Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra Return for 15th Summer
The internationally renowned Alex Torres and His Latin Orchestra return to the Suffolk County Vanderbilt Museum on Friday, July 15, for their 15th annual performance.
A perennial favorite, the orchestra performs annually to sold-out audiences at the Vanderbilt, playing their original blend of Afro-Caribbean rhythms – including salsa, merengue, cha-cha, bomba, plena, and Latin jazz. This critically acclaimed 11-piece ensemble, which tours throughout North and South America, has performed in hundreds of festivals and leading performing-arts centers throughout the world.
The Vanderbilt Estate grounds open at 6:00 pm. The performance, for listening and dancing, will be from 7:00 to 10:00 in the Celebration Tent. Guests are encouraged to bring a picnic dinner and enjoy the evening under the stars as the music and dancing start.
Tickets: $65. Table of 10: $650.
The orchestra, which has released 12 critically acclaimed CDs, has shared the stage and billings with such major acts as Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Andy Montañez, Los Hermanos Moreno, Arturo Sandoval, Ray Barretto, Jane Burnette & The Spirits of Havana, King Changó, Arrested Development, Branford Marsalis, and the Count Basie and Woody Herman orchestras.
Visit www.alextorres.com
Enjoy ‘Sunset Yoga Flow’ on Vanderbilt Great Lawn
Pop Up Prana Yoga offers another evening of Sunset Yoga Flow on Friday, July 1, on the Vanderbilt Museum Great Lawn overlooking Northport Bay. Check-in begins at 6:30 PM for the 7:00 pm session. Open to practitioners of all levels.
All props and mats will be provided upon request. Rain dates will be determined as the event approaches. Note: tickets are non-refundable.
Jenn Eagen of Pop Up Prana Yoga, said, “This is an open-level yoga practice. If you are new to yoga, feel free to join us. If you are an advanced yogi and seek growth, no worries. You will have an opportunity to shine and improvise your own variations throughout the session.”
L.I. Chamber Music: Family Programs, Evening Concerts
Long Island Chamber Music (LICM) returns this summer with six programs that range from morning family programs to evening concerts and the music from the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Morning Family Programs
July 2 – Meet the Brass Family!
Musicians: Gareth Flowers, trumpet; Sophie Manoloff, trumpet; Eric Huckins, horn; Burt Mason, trombone; Daniel Schwalbach, bass trombone
This highly interactive program, featuring a mix of jazz and classical pieces by American composers from the Gilded Age, is fun for the whole family. Audiences will have an in-depth look at the brass instruments and become composers for the day. No prior musical experience is necessary. (Ages 4+)
July 16 – Meet the String Family!
Musicians: Gergana Haralampieva, violin; Harriet Langley, violin; Halam Kim, viola; Yi Qun Xu, cello
This highly interactive program featuring classical music written by female composers offers fun for the whole family. Audiences will have an in-depth look at the string instruments and become storytellers for the day. No prior musical experience is necessary. (Ages 4+)
July 22 – Meet the Woodwind Family!
Musicians: Ashley Cho, flute; Hsuan-Fong Chen, oboe; Bixby Kennedy, clarinet; Alexander Davis, bassoon; Eric Huckins, horn
This highly interactive program featuring jazz, tango, and classical music is fun for the whole family. Audiences will have an in-depth look at the wind instruments and become conductors for the day. No prior musical experience is necessary. (Ages 4+)
Evening Concert Programs
July 2 – Independence Day on the Gold Coast
Musicians: Gareth Flowers, trumpet; Sophie Manoloff, trumpet; Eric Huckins, horn; Burt Mason, trombone; Daniel Schwalbach, bass trombone
A musical celebration of American composers spanning the Gilded Age of the late 1800s to the Jazz Age of the early 1900s. The concert features upbeat music by Duke Ellington, Scott Joplin, Glenn Miller, Florence Price, and John Philip Sousa. This event is a great way to kick off your Fourth of July weekend.
Program
Bugle Call Rag
Scott Joplin, Suite for Brass Quintet
Florence Price, Dances in the Canebrakes
Glenn Miller, Songbook
Duke Ellington, Echoes of Harlem
Duke Ellington, Jungle Nights in Harlem
Duke Ellington, Boy Meets Horn
Sousa, A Suite of Marches
Encore: Stars and Stripes
July 16 – Sounds of History: Composers of the Women’s Suffragist Movement
Musicians: Gergana Haralampieva, violin; Harriet Langley, violin; Halam Kim, viola; Yi Qun Xu, cello.
A string quartet concert inspired by the Vanderbilt Museum’s exhibition Alva Belmont: Socialite to Suffragist. This concert features four composers who were pioneers for women in classical music at the time of the Women’s Suffragist Movement. Repertoire includes works by Ethel Smyth, Cécile Chaminade, Amy Beach, and Florence Price.
Ethel Smyth, Allegro from the String Quartet in C Minor
Cécile Chaminade, 6 Romances sans paroles
Amy Beach, String Quartet, Op. 89
Florence Price, 5 Folk Songs in Counterpoint
July 22 – Summer Winds
Musicians: Ashley Cho, flute; Hsuan-Fong Chen, oboe; Bixby Kennedy, clarinet; Alexander Davis, bassoon; Eric Huckins, horn
Inspired by the Vanderbilt Museum’s idyllic coastal location, this concert features music for wind quintet that evokes scenes of grandeur, water, and summer nights. The program features a wide range of styles from classical to tango.
Program
Felix Mendelssohn, Scherzo from A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Malcolm Arnold, Three Sea Shanties
Darius Milhaud, La Cheminée du Roi René
Valerie Coleman, Red Clay & Mississippi Delta
Samuel Barber, Summer Music
Margaret Bonds, Troubled Water
Paquito D’Rivera, Aires Tropicales
About LICM
LICM was founded in 2020 by husband-and-wife team Eric Huckins and Gergana Haralampieva alongside composer Nick DiBerardino. Their mission is to make world-class classical music readily accessible to Long Island communities. The group provides classical music concerts, educational programs, and private lessons for communities across Long Island year-round.
LICM musicians are drawn from Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble Connect, the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Astral Artists, and several other of the country’s most prominent musical institutions. In addition to being leaders in their artform, LICM musicians are teaching artists, entrepreneurs, and socially minded advocates for classical music.
Billy Joel Tribute Band to Perform in Courtyard
On Saturday, July 9, We May Be Right will authentically recreate the music of “Piano Man” Billy Joel, one the greatest rock ‘n’ roll keyboard players. The powerhouse ensemble delivers an electrifying performance that wows audiences of all ages.
A New York City skyline sets the backdrop with the band delivering hit after hit along with some of Billy’s best deep cuts. We May Be Right brings audiences to their feet and singing along to all the classics.
Historian Susie J. Pak Discusses Gentlemen Bankers
St. John’s University Historian Looks at the Life of J.P. Morgan
The Vanderbilt Museum will host Dr. Susie J. Pak, Associate Professor of History at St. John’s University, on Thursday, June 30, for an evening lecture on J.P. Morgan and the world of investment banking in the early the 20th century.
Pak’s lecture will draw heavily from her years of archival research and from her acclaimed 2013 book Gentlemen Bankers: The World of J.P. Morgan (Harvard University Press). In Gentlemen Bankers, Pak offers readers a fascinating picture of how, through a network of local and international relationships, the Morgan family rose to special prominence in the financial sphere. She draws on never-before-published letters and testimonies to tell the riveting story of how economic and political interests intersected with personal rivalries and friendships among the Wall Street aristocracy of the Gilded Age.
“Gentlemen Bankers is a window into a world that, for one fleeting moment, dominated American finance. By concentrating on the non-financial aspects of that world Pak greatly enriches our understanding of the entire era.” – John Steele Gordon, Wall Street Journal
The lecture will take place at 7:00 pm in the Museum’s Charles and Helen Reichert Planetarium. Tickets are available online on the Vanderbilt website.
Susie J. Pak is an Associate Professor in the Department of History at St. John’s University where she teaches American history. She is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Cornell University. She has been the recipient of the Harvard Business School Alfred D. Chandler Jr Traveling Fellowship in Business History and Institutional Economic History and the Einstein Fellowship of the Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives.
Shakespeare Festival: ‘Troilus and Cressida’
The thirty-third annual Summer Shakespeare Festival at the Vanderbilt, presented by the Carriage House Players, continues with Troilus and Cressida, opening Friday, July 1. The festival is sponsored by Bank of America.
The Comedy of Errors – July 29-Aug 14
Henry V – Aug 26-Sept 18
Performances: Every Wed and Fri at 8:00 pm, Sunday at 7:00 pm. Tickets: Adults $20; children 12 and under (member child 18 and under) $15; senior (age 62-plus) $15.
Evan Donnellan, director of CHP, said, “We are so excited to return to the Vanderbilt Courtyard for their annual Summer Shakespeare Festival. With a wide mix of comedy and tragedy, the festival has something for everyone. Join us under the stars for nights of timeless magic as these classical stories come to life before your very eyes.”
Walk & Talk Tours: Architectural Details, Famous Ironwork
Come for an intriguing walking tour of the Vanderbilt Estate with knowledgeable Museum educators. Learn about the history of the Eagle’s Nest estate; Warren & Wetmore’s design and exterior architectural details of the 24-room Spanish Revival mansion; and the striking ironwork of Samuel Yellin, considered the greatest iron artisan of the early 20th century.
These Walk and Talk Tours, created by the Vanderbilt Education Department will be offered at 11 am and 12:30 pm on June 30; July 6, 20, 23, and 27; August 3, 10, 20, 24, and 31.
Tickets, which include general admission, are available for purchase only at the door: Adults $16, seniors/students $15, children under 12 $13, and members free.
Beth Laxer-Limmer, associate director of education, said, “The grounds are beautiful at this time of year and the walking tour is a perfect way to be introduced to the history of the estate and collections. There is an abundance of beauty in the eclectic architecture and the unique details that reflect William Vanderbilt’s interests.”
William K. Vanderbilt II (1878-1944) spent summers at his Eagle’s Nest estate and mansion on Northport Bay between 1910 and 1944. He and his wife, Rosamond, hosted intimate gatherings and entertained well-known guests, such as the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Pierre Cartier, Conde Nast, Charles Lindbergh, and the Tiffanys. Eagle’s Nest is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Summer STEAM Workshops for Children Grades K-6
Vanderbilt Museum educators are offering astronomy, science, and history workshops for children. Junior Explorers is for grades K-4 and Junior Astronomer is for grades 3-6. Sessions for both age groups will be offered July 11-15 and Aug 15-19, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm. Fee: $200 non-members | $180 members. Space is limited and spots fill quickly. Advance registration is required. Facemasks are required indoors.
Junior Explorer, grades K-4
Explore the world at the Vanderbilt Museum in a week of creative science and history workshops. We will sail the seas, dive the deepest oceans, soar among the tallest trees, and make unique art inspired by nature and the collections. Registration is open for children entering kindergarten through 4th grade.
(Please note: July and August sessions of each workshop feature the same activities. Therefore, we recommend against registering a child for the same workshop twice.)
Junior Astronomer, grades 3-6
This exciting program for young astronomers features multiple astronomy topics including the solar system, using a telescope, and identifying constellations seen from Long Island backyards. The focus on hands-on learning includes STEAM activities and crafts supplemented by immersive live and pre-recorded full-dome presentations in the Planetarium theater. Registration is open for children entering grades 3-6.
For more information and to register, please contact dawn@vanderbilltmuseum.org.
Engraved Vanderbilt Bricks Mark Milestones, Memories
Celebrate your family, a loved one, a special anniversary, or other milestones and memories with us by sponsoring a commemorative brick with a custom engraving. Your donation will help us to bring outstanding science, history, and art education to more than 25,000 students annually.
Your message will be displayed permanently in one of the brick walkways around the Vanderbilt Mansion and Terrace, or on the grounds of the beautiful waterfront Estate. For more information, call Sue Madllinger at 631-854-5558, or email: sue@vanderbiltmuseum.org
