NY Philharmonic Announces Free Park Concerts In June

The NY Philharmonic continues its marvelous tradition of free concerts in NYC parks this summer, with four orchestral performances under the night sky in parks in all boroughs except Staten Island. (Before you rush to Lincoln Center with torches and pitchforks, please note that the Philharmonic will do a free concert in Staten Island, just indoors, at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden.) The concerts will all take place during one week in June. Here's the schedule:

• June 13th, Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx
• June 14th, Central Park, Manhattan
• June 15th, Cunningham Park, Queens
• June 16th, Prospect Park, Brooklyn
• June 18th, Indoors at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Staten Island

All of the outdoor events, which feature performances of Dvořák, Bernstein, and Gershwin, begin at 8:00 p.m., while the Staten Island concert is at 3 p.m. The Philharmonic also notes that "seating is limited for the Central Park concert," which takes place on the Great Lawn, so pack your picnic basket and get there early. Fireworks follow all the outdoor concerts, so be sure to stick around after those final notes dissolve into the sweet summer air.

This year's series comes with an audience participation twist: The Philharmonic is inviting park audiences to bring their instruments and play along with the orchestra before the concert, for a communal rendition of the Largo movement of Dvořák’s New World Symphony. The Philharmonic encourages participants to bring any instrument (time to bust out those bagpipes), and novices are welcome. More details here.

In addition to the big group musical number before the concerts, the performances in the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn, and Staten Island will be preceded by "Share the Stage," featuring work by local musicians in their home boroughs, "to salute the diversity of New York City’s resident musicians."

All the details you need for a sublime evening of free cultural enrichment are right this way.