Music at Calvary–St. George’s

A tradition of gathering

The events archive records outdoor spring concerts on Gramercy Park East and later concerts at Calvary Church. These gatherings form part of the Block Association’s history of bringing neighbors together through the arts.

2004–2005

The street becomes a concert hall

On June 3, 2004, the tenth annual outdoor spring concert brought the Gramercy Brass Orchestra to Gramercy Park East. John Henry Lambert led a program ranging from patriotic music to Ellington, Santana and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The Gramercy Park Block Association dedicated the evening to members of the armed forces. The report counted more than a thousand neighbors in the audience.

The eleventh concert followed on June 2, 2005, with the same orchestra. This time the Block Association honored the officers and detectives of the 13th Precinct and Emergency Service Truck 1. Kathleen Scupp and the Children’s Committee helped set up, hand out programs and clean up afterward. The neighborhood’s youngest volunteers were part of making the evening possible.

2006

A rain plan keeps the music playing

Bad weather moved the June 8, 2006 concert from Gramercy Park East into Calvary Church. The Greenwich Village Orchestra performed for hundreds of neighbors during the Park’s 175th-anniversary year.

2007

A young guest at the conductor’s stand

The Greenwich Village Orchestra returned to Calvary on June 14, 2007, led by music director Barbara Yahr. Nine-year-old Jonah Gold joined as guest conductor, and young violinist Ji Eun Lee appeared as soloist. The Block Association also presented a plaque recognizing Community Board 6 District Manager Toni Carlina’s service to the neighborhood.

Jonah’s participation belongs to a longer neighborhood connection: the archive also records his earlier visit with officers at the 13th Precinct.

2008

A connection with Harlem’s jazz community

The fourteenth concert, on June 5, 2008, welcomed the National Jazz Museum in Harlem All Star Big Band for a Duke Ellington tribute. Loren Schoenberg conducted. Park Trustee Arthur Barnes, then chair of the museum’s board, had introduced Schoenberg to Arlene Harrison.

The free concert at Calvary drew neighbors and visitors from across the city. Harrison paid tribute to Tom Pike as he prepared to retire as rector of Calvary–St. George’s.

2013

Poetry and jazz on the sidewalk

In 2013, Make Music New York took place outside 61 Gramercy Park North. Children and seniors performed Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, and Alex Nguyen led the Jazz Conceptions Orchestra. The report credited Kamel Boutros with organizing the program and the Block Association with helping bring the neighborhood out to hear it.

2014

Make Music New York

On June 21, 2014, the Block Association and Calvary–St. George’s partnered in a Make Music New York celebration outside the parish house at 61 Gramercy Park North. The contemporary account credits parish music director Kamel Boutros with organizing the event and Arlene Harrison with promotional support.

A shared stage

The day concluded with trumpeter Alex Nguyen’s Jazz Conceptions Orchestra.

2021

Supporting music in Stuyvesant Square

In August 2021, the Block Association reported its support for the Stuyvesant Park Neighborhood Association’s summer jazz series. The newsletter shared a performance by Alex Nguyen with vocalist Vanisha Gould and announced a further concert later that month.

Read the August 23, 2021 newsletter ↗ · Watch the shared performance ↗