland Jennie L. and Richard K. DeScherer Krystyna Doerfler
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Andrew L. Farkas, Island Capital Group & C-III Capital Partners Ford Foundation Lorraine Gallard and Richard H. Levy Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation Barbara and Peter Georgescu Janet Halvorson Anita K. Hersh Kaplen Brothers Fund Kirkland & Ellis LLP The Lehoczky Escobar Family George S. Loening Christine and Richard Mack Kim Manocherian Marc Haas Foundation Andrea Markezin Press and Joel Press National Endowment for the Arts Lily O’Boyle Slobodan Randjelović and Jon Stryker Katharine Rayner The Reed Foundation Rhodebeck Charitable Trust Genie and Donald Rice Amanda J.T. and Richard E. Riegel Rebecca Robertson and Byron Knief The Shubert Foundation Sydney and Stanley S. Shuman Amy and Jeffrey Silverman Sanford L. Smith TEFAF NY Tishman Speyer Robert and Jane Toll VIA Art Fund Bob Vila and Diana Barrett Mary Wallach Anonymous (3)
$10,000 to $24,999 AECOM Tishman Judy Hart Angelo Jody and John Arnhold Anne-Victoire Auriault / Goldman Sachs Gives Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation Harrison and Leslie Bains Emma Bloomberg The Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Foundation Marian and Russell Burke Elizabeth Coleman Con Edison Luis y Cora Delgado DHR Global William F. Draper Caryl S. Englander James Fingeroth
Teri Friedman and Babak Yaghmaie The Georgetown Company Sylvia Golden and Warren Friedman Kiendl and John Gordon Kim and Jeff Greenberg Allen and Deborah Grubman Agnes Gund Ralph and Cornelia Heins Karen Herskovitz Lawrence and Sharon Hite Peter Huntsman Jack Shainman Gallery Kekst The Charles & Lucille King Family Foundation The Emily Davie and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation Suzie and Bruce Kovner Bill Lambert Fernand Lamesch Leon Levy Foundation Christina and Alan MacDonald Steve and Sue Mandel Danny and Audrey Meyer Cynthia Woods Mitchell Fund of the National Trust for Historic Preservation The Donald R. Mullen Family Foundation, Inc. Nardello & Co. Michael Peterson Joan and Joel I. Picket Anne and Skip Pratt Deborah and Chuck Royce Fiona and Eric Rudin May and Samuel Rudin Family Foundation, Inc. Mrs. William H. Sandholm Lise Scott and D. Ronald Daniel Dr. and Mrs. Thomas P. Sculco Brian S. Snyder Howard & Sarah D. Solomon Foundation Patricia Brown Specter Dr. and Mrs. Eugene E. Stark, Jr. Michael and Veronica Stubbs Allen and Meghan Thorpe Merryl and James Tisch Barbara D. Tober Susan Unterberg Cristina Von Bargen and Jonathan McHardy Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, GRoW @ Annenberg Samuel and Kathryn Weinhoff Wescustogo Foundation Maria Wirth Anonymous (5)
$5,000 to $9,999 Amy and David Abrams Katie Adams Schaeffer Louis and Gabrielle Bacon Jay Badame
Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street
Candace and Rick Beinecke Franklin and Marsha Berger Tim and Amy Berkowitz Sara and Mark Bloom Nicholas Brawer Catherine and Robert Brawer James-Keith Brown and Eric Diefenbach Dr. Joyce F. Brown, President, Fashion Institute of Technology Betsy Cohn Consulate General Of The Kingdom Of The Netherlands Sissel Cooper and Peter Bos Joyce B. Cowin Jessie Ding and Ning Jin Jeanne Donovan Fisher J. Christopher and Violet Eagan Martin and Rebecca Eisenberg Foundation Leland and Jane Englebardt Dr. Nancy Eppler-Wolff and Mr. John Wolff The Felicia Fund Andrew and Theresa Fenster Candia Fisher Diane Fogg Jill and Michael J. Franco Bart Friedman and Wendy A. Stein Great Performances Cecilia Greene and Paul Verbinnen George and Patty Grunebaum Mimi and Peter Haas Fund Molly Butler Hart and Michael D. Griffin Peter Imber and Ali Zweben Imber Steve Jensen and Mark Grace Cynthia and Stephen Ketchum The David L. Klein, Jr. Foundation Kameron Kordestani Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley Jo Carole and Ronald S. Lauder Chad A. Leat Denise Lefrak Gail and Alan Levenstein Jane Lombard Lili Lynton and Michael Ryan Linda Macklowe Shelly and Tony Malkin James C. Marlas and Marie Nugent-Head Marlas Joyce F. Menschel Moncler USA Inc. Beth and Joshua Nash Enid Nemy, Dorothy Strelsin Foundation Liz Neumark Jesse and Stéphanie Newhouse Michael and Elyse Newhouse Valerie Ohrstrom
David Orentreich, MD / Orentreich Family Foundation PBDW Architects Marnie Pillsbury Susan Porter Preserve New York, a grant program of Preservation League of New York Richenthal Foundation Ida and William Rosenthal Foundation Chuck and Stacy Rosenzweig Seymour and Robyn Sammell Eva Sanchez-Ampudia Susan Savitsky Susan and Charles Sawyers Carol and Chuck Schaefer Hillary Schafer and Mark Shafir Claude Shaw and Lara MeilandShaw Stephanie and Fred Shuman Dan Simkowitz and Mari Nakachi Lea Simonds Anne-Sophie Stern Beatrice Stern Michael and Marjorie Stern The Jay and Kelly Sugarman Foundation Robert Suiter and Debra Shuwarger Dave and Karen Thomas Michael Tuch Foundation L.F. Turner Mr. and Mrs. Jan F. van Eck Anastasia Vournas and J. William Uhrig Saundra Whitney Isak and Rose Weinman Foundation, Inc. Michael Weinstein Gary and Nina Wexler Lynne Wheat Brian and Jane Williams Francis H. Williams and Keris A. Salmon W. Weldon and Elaine Wilson Lisa and David Wolf Cynthia Young and George Eberstadt Judy Francis Zankel Bruce and Lois Zenkel Zubatkin Owner Representation, LLC Anonymous
$2,500 to $4,999 Allen Adler and Frances Beatty Susan Heller Anderson Jeff Arnstein and Michael Bellante Francesca Beale Catherine Behrend Mr. Lawrence B. Benenson Jonathan and Marjaleena Berger
Stephanie Bernheim Annabel Buckfire Amanda M. Burden Mary and Brad Burnham Arthur and Linda Carter Joel and Ulrika Citron Margaret Conklin Colin Cowie and Danny Peuscovich Dominick Coyne and Michael Phillips Ellie and Edgar Cullman Joshua Dachs / Fisher Dachs Associates Peggy and Millard Drexler Family Foundation Christopher Duda Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Jamshid and Mashid Ehsani Deborah and Ronald Eisenberg Foundation Jared Feldman Edmée and Nicholas Firth Megan Flanigan Ella M. Foshay and Michael B. Rothfeld Gwen and Austin Fragomen Eleanor Friedman and Jonathan J. Cohen The Garcia Family Foundation Emanuel E. Geduld Martin and Lauren Geller Mr. and Mrs. Andrew S. Georges Alexandra Giniger Rosalind and Eugene Glaser Elizabeth Granville-Smith Robert S. Gregory Ian and Lea Highet Andrea Hirsch Barbara Hoffman Johanna Hudgens and Matthew Wilson James Ingram Jeff and Hollye Jacobs Ann Jones Jeanne Kanders Rita J. and Stanley H. Kaplan Family Foundation Adrienne Katz Nancy Kestenbaum and David Klafter Zachary Kline Douglas and Judith Krupp Lizbeth & George Krupp Barbara and Richard Lane Suydam Lansing Lazarus Charitable Trust Julia Ledda Elliot Levenglick Phyllis Levin Gina Giumarra MacArthur Charles and Georgette Mallory Iris Z. Marden Judith and Michael Margulies Marian Goodman Gallery Joanie Martinez-Rudkovsky Bonnie Maslin
Nina B. Matis Peter and Leni May Claudia and Eduardo Mazzi Dennis McNeill and Robin Burns McNeill Constance and H. Roemer McPhee Claire Milonas Barbara and Howard Morse Saleem and Jane Muqaddam Aida Murad Nancy Newcomb and John Hargraves Peter and Susan Nitze Susan Numeroff Nancy and Morris W. Offit Kathleen O'Grady Peter and Beverly Orthwein Robert Ouimette and Lee Hirsch Robin and Carlos Palomares Madison J. Papp Lee and Lori Parks Louis and Barbara Perlmutter Richard and Rose Petrocelli Pistachio Culinary Studio & Experiences Geri Pollack Phyllis Posnick and Paul Cohen Mr. and Mrs. Michael and Kalliope Rena Diana and Charles Revson Diana and John Rice Laura and Gerald Rosberg Rose Brand Deborah Rose Marjorie P. Rosenthal Susan Rudin Jane Fearer Safer Sabina and Wilfred Schlumberger Caroline Schmidt-Barnett Benjamin Schor & Isabel Wilkinson Schor Nicholas and Shelley Schorsch Sara Lee and Axel Schupf Douglas Schwallbe and Nancy Lorenz Uma Seshamani and Jason van Itallie Jack Shainman Emilia Sherifova Denise Simon and Paulo Vieiradacunha Laura Skoler Daisy M. Soros Stephen and Constance Spahn Leila Maw Straus Stella Strazdas and Henry Forrest Ellen and Bill Taubman Thomas and Diane Tuft Union Square Events United States Tennis Association Mrs. William J. vanden Heuvel Andrew E. Vogel and Véronique Mazard Robert Warshaw and Debbie Schmidt
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Kate Whitney and Franklin Thomas Andrea Winter and Daniel Mintz Amy Yenkin and Robert Usdan Toni Young Freya Zaheer and Whit Bernard Anonymous (5)
$1,000 to $2,499 Diane and Arthur Abbey Marina Abramovic´ Ellen Abrams Eric Altmann Diane Archer and Stephen Presser Ms. Regula Aregger Dr. Lora Aroyo Assouline-Lichten Foundation Fabrizio and Enrica Bentivoglio D’arengi Stephen Berger and Cynthia Wainwright Deborah Berke and Peter McCann Judy and Howard Berkowitz Reid Berman Richard Berndt and MarieCamille Havard Elaine S. Bernstein Katherine and Marco Birch Boehm Family Foundation Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Melanie Bouvard Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Brown Spencer Brownstone Hugh Burns and Molly Duffy Matthew Buten and Beth Brownstein Cora Cahan Thomas and Ann Charters Orla Coleman and Rikki Tahta Bradley A. Connor Alexander Cooper Krista and James Corl Sophie Coumantaros Andrew and Mimi Crawford Abby and Andrew Crisses L. Jay Cross Austen and Ernesto Cruz Charles and Norris Daniels Richard and Peggy Danziger Tina R. Davis Richard and Barbara Debs David desJardins & Nancy Blachman Thomas and Elizabeth Dubbs Karen Eckhoff Frederick & Diana Elghanayan Patricia Ellis Barry Ellsworth and Nathalie Pierrepont Femenella & Associates, Inc. Robert and Kimia Finnerty Walter and Judith Flamenbaum Gail Flatto Kristin Gamble Flood
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Kara Gaffney Ross Stefan Gargiulo Bruce and Alice Geismar David and Susan Getz Ryan Gillum Mrs. Leila Govi Nina DeKay Grauer Karen and Jeff Groeger Jan M. Guifarro Frances and Gerard Guillemot Yen Ha and Richard Tesler Nohra Haime Kathy Harrison and Edward Flinn Thomas Hartman In memory of Maria E. Hidrobo Kaufman William T. Hillman Bruce Hoffman Mr. Joseph C. Hoopes, Jr. Tom and Amy Houston Richard and Roberta Huber Peter Hunt Adrienne G Ingrum William and Weslie Janeway Morton and Linda Janklow Christopher and Hilda Jones Hon. Bruce M. Kaplan and Janet Yaseen Kaplan Jennie A. Kassanoff and Daniel H. Schulman Michael Kemezis and Maureen Page Kay Kimpton Walker and Sandy Walker Claire King Brigadier General Edward G. Klein, NYNG (Ret.) Kate Krauss Barbara Landau Judith and G Langer Ralph Lemon Alexia and David Leuschen Edward Mafoud Ryan Marshall & Mary Herms Match65 Diane Max Larry and Mary McCaffrey Rebecca Gold Milikowsky John and Lisa Miller Larry Morse and Sharon Bowen Stephanie Neville and Alan Beller Arlena Olsten Dr. Catherine Orentreich Sanjay and Leslie Patel Katherine Peabody Maya Polsky & Nicolas Bridon Prime Parking Systems Rajika and Anupam Puri David and Leslie Puth Martin and Anna Rabinowitz Jennifer Reardon Nathalie Solange Regnault Jill Reiter and Eric Riha Anthony and Susan Roberts David and Susan Rockefeller David and Meg Roth
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Julia and John Ryan Patty Sachs John and Shelby Saer Richard and Ann Sarnoff Paul H. Scarbrough, Akustiks, LLC. Charlie and Lindsey Schilling Pat Schoenfeld Robert Schroeder and Karen Brooks Amy Schulman Marshall Sebring and Pepper Binkley Adrianne and William Silver Bonnie Simon Albert Simons III Donna Snow and Michael Rubinoff Andre Spears and Anne Rosen Stacy, Passionate about the Arts Lauren Starke and Aric Domozick Bonnie and Tom Strauss Studio Institute Kris Togias Zachary Kress Turner Caroline Wamsler and DeWayne Phillips Arete Warren Mati Weiderpass and Nikolas Chen Lauren and Andrew Weisenfeld Shelby White Anonymous (5) List as of April 15, 2022 * Deceased
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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. Cover photo by James Ewing.
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Thompson Arts Center at Park Avenue Armory | 643 Park Avenue at 67th Street