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FOR RELEASE ON TUESDAY, JUNE 10
LITTLE ISLAND
ANNOUNCES
2025 SEASON OF
COMPLETELY FREE-TO-THE-PUBLIC
LIVE PERFORMANCES AND PROGRAMMING IN
THE GLADE
AS PART OF ITS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
SECOND ANNUAL, SUMMER-LONG SEASON
9 EVENTS ACROSS 24 SUMMER EVENINGS
SUZAN-LORI PARKS, CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT, RACHEL CHAVKIN,
JEREMY DENK, CONOR HANICK, AMY SHERALD, BEN LERNER,
MATT AUCOIN, WHITNEY WHITE
AND MORE
JUNE – SEPTEMBER
ALL ON LITTLE ISLAND
FOR FREE
NEW YORK CITY
New York, NY (June 10, 2025) — Little Island today announced programming details for its second annual season in The Glade, one of the park’s first-rate performance venues, at which all public performances are completely free of charge. Taking place from June through September, these 9 events across 24 evenings have been created by commissioned, legendary artists and cultural leaders. This newly announced line-up is part of Little Island’s larger, previously announced 2025 season, which began last month and comes on the heels of it’s completely sold-out, inaugural season last year.
The four-month-long season in The Glade will feature curations and performances by jazz vocalist and composer Cécile McLorin Salvant alongside a rotating slate of special guests; renowned painter Amy Sherald presenting two nights of curated concerts; the world premiere of The Case of the Stranger, a new song cycle from Whitney White; two evenings of song with Suzan-Lori Parks & The Joyful Noise; a Ladies of Jazz tribute concert featuring Broadway luminaries; the first public performance of Eugene Onegin, a new bluegrass adaptation of Tchaikovsky’s opera; the world premiere of The Lights, a new song cycle by Matt Aucoin and Ben Lerner performed by Roomful of Teeth; a two-day Radiolab takeover for all ages; and a week of virtuosic piano performances by Jeremy Denk & Conor Hanick with special guests.
Sitting directly in the Hudson River itself, Little Island opened in May 2021 and has since been enjoyed by more than 6 million visitors. In 2013, Barry Diller, in partnership with Hudson River Park Trust leadership, embarked on the unique opportunity to envision a solution for the repair and reactivation of Pier 54, which had been badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy. The park was designed as an entirely new type of public space for New York, one that would create an immersive experience of nature and art. Born from a collaboration of the UK-based Heatherwick Studio and the New York-based landscape architecture firm MNLA, led by Signe Nielsen, the park’s imaginative design offers all New Yorkers and visitors a new public space that is dynamic, captivating, and restorative.
Zack Winokur is Producing Artistic Director of the 2025 summer season at Little Island, which is made possible by a gift from The Diller – von Furstenberg Family Foundation.
Tickets for all performances in The Glade are first-come, first-served with no ticket required. To learn more, please visit www.littleisland.org.
FULL SUMMER PROGRAMMING IN THE GLADE
CÉCILE MCLORIN SALVANT
Composer, singer, and visual artist, Cécile McLorin Salvant curates evening performances of jazz music with a new guest for each performance.
Cecile is an eclectic curator, unearthing rarely recorded, forgotten songs with strong narratives, power dynamics, twists, and humor once described as “a unique voice supported by an intelligence and full-fledged musicality, which light up every note she sings” by the late, great Jessye Norman.
June 19 at 10 PM
Special Guest: Georgia Heers
GEORGIA HEERS is a vocalist and composer residing in Harlem. She aims to dedicate her life exploring the depths of music spanning across the African Diaspora. Georgia believes deeply in the healing components of music and artistic creation to cultivate community and healing.
June 22 at 10 PM
Special Guest: Timo Andres
TIMO ANDRES is a composer and pianist who grew up in rural Connecticut and lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Recent highlights have included a solo recital debut for Carnegie Hall and the world premiere of a piano concerto for Aaron Diehl at the Los Angeles Philharmonic, led by John Adams. Andres’s orchestrations and arrangements for Justin Peck’s 2024 production of Sufjan Stevens’s Illinoise completed an acclaimed limited run on Broadway at the St. James Theater following sold-out runs at The Fisher Center at Bard, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and at New York City’s Park Avenue Armory. For his work on the production, Andres was nominated for 2024 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations.
In 24–25, Timo Andres performs at Stanford Live with Conor Hanick, and at the Phillips Collection with Aaron Diehl. He also reunites with the Calder Quartet to perform his new piano quintet The Great Span in New York City for the People’s Symphony.
Andres continues with performances of Philip Glass’s Piano Etudes internationally; he is a trusted collaborator of Philip Glass, serving as advisor and editor of a 2023 edition of the Etudes published by Artisan. Andres performed these works last season at Lincoln Center, the Chicago Humanities Festival, the Music Academy of the West, for NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, and elsewhere.
Notable works include Everything Happens So Much for the Boston Symphony; Strong Language for the Takács Quartet, commissioned by Carnegie Hall and the Shriver Hall Concert Series; Steady Hand, a two-piano concerto commissioned by the Britten Sinfonia premiered at the Barbican by Andres and David Kaplan; and The Blind Banister, a concerto for Jonathan Biss, which was a 2016 Pulitzer Prize Finalist.
As a pianist, Timo Andres has appeared with the LA Phil, North Carolina Symphony, the Albany Symphony, the New World Symphony, the Metropolis Ensemble, among others. He has performed solo recitals for Lincoln Center, and Wigmore Hall. Timo’s collaborators include Becca Stevens, Jeffrey Kahane, Gabriel Kahane, Brad Mehldau, Nadia Sirota, and—of course—Philip Glass, who selected Andres as the recipient of the City of Toronto Glenn Gould Protégé Prize. He was nominated for a Grammy award for his performances on 2021’s The Arching Path, an album of music by Christopher Cerrone. Andres’s collaborations with Sufjan Stevens also include his May 2023 recording with Conor Hanick of Stevens’s latest album, Reflections; arrangements of ballets for New York City Ballet, and a solo piano album, The Decalogue.
July 17 at 10 PM
Special Guest: Vanisha Gould
VANISHA GOULD is a jazz vocalist, composer, and bandleader based in New York City. A graduate of Berklee College of Music, Vanisha has built an international reputation for her soulful voice, nuanced songwriting, and dynamic stage presence. She has performed around the globe, with appearances in Russia, Sweden, and at the renowned Copenhagen Jazz Festival.
In New York, Vanisha has graced the stages of Smalls Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, Minton’s Playhouse, The Django, the Jazz Gallery, and more. Her versatility has also led her to featured roles in acclaimed productions such as The Sound of Black Music and Bessie, Billie, Nina—paying tribute to the legendary women of jazz and blues.
As a recording artist, she has released three original albums: In Her Words (2021), Life’s a Gig (2024), and She’s Not Shiny, She’s Not Smooth (2024). Her compositional work is also featured on projects by Grant Richards and Alex Tremblay.
Vanisha is committed to arts education and currently teaches songwriting and jazz vocals through the Tribeca Jazz Institute and the Yale Undergraduate Jazz Collective. She is a 2024 recipient of the New Jazz Works Artist Residency at The Jazz Gallery.
July 18 at 10 PM
Special Guest: Brandon Patrick George
BRANDON PATRICK GEORGE is a GRAMMY Award®-winning flutist whose repertoire extends from the Baroque era to today. He is the flutist of Imani Winds and has appeared as a soloist with the Atlanta, Baltimore, and Albany symphonies, American Composers Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, among others. He has been praised as “elegant” by The New York Times, as a “virtuoso” by The Washington Post, and as a “knockout musician with a gorgeous sound” by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Brandon has performed at the Elbphilharmonie, the Kennedy Center, the Dresden Music Festival, and the Prague Spring Festival. In addition to his work with Imani Winds, Brandon’s solo performances include appearances at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 92NY, Tippet Rise, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival. He regularly tours with many illustrious musicians, including the Escher Quartet, pianists Aaron Diehl and Lowell Liebermann, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani, and harpists June Han, Bridget Kibbey, and Parker Ramsay. Brandon’s latest album, Twofold, received a four-star rating from BBC Music Magazine for both the performance and recording, following the success of his debut album, for which he received a profile in The New York Times.
Prior to his solo career, Brandon performed as a guest with many of the world’s leading ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and the International Contemporary Ensemble (ICE). He has performed as guest principal flute with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and has appeared at Walt Disney Concert Hall and at the Hollywood Bowl with Music Director Gustavo Dudamel.
Brandon trained at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with Michel Debost, in Paris with Sophie Cherrier, and received a Master of Music from the Manhattan School of Music. He continued his studies under the guidance of Lorna McGhee, now principal flutist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Brandon joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2021 and has taught at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. He regularly leads masterclasses at prestigious conservatories, including the Royal Academy of Music, Yale School of Music, Cleveland Institute of Music, Eastman School of Music, and the North Carolina School of the Arts.
July 19 at 10 PM
Special Guest: Samora Pinderhughes
SAMORA PINDERHUGHES is a composer, pianist, vocalist, filmmaker, and multidisciplinary artist known for striking intimacy and carefully crafted, radically honest lyrics alongside high-level musicianship.
July 20 at 10 PM
Special Guest: Emi Ferguson
EMI FERGUSON is on a mission to shake up classical music. Whether playing modern or historical flutes, singing, composing, or speaking about music, she brings centuries of music to life with an adventurous spirit and a fresh perspective. Her performances—ranging from Renaissance masterpieces to brand-new commissions—are anything but predictable, blending historical performance with a fearless, modern edge.
July 25 at 10 PM
Special Guest: The Emmanuel Michael Group
EMMANUEL MICHAEL believes that by questioning the love one gives and shares, and examining the roots of where those human experiences and interpretations come from, one can be empathetic towards others and themselves to understand and expose one’s true self.
Recent artistic endeavors for Emmanuel have included multi-disciplinary artistic residencies with Immanuel Wilkins and Odean Pope, studio work and public performances with The Dayna Stephens Quartet, leading his own group for a seven-week long residency at Cafe Bohemia, leading masterclasses with Imani Rouselle in Switzerland, playing at New York Fashion Week for Dauphinette, leading their own sextet premiering original compositions at WKCR-FM (Columbia University Radio), preforming as a member of Veronica Leahy’s undergraduate Harvard thesis (American Tonic), recording a studio album as a member of the Kabelo Mokhatla group, preforming as a member of Maya Keren’s sonic-landscape Careful in the Sun, and frequent public performances in New York City as a leader and ensemble member at historically vital New York City venues including Cafe Bohemia, 55 Bar, Dizzy’s Coca Cola, and The Blue Note, amongst other locations.
July 26 at 10 PM
Special Guest: Melanie Charles
MELANIE CHARLES is a Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter, actress, and flutist of Haitian descent, with a creative fluidity spanning jazz, soul, experimental, and Haitian roots music. Charles’ indie release The Girl with the Green Shoes and Y’all Dont Really Care Black Women released under the Verve imprint established Charles as a progressive voice in Jazz gaining a handful of features in The New York Times, as well as The Village Voice. “You can hear her collaging her musical DNA into jazz-studded multi-instrumentalism and dipping a toe into the experimental… there’s an uncanny cohesion to Charles’ music.” – The Village Voice. Charles graduated from the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music with a BFA in vocal jazz performance and has worked with Herlin Riley, Terri Lyne Carrington, Jean Grae, SZA, the Gorillaz, Mark De-Clive Lo, Mach Hommy, Kassa Overall and many others. Her television appearances include Good Morning America, SNL, and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and HBO’s Vinyl. Charles’ passion project “Make Jazz Trill Again” aims to blur the lines between social classes, cultures, genders, sounds and theories to create a world where opposing elements and eras can co-exist through the vehicle of improvised music, podcast conversation, music and event production and advocacy.
AMY SHERALD
The renowned painter hosts her favorite musicians on the Island for performances. Amy Sherald’s first major museum solo exhibition and mid-career survey, “Amy Sherald: American Sublime,” is currently on view at the Whitney Museum.
June 20 at 10 PM
Groundbreaking alt R&B icon serpentwithfeet takes over the Glade for a solo performance showcasing his acclaimed original music.
serpentwithfeet is an avant-garde R&B vocalist and performance artist whose body of work is rooted in dueling obsessions with the ephemeral and the everlasting – key components of his artistic journey from a childhood stint as a choirboy in Baltimore through his time at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied music.
serpent’s vision is crafted and honed from myriad inspirations: authors like Essex Hemphill; towering works like Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon; icons like Geoffrey Holder and Brandy. All of it refracts into serpent’s singular voice and artistry. He has written music for film and TV shows like The Inspection and Love, Victor, and his collaborations range from the experimental to adult contemporary with features on songs from Björk, Daniel Caesar, Virgil Abloh, Ellie Goulding and Ty Dolla $ign.
In 2023, serpent toured Heart of Brick, a theatrical dance and music production he conceived. The evocative performance was directed by Wu Tsang and choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly; Designer Carlos Soto and poet Donte Collins completed the team of luminous artists. Heart of Brick was co-commissioned by: The Los Angeles Philharmonic Association, The Joyce Theater Foundation, The International Summer Festival (Kampnagel), and The LA Phil.
June 21 at 10 PM
Yasmin Williams brings her legendary fingerstyle guitar playing to the Glade for one night only.
YASMIN WILLIAMS is a genre-defying acoustic guitarist and composer from Woodbridge, Virginia. Raised in a music-loving family, she grew up harmonizing on car rides and listening to a wide range of artists. While studying music theory and composition at NYU, she began developing her signature fingerstyle technique, playing guitar across her lap and incorporating unconventional approaches.
Williams has released two albums – Unwind (2018) and Urban Driftwood (2021) – showcasing her evolving sound and inventive methods. She often combines guitar with instruments like kalimba (played simultaneously), kora, harp guitar, doubleneck guitar, banjo, and various percussive tools to create textured, rhythmic soundscapes.
Though her instrumentation is often associated with folk and old-time traditions, Williams resists that label. “I don’t subscribe to the folk idiom,” she says. “It promotes conformity in some aspects, and to me that’s the opposite of what folk music is about.” Instead, she embraces experimentation and creative freedom, forging a style all her own. Her new album Acadia is out now on Nonesuch Records.
THE CASE OF THE STRANGER
June 26 at 10 PM
Writer, Performer, and Tony Award-nominated director Whitney White arrives on Little Island for a free, public showing of her new song cycle The Case of the Stranger.
With a score rooted in soul, jazz, and diverse geographical soundworlds, The Case of the Stranger takes its title from a passage in Shakespeare’s Sir Thomas Moore — one of the earliest known pleas for a compassionate refugee policy. The piece explores themes of identity, migration, and the power of unexpected kinship.
SLP & THE JOYFUL NOISE
July 23 at 10 PM & July 24 at 10 PM
An evening of song from Suzan-Lori Parks and her indomitable band.
LADIES OF JAZZ
July 27 at 10 PM
Broadway luminaries Charity Angél Dawson, Aisha Jackson, and Jennie Harney-Fleming honor iconic Black female jazz singers who’ve shaped music history. Their voices breathe new life into beloved songs—celebrating the brilliance, power, and lasting influence of the legends who came before them.
EUGENE ONEGIN
July 30 at 10 PM & July 31 at 10 PM
New York City’s first listen to a new bluegrass take on Tchaikovsky’s classic opera, based on the novel by Pushkin.
Sarah Gancher retells one of the great romances in a new form, perfect for a tragic love story: the country song. The Russian classic is transplanted to the American South, where it’s told by bluegrass musicians in a rowdy picking circle.
Complete casting will be announced at a later date.
THE LIGHTS
August 2 at 10 PM & August 3 at 10 PM
A first listen to a brand-new song cycle by MacArthur Fellow Matt Aucoin, setting the poetry of Ben Lerner to choral music—performed by the Grammy-winning ensemble Roomful of Teeth.
RADIOLAB
August 6 at 10 AM and 5 PM & August 7 at 10 AM and 5 PM
Terrestrials is a show for audiences of all ages that explores the strangeness that exists right here on Earth.
Storytelling and inquiry into how a pizza gets made led by Lulu Miller (co-host of Radiolab), featuring tap dancer John Manzari. Alan Goffinski (musical “song bud”) creates a musical “pizza song” – audience participation encouraged!
This performance is part of a two-day Radiolab takeover at Little Island: four free shows in The Glade and an evening show in The Amph.
JEREMY DENK & CONOR HANICK
A week of recitals by two acclaimed pianists, who join forces to perform virtuosic pieces for one piano and four hands, including works by Ives, Ravel, and Liszt. The program changes nightly and will include special guests to be announced.
August 21 at 10 PM
Conor Hanick performing Hans Otte / Book of Sounds.
August 22 at 10 PM
Jeremy Denk & Alexi Kenny performing works by John Adams, Missy Mazzoli, and César Franck.
August 23 at 10 PM
Jeremy Denk with Alex Agate, Ryan Jung & Nicholas Phan perform an evening of “Water Music”—a program of piano solos inspired by the theme of water, featuring works by Frederic Rzewski, Maurice Ravel, Franz Liszt, Salvatore Sciarrino, Claude Debussy, and George Gershwin.
August 24 at 10 PM
Jeremy Denk with Robert Carlson, Nicholas Phan & Adria Ye and more to be announced perform an evening of “Water Music”—featuring works by Franz Liszt, Luciano Berio, and Frederic Chopin.
August 27 at 10 PM
Conor Hanick with Keir GoGwilt performing works by Olivier Messiaen, Frederic Chopin, Nico Muhly, John Cage, Marcos Balter, György Ligeti, and Béla Bartók.
August 28 at 10 PM
Jeremy Denk performing Frederic Rzewski’s De Profundis and Ludwig van Beethoven’s Sonata in C minor, Opus 111.
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