Beauty and the Beast (via Flushing Town Hall 2019 season brochure)
Dec. 27, 2018 By Nathaly Pesantez
Flushing Town Hall is readying for a jam-packed 2019 season, with a schedule of more than 70 programs including jazz performances, classical music concerts, exhibitions and more lined up for the new year.
The new program goes from January to June, with 72 programs planned during the spring season, in itself a continuation of 40th anniversary celebrations of the Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts (FCCA), which organizes the town hall’s events.
Around 20 world music shows will make up the five-month season. In January, for example, the classical tabla ensemble Talavya will take center stage, while La Cumbiamba eNeYé, a Colombian ensemble, will lead a performance in February.
In May, meanwhile, a “Global Mashup” event will take place featuring the Lemon Bucket Orkestra, a Balkan-brass and guerrilla-folk band from Toronto, and Kakande, a New York City-based Guinean ensemble. Flor de Toloache, an award-winning all-female mariachi group, will play in April.
Jazz performances will also form a bulk of the program. A monthly jazz jam will take off in January, which invites students, musicians, and educators to play Louis Armstrong works. All are welcome to the jam—even those who simply want to listen.
In February, Alphonso Horne & the Gotham Kings will hold a Mardi Gras celebration and play the works of King Oliver, Louis Armstrong and other trumpet masters. The Garifuna Jazz Ensemble, which brings awareness of the endangered Garifuna language, heared in Honduras, Belize and other Central American nations, will play the following month.
To end the season, the Queens Jazz Orchestra will play a concert titled “It Ain’t Over Yet,” which takes the name from the orchestra’s music director’s latest big band album.
The town hall will also show seven classical music concerts, including performances by the Queens Symphony Orchestra in June, and Chamber Music America, which will play a concert to celebrate National Chamber Music Month in May.
A 14-year-old piano prodigy, Huang Tiange, will play a solo recital in March, which will include pieces from Chopin and Beethoven, along with a performance of Tiange’s own sonata.
The rest of the town hall’s programming is made up of family events, exhibits and other interactive events. Xun Ye, a master flour dough artist, will lead a workshop in January in traditional Chinese flour dough sculpture making. In March, meanwhile, a pop-up memory book workshop series will be held for senior citizens, who will be taught how to design and tell their own stories through art.
To see the full list of events in the historic town hall, located at 137-35 Northern Blvd., visit www.flushingtownhall.org. Tickets can also be purchased via the website or by calling 718-463-7700. Prices vary for each event, and depend on Flushing Town Hall membership.
