Carnegie Hall produces classical, jazz, and pop concerts at its legendary hall in Midtown, Manhattan. Carnegie Hall Citywide presents all kinds of music across New York City.
Thank you for sponsoring Latin and African music. Your support means far more than just budget.
Nuestros Sonidos
Nuestros Sonidos (Our Sounds) is Carnegie Hall’s 2024-2025 season-long festival celebrating Latin culture in the United States. The curators are:
- Marisol Berríos-Miranda, a Puerto Rican ethnomusicologist and affiliate professor of music at the University of Washington, Seattle. 🇵🇷
- Leila Cobo, a Fulbright scholar from Cali, Colombia, who is “Billboard’s” chief content officer of Latin/Español. 🇨🇴
- Josh Kun, a MacArthur Fellow cultural historian, curator, and vice provost for the arts at the University of California (USC), where he is professor and chair of Cross-Cultural Communication in the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
- Chris Washburne, trombonist, author, and professor of music and chair of the music department of Columbia University.
Sol Cotti of Buenos Aires, Argentina, did the Nuestros Sonidos artwork. carnegiehall.org 🇦🇷
What a great team of both Latins and Americans who have immersed themselves in Latin culture. It’s special when people from one culture get another culture, and really get it. That’s love. ¡Bravo!
Gabriela Ortiz, one of Mexico’s leading composers, holds Carnegie Hall’s 2024-2025 Debs Composer’s Chair. The New York Times (nytimes.com) wrote a great article about her. gabrielaortiz.com 🇲🇽
If you approach this series with an open heart, you may notice how much Latin culture influences American culture, and how much American culture influences Latin culture. We are mixes of each other. 🇺🇸 🇦🇷 🇧🇯 🇧🇷 🇨🇴 🇨🇱 🇨🇷 🇨🇺 🇫🇷 🇭🇹 🇮🇹 🇲🇽 🇳🇮 🇴🇲 🇵🇷 🇪🇸 🇻🇪
MAY
Colombian Classical Jazz
Samuel Torres “A Dance for Birds” featuring the Bergamot Quartet and vocalist Lucía Pulido is a nine-movement suite that tells stories of migration using the congas as birds; for Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos (Our Sounds) at National Sawdust in Williamsburg, Brooklyn; on Friday, May 9, 2025 at 7:30pm. $44. ovationtix.com 🇨🇴
This reminds me of Andraés Landero, one of Colombia’s great vallenato musicians. He used to go up into the mountains to listen to birds and made music inspired by their songs. Also many birds migrate, some from as far as the Chile and Argentina to the Canadian arctic. Lucía Pulido is one of New York City’s great Colombian jazz voices.
Panamanian Salsa Film
“Crossover Dreams” by Manuel Arce (1985) was New York Panamanian salsa legend Rubén Blades’ acting debut. In this semi-autobiographical musical comedy, he plays an up-and-coming salsa singer who dreams of the big time. Blades is a legend now, but was once that young salsa singer. It’s part of Carnegie Hall’s “Nuestros Sonidos” (Our Sounds) at Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at Film at Lincoln Center in Manhattan; on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at 6pm. lincolncenter.org 🇵🇦
Blades lives in New York City. He takes the subway and is really cool with fans. He is one of the godfathers of Latin music in New York, who is always helping young artists.
Latin Jazz
Jenn Jade & Sexteto Sabroso play Latin jazz for Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos (Our Sounds); at the Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Thursday, May 15, 2025 at 7pm. ovationtix.com 🇦🇷 🇨🇴 🇩🇴 🇵🇪 🇵🇷
Jenn Jade Ledesna is a great Bronx jazz singer who sings in 11 languages. The Bronx Music Hall is a beautiful new performing arts venue focused on artists and teachers from The Bronx.
Afro-Cuban Funk
Cimafunk & La Tribu “Pa Tu Cuerpa” Tour with a special guest, gets funky at Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; on Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 7:30pm. From $55. 🇨🇺
Cimafunk is called “The James Brown of Cuba” for his ability to get everyone in the room excited. Whether you think you can dance or not, Cimafunk will make your hips start moving of their own will. What a great way to end the Nuestros Sonidos season because Latin music is all about getting people together and having fun.
APRIL
Spanish Flamenco
Tablao Flamenco by Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana is a flamenco show of Ida y Vuelta (roundtrip) flamenco that is influenced by Latin American culture. It’s part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos festival of Latin culture at Le Poisson Rouge in Manhattan’s Greenwich Village; on Friday-Saturday, April 11-12, 2025 at 6:30pm and 7:30pm respectively. From $39. flamenco-vivo.org 🇪🇸
Cuban and Afro-Latin Jazz
Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra with Cuban jazz vocalist Daymé Arocena, Emeline Michel “The Joni Mitchell of Haiti,” and Cuban rapper Telmary Díaz, sing Latin jazz (and probably dance a little too); in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, April 11, 2025 at 7:30pm. From $65. 🇨🇺 🇭🇹
Latin Musical Theater
Sabor y Pasión in the Battery is musical theater about the impact of Latin music on American culture, from Latin jazz to reggaeton. It’s part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos festival of Latin culture at the New York Film Academy in Manhattan’s Financial District; on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 7:30pm. Free with rsvp to nyfa.edu 🇨🇺 🇵🇷
Panamanian Musical Theater
“BAYANO, An Afro-Panamanian Odyssey,” presents Panamanian folk and original music from the Darrel Alejandro Holnes play being developed by the National Black Theatre. It’s part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos festival of Latin culture at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater in NoHo, Manhattan; on Monday, April 14, 2025 at 9:30pm. $30. 🇵🇦
Brazilian Books
The Afrofuturist Evolution presents: Tale of the Orishas, has Brazilian graphic novel author and illustrator Hugo Canuto discussing the relationship between art, culture, myth, and religion in Brazil and Latin America in the context of his graphic novel about Brazilian Candomblé superheroes, with “The Afrofuturist Evolution” author Ytasha L. Womack, and Megascope curator John Jennings. It’s part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos festival of Latin culture online on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 8pm. 🇧🇷
Cuban Art
Drawing Danza has Argentine illustrator Eugenia Mello and Argentine choreographer Anabella Lenzu leading a figure-drawing workshop inspired by Latin dance forms. It’s part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos festival of Latin culture at the Society of Illustrators in Manhattan’s Upper East Side; on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 6:30pm. $20. 🇦🇷
Latin Jazz
Nuevas Voces: Emerging Voices in Latin Jazz features Cocomama, a multicultural women’s jazz orchestra, playing Afro-Diasporic rhythms from Cuba, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, with two great tap dancers Max Pollak and Maria Clara Laet. It’s part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros Sonidos festival of Latin culture at The Bronx Music Hall in Melrose, The Bronx; on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 7pm. $15. ci.ovationtix.com 🇦🇷 🇧🇷 🇨🇴 🇨🇺 🇵🇷 🇵🇪
The Bronx Music Hall brings world-class artists and world-class teachers to Melrose, The Bronx. It’s beautiful.
Colombian Salsa
Grupo Niche, the seminal Colombian salsa orchestra from Calí, the “Salsa Capital of the World,” make their Carnegie Hall debut; on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Thursday, April 17, 2025 at 8pm. From $36. 🇨🇴
When salsa dancers hear Grupo Niche, it’s time to dance. When Colombians hear Grupo Niche, they feel homesick.
New Classical Music
New York New Music Ensemble plays a world premiere by Brazilian composer Marcos Balter, along with works he selected by George Lewis, Tonia Ko, and Martín Matalón; as part of Carnegie Hall’s “Nuestros Sonidos” festival of Latin culture; at Americas Society in Manhattan’s Upper East Side; on Monday, April 21, 2025 at 7pm. Free with registration (walkups may be available) at as-coa.org 🇧🇷 + 🇦🇷
Balter is a respected composer. In 2022, the New York Philharmonic reopened Lincoln Center’s new David Geffen Hall with Balter’s “Oyá,” a sound and light experience about the Candomblé (Yoruba) orisha of storms with wind and lightning, death and rebirth.
Puerto Rican Book
Cafecito con… Rudy Guevarra: Aloha Compadre – Latinxs in Hawai’i has Rudy Guevarra talking about his new book “Aloha Compadre,” a history of Latins, and especially Puerto Ricans in Hawaii; produced online by CENTRO, the Center for Puerto Rican studies at Hunter College in Manhattan’s Upper East Side; on Thursday, April 24, 2025 at 6pm. Free with rsvp eventbrite.com 🇵🇷
After a hurricane destroyed Puerto Rico’s sugar industry in 1899, several groups of Puerto Ricans migrated to Hawaii to work on sugar plantations there. They fit in well because traditional cultures around the world are very similar. Today coquí, Puerto Rico’s iconic singing frog, is only found in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. (Iroko Kíkokí ~ Coquí’s song bothers some people, but when I hear it, I know that I am in paradise.)
Dominican African American Chamber Music
World Premieres by Latin Composers, produced by the Association of Dominican Classical Artists, features La Camerata Washington Heights and The Harlem Chamber Players performing world premieres by Guatemalan violinist Sergio Reyes, Argentine pianist Ariel Pirotti, Dominican composer Pablo Gómez-Estévez, and Peruvian composer Carlos David Bernales Vilca, with Dzul Dance Mexican Mayan dancers. It’s in the Marian Anderson Theater at Aaron Davis Hall, at City College of New York, in Hamilton Heights, Manhattan; on April 24, 2025 at 7pm. Free with reservation at adca.nyc 🇦🇷 🇩🇴 🇬🇹 🇲🇽 🇵🇪
Editor Iroko Kíkokí ~ Sergio Reyes is a great violinist and photographer. I have danced tango to his music, and hired him for photography. Pablo Gómez-Estévez is premiering “New Cibao,” a dembow opera on AI. I’m writing this from the Cibao, the great agricultural valley that is the heart of the Dominican Republic. Dembow is Dominican reggaeton deeply influenced by traditional Haitian rhythms. I have no idea how you put this urban music in an opera context, but what an interesting idea. Pablo puts New Cibao in a TikTok context which Island Dominicans are heavily addicted to. People dream of having what influencers show on TikTok, without realizing that too much fantasy time turns normal life into a nightmare.
Nicaraguan American Opera Star
Nicaraguan American soprano Gabriella Reyes (Metropolitan Opera) with Mexican pianist, accompanist, and vocal coach Andrés Sarre; perform works by Ginastera, Revueltas, Gustavino, and Braga; in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Tuesday, April 29, 2025 at 7:30pm. From $50. 🇦🇷 🇮🇹 🇲🇽 🇳🇮
MARCH
Classical Orchestra, Colombian Jazz Harp, Brazilian Electronics, Samba
The American Composers Orchestra, conducted by Ecuadorian Colombian New Yorker Tito Muñoz, features premieres by Colombian jazz harp virtuoso Edmar Castañeda and Brazilian electronics artist Clarice Assad, with interludes by Brazilian percussion ensemble Harlem Samba; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Thursday, March 6, 2025 at 7:30pm. From $50. 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇨🇺 🇪🇸
FEBRUARY
Chilean Jazz
Claudia Acuña, the great Chilean jazz singer, sings Latin American standards her way, including songs from Nat King Cole’s Spanish-language albums; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, February 7, 2025 at 9pm. From $55. 🇨🇱
Acuña sings straight-ahead jazz, but when she picks up the South Andean bombo drum, she transports you to another world. The range of her expression is tremendous, and if you have any connection with the South Andes, she will make you miss home.
Colombian Alternative
Monsieur Periné, 2023 “Best Alternative Album” Latin Grammy winners, play Colombian alternative; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Saturday, February 22, 2025 at 7:30pm. From $55. 🇨🇴
JANUARY
Avant-Garde Vocal Ensemble and Mexican New Music Percussionists
Avant-garde vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth and Mexican new music percussionists Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, play classical new music curated by Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Saturday, January 25, 2025 at 7:30pm From $65. 🇲🇽
Avant-Garde Vocal Ensemble and Mexican New Music Percussionists
Ensemble Connect, Carnegie Hall’s young professional chamber orchestra, and Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz play Ortiz and Colombian, Costa Rican, Cuban, Mexican, Venezuelan composers, including a Carolina Noguera World Premiere Carnegie Hall commission; in the Resnick Education Wing at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Monday, January 27, 2025 at 7:30pm. 🇨🇴 🇨🇷 🇨🇺 🇲🇽 🇻🇪
Carnegie Hall does a lot of artist development with young talent and orchestras around the world. Classical music’s past was European with wonderful echoes in the Americas and around the world. But the future of new music is diverse and being taken in unexpected directions by young artists like these.
DECEMBER
Classical Argentine Tango
St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble and bandoneon virtuoso Julien Labro; explore the evolution of Piazzolla’s Nuevo Tango and works by Argentine composers Ginastera, Dino Saluzzi, and Diego Schissi; in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, December 11, 2024 at 8pm. From $65. 🇦🇷
They are playing Piazzolla’s “Oblivion,” one of the most haunting pieces of music ever written. The core feeling of Argentine tango is nostalgia. “Oblivion” will remind you of every love you ever lost, and foretell your very last tango.
NOVEMBER
Beninese Afrobeat
Angélique Kidjo, with the Color of Noize Orchestra conducted by Derrick Hodge, celebrates 40 years of music and JOY; on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at 8pm. From $23.50. Hurry she always sells out, and if you want to be uplifted, you’ve got to go see Angélique. 🇧🇯 🇫🇷
Cuban, French, Mexican Classical Songs
Cuban American soprano Elena Villalón and Grammy-winning pianist and accompanist Craig Terry perform songs by Russian composer Rachmaninoff, French composer Olivier Messiaen, Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona, Mexican composer María Grever, and more; in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 at 7:30pm. From $50. 🇨🇺 🇫🇷 🇲🇽
Mexican Chicano Rock and Alternative
Grammy winners Quetzal and La Santa Cecilia play Chicano rock and alternative; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, November 15, 2024, at 7:30pm. From $65. 🇲🇽
Puerto Rican Reggaeton
Ivy Queen, the Puerto Rican “Queen of Reggaeton, makes her Carnegie Hall debut; on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 at 8pm. From $42. 🇵🇷
Reggaeton at Carnegie Hall. ¡WEPA! And what a great representative. Today women rule the creative scene, but Ivy Queen came up when few women, especially Puerto Rican women were rapping. She opened the road for many to follow, and is still going strong.
Get tickets at carnegiehall.org
Carnegie Hall Tickets
Carnegie Hall
57th St at Seventh Avenue
Midtown, Manhattan
(212) 247-7800
About Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is one of the world’s great concert halls. It presents classical, jazz, and pop concerts at Carnegie Hall, and all kinds of music Citywide. The Hall has been New York’s main stage for classical music since 1891. Some concerts become legendary and influence popular culture.
Stages:
- Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage is the main hall that seats 2,804.
- Zankel Hall is designed for chamber and contemporary music, seats 599, and has a Parterre Bar for a pre-concert drink.
- Weill Recital Hall seats 268.
It was built by Scottish-American industrialist Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). He made his fortune in Pittsburgh with Carnegie Steel, which later became U.S. Steel. At life’s end, Carnegie became a major philanthropist.
The Hall has not had a resident company since the New York Philharmonic moved to Lincoln Center in 1962. The Hall manages very well with rentals and its own productions. The curation is extraordinary, and not only in classical music. It’s surprising how well the programmers understand what’s happening on the street. We learn from them too.
Carnegie Hall could comfortably retreat into European art music, but instead is elevating Mother Africa. Check out this timeline of African American music. carnegiehall.org
Some concerts have a broad cultural impact. The 1962 Bossa Nova concert helped popularize Brazilian samba jazz, which is still the world’s most popular music after the Beatles. Salsa romántica singer Gilberto Santa Rosa was the first Puerto Rican to play the Hall.
By the way, do you know the way to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice! Many artists practice an entire year for a one-night performance.
Latin Artists
These are some of the Latin artists who played recently for Carnegie Hall:
- Africa United Youth Orchestra, South African and Pan-African classical music. 🇺🇸 🇨🇩 🇰🇪 🇲🇿 🇳🇬 🇿🇦
- Antonio Sánchez; Mexican jazz fusion drummer. 🇲🇽
- Ara Malikian Spanish classical pop. 🇪🇸
- Caña Dulce y Caña Brava women’s son jarocho. 🇲🇽
- Dafnis Prieto Cuban jazz drummer. 🇨🇺
- David Sánchez Puerto Rican jazz. 🇵🇷
- David Virelles Nosotros Ensemble featuring Dafnis Prieto Cuban classical jazz. 🇨🇺 🇨🇺
- Daymé Arocena Cuban jazz with rumba roots. 🇨🇺
- Diana Damrau Spanish love songs. 🇪🇸
- Edna Vázquez Mexican alternative. 🇲🇽
- Fleur Seule Puerto Rican retro jazz 🇵🇷
- Flor de Toloache Mexican women’s tropical mariachi. 🇲🇽 ~ 🇨🇺 🇩🇴 🇵🇷
- Grupo Rebolu Colombian champeta. 🇨🇴
- Gustavo Dudamel Venezuelan classical music. 🇻🇪
- Jordi Savall Spanish composer, conductor, and leader of Baroque music ensemble Hespèrion XXI. 🇪🇸
- La Excelencia Colombian-led, New York salsa. 🇨🇴
- Leyenda: Bridget Kibbey, Samuel Torres, & Louis Arques, harp virtuoso, Colombian Latin Grammy-winning percussionist, and French clarinetist. 🇺🇸 🇨🇴 🇫🇷
- Leyla McCalla Haitian and African Diaspora folk 🇭🇹🇺🇸
- Los Angeles Philharmonic classical 🇻🇪🇺🇸
- Michael Olatuja and Lagos Pepper Soup Broadway and film score-influenced Nigerian afrobeat. 🇳🇬
- Miguel Zenón Puerto Rican jazz 🇵🇷
- Natalia Lafourcade Mexican folk, pop, rock 🇲🇽
- Nella Rojas Venezuelan jazz pop. 🇻🇪
- OKAN Canadian Afro-Cuban alternative. 🇨🇺
- Olga Cerpa y Mestisay, Canarian folk. 🇪🇸 🇮🇨
- Orchestra of St Luke’s French Canadian conductor Bernard Labadie, contemporary classical chamber music. 🇨🇦
- Pedrito Martinez Afro-Cuban rumba & timba 🇨🇺
- Plena Libre Puerto Rican plena 🇵🇷
- São Paulo Symphony Orchestra Brazilian classical 🇧🇷
- Son Del Monte Puerto Rican pachanga (salsa) 🇨🇴🇨🇺🇵🇷🇪🇸🇺🇸
- Spanish Harlem Orchestra Puerto Rican jazz & salsa 🇵🇷
- Sphinx Virtuosi, Black and Latin chamber music. 🇺🇸 🇧🇷 🇿🇦 🇪🇸
- Tania León, Cuban, Pulitzer Prize-winning classical composer and conductor. 🇨🇺
- Youssou N’Dour Senegalese world music (Afrobeats) 🇸🇳
Recent Latin Programming
OCTOBER
Venezuelan, Chinese, and Argentine Classical Music Gala
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic play Carnegie Hall’s Opening Night Gala, with piano soloist Lang Lang playing Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concert No. 2, and Venezuelan baritone Gustavo Castillo singing Argentine composer Ginastera’s ballet “Estancia.” It’s on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall; on Tuesday, October 8, 2024 at 7pm. 🇻🇪 🇨🇳 🇦🇷
German and Mexican Classical Music
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Mendelssohn’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” with Spanish narration of the associated poem by Spanish actress María Valverde, with New York’s Musica Sacra choir, soprano Jana McIntyre, and Omani Canadian mezzo-soprano Deepa Johnny. There is also the New York Premiere of a Carnegie Hall co-commission of Gabriela Ortiz’ “Dznonot,” with MacArthur Fellow cello soloist Alisa Weilerstein. It’s in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall; on Wednesday, October 9, 2024 at 8pm. From $42. 🇩🇪 🇲🇽 🇴🇲 🇪🇸 🇻🇪
Mexican Classical Pop Music
Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic host 17-time Latin Grammy winner, Mexican alternative singer Natalia Lafourcade. The orchestra also plays Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz’ “Antrópolis,” Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra’s “Alegría,” and Mexican composer Arturo Márquez’s “Danzón No. 9.” It’s in the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall; on Thursday, October 10, 2024 at 8pm. From $91. 🇲🇽 🇵🇷 🇻🇪
Black and Latin Classical, Ragtime, Opera, and New Music
Sphinx Virtuosi “American Form/s,” is a chamber concert of Black and Latin artists exploring American musical forms by playing Black and Latin composers of American classical, ragtime, and new music; on the Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, October 16, 2024, at 7pm. 🇺🇸 🇻🇪
Cuban, French, Italian Classical Music
Cuban American soprano Lisette Oropesa and Japanese American pianist, accompanist, and vocal coach Ken Noda, perform works by Cuban, French, and Italian composers; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, October 23, 2024. From $65. 🇨🇺 🇫🇷 🇮🇹 🇯🇵
AUGUST
African and African American Classical Music
The Africa United Youth Orchestra led by American conductor William Eddins, makes its North American debut with works by South African composers Michael Mosoeu Moerane, Mzilikazi Khumalo, and Bongani Ndodana-Breen, including arias sung by South African sopranos Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Goitsemang Lehobye, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World” featuring members of the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America; at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Saturday, August 3, 2024, at 7pm. From $15.50. carnegiehall.org 🇺🇸 🇨🇩 🇰🇪 🇲🇿 🇳🇬 🇿🇦
Colombian Salsa Dura
La Excelencia, led by New York Colombian Julian Silva, plays New York salsa dura for dancing; for a Carnegie Hall Citywide Bryant Park Picnic Performance; at Bryant Park in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, August 2, 2024 at 7pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇨🇴
Venezuelan Classical Music
Gustavo Dudamel conducts the National Children’s Symphony of Venezuela; in the Stern Auditorium/ Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, August 2, 2024 at 7pm. From $21. carnegiehall.org 🇻🇪
JULY
Nigerian Afrobeats
Michael Olatuja and Lagos Pepper Soup play Broadway and film score-influenced afrobeat; for Carnegie Hall Citywide at a Bryant Park Picnic Performance in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, July 26, 2024 at 7pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇳🇬
Cameroonian Jazz
Ekep Nkwelle the rising star Cameroonian American vocalist; sings jazz for Carnegie Hall Citywide; at Madison Square Park in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇨🇲
Afro-Cuban Alternative
OKAN plays their infectious Afro-Cuban Alternative; for Carnegie Hall Citywide at O’Donohue Park at Beach 17th Street in Far Rockaway, Queens; on Saturday, July 20, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇨🇺 🇨🇦
Elizabeth Rodriguez and Magdelys Savigne have so much fun on stage, that you can’t help but have fun too! They are modern, but bringing people together in peace and joy is what African Diaspora traditions are all about. ¡Ashé!
Cuban Curated Chamber Music
JACK Quartet, the Grammy-nominated string quartet, plays American composers who redefined the string quartet, curated by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and conductor Tanía Leon; for Carnegie Hall Citywide at Madison Square Park, Manhattan; on Wednesday, July 17, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇺🇸 🇨🇺
Puerto Rican Salsa
Johnny Mambo and Friends featuring singer Don Sonero, plays Puerto Rican salsa for dancing for Carnegie Hall Citywide; at Al Quiñones Playground in Longwood, The Bronx; on Saturday, July 13, 2024 at 5pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇵🇷
South African Afrobeats
Thandiswa Mazwai blends jazz and West African influences with her native Xhosa music into a wonderful South African Afrobeats fusion; for Carnegie Hall Citywide at a Bryant Park Picnic Performance in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, July 12, 2024 at 7pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇿🇦
There is a lot of great music coming out of Mother Africa now. Latin music almost always originates in marginalized neighborhoods. Mazwai was raised in Soweto, a township of Johannesburg that has become a cultural forge.
Feli Kuti’s afrobeat fused the social commentary of African American rhythm and blues into his native Nigerian traditions. This evolved into Afrobeats or the many forms of African pop music. It’s great music that is becoming increasingly influential globally.
Argentine Rock
Alisa Amador, the first Spanish-language winner of NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest, plays Latin rock for Carnegie Hall Citywide; in Madison Square Park, Manhattan; on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇦🇷 🇲🇽 🇵🇷
An American of Argentine, New Mexican, and Puerto Rican descent, Amador won NPR’s Tiny Desk Contest with “Milonga Accidental,” a word play on the classic tango “Milonga Sentimental.” Mexicans were the first to sing rock songs in Spanish. Argentines were the first to compose rock music in Spanish. Puerto Ricans dominate today’s music scene, so Amador carries the legacy of many great traditions.
African American Chamber Music
Tania León, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Cuban composer, conducts The Harlem Chamber Players with violin soloist Josh Henderson, and dancers from the Harlem School of the Arts choreographed by Leyland Simmons, hosted by WQXR’s Terrance McKnight; in a Carnegie Hall Citywide Bryant Park Picnic Performance in Manhattan; on Friday, July 5, 2024 at 7pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇺🇸 🇨🇺
JUNE
Spanish Italian Argentine Classical Music
Teatro Real (Royal Opera of Madrid) led by award-winning violinist conductor Leticia Moreno and renowned soloists from the Teatro Real Orchestra, pairs Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons” with Astor Piazzolla’s “Four Seasons of Buenos Aires” for an elegant night of classical music and tango jazz; at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Wednesday, June 26, 2024 at 6:30pm. From $39 + fees. carnegiehall.org 🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇮🇹
Juneteenth Celebration
The 2024 Juneteenth Celebration at Carnegie Hall with Rev. Dr. James A. Forbes Jr. of The Healing of the Nations Foundation, celebrates All American Freedom Day on the Stern Auditorium / Perlman Stage at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Juneteenth, Wednesday, June 19, 2024; at 7pm. FREE tickets must be picked up at the Carnegie Hall Box Office starting June 12. carnegiehall.org 🇺🇸
The core premise of the United States is that all people are treated equally. We are not there yet, but celebrating Juneteenth and its promise of freedom for all people, is a big step in the right direction.
Afro-Cuban Rumba and Timba
Pedrito Martinez, the world’s first-call rumbero, plays Afro-Cuban rumba and timba for Carnegie Hall Citywide in the Robert F. Smith Center for the Performing Arts at Denny Farrell Riverbank State Park in Hamilton Heights, West Harlem; on Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 6pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇨🇺
African Diaspora drums are healing instruments. If you are open to it, Pedrito’s drum can change your life. He changed ours. New York Latin Culture Magazine is all about what we learned from the drum. ¡Ashé!
MAY
Afro-Cuban Jazz
David Virelles Nosotros Ensemble featuring Dafnis Prieto shows the influence of Cuban rhythm of the sacred batá drums on many musical traditions through works curated by Pulitzer Prize-winner Tania León, including León’s “A la par;” NEA Jazz Master Henry Threadgill’s “Where Coconuts Fall,” Val-Inc’s “Gerta,” and the world premiere of Virelle’s “Oro” a Carnegie Hall commission; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; on Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 7:30pm. Tickets from $54 at carnegiehall.org 🇨🇺 🇨🇺 🇨🇺
Women’s Mexican Son Jarocho
Caña Dulce y Caña Brava sings women’s son jarocho and dances zapateado from Veracruz, Mexico; for Carnegie Hall Citywide at El Museo del Barrio in “El Barrio” East Harlem; on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at 4pm. FREE. carnegiehall.org 🇲🇽
APRIL
Mexican Jazz
Antonio Sánchez; Mexican drummer, 4x Grammy-winner, 3x Modern Drummer jazz drummer of the year, and soundtrack composer (“Birdman”); debuts his new All-Star quintet featuring famed saxophonists Joe Lovano and Chris Potter, pianist Joey Calderazzo, and bassist Larry Grenadier; in Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in Midtown, Manhattan; on Friday, April 26, 2024 at 9pm. From $54. carnegiehall.org 🇲🇽 🇮🇹