See the 2021 Summer Concerts lineup below
Wednesday | June 30, 2021 | 7pm
Celisse
Celisse is a singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and spoken word artist. She has performed with renowned artists including Mariah Carey at the Beacon Theater, Graham Nash at Town Hall, Melissa Etheridge at the Apollo Theater, and she supported Kesha at the 60th annual Grammy Awards at Madison Square Garden. An extremely versatile performer, Celisse appeared in Trey Anastasio’s Ghosts of the Forest, at the Greek Theater, the revival of Godspell at Circle in the Square, and in Bridget Everett’s Rock Bottom at Joe’s Pub. Television appearances include 30 Rock, The Electric Company, Rescue Me, and The Big C. She was a special guest of Jon Batiste and Stay Human on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and was featured on lead guitar with Lizzo on Saturday Night Live. But it’s her prodigious talents as a singer-songwriter and musician that have defined Celisse the most as an artist. Her hard-rocking and blues-tinged original music are powered by infectious hooks and a soulful voice which will stay with you long after the concert ends.
See and hear Celisse
Crazy | Lost | Freedom | Stuck On You Blues
Celisse's photo by Dolly G Photography
Featuring
Celisse – vocals, guitar
Todd Caldwell – keyboards
Jeff Hanley – bass
Mark McLean – percussion
Wednesday | July 28, 2021 | 7pm
Flamenco Night –
A Tribute to the Gipsy Kings
In this unique concert, master guitarist Pedro Cortes will direct a joyous evening of music paying homage to the Gipsy Kings.
Cortes comes from a family of Spanish Gypsy guitarists and began his studies with his father and the legendary Flamenco guitarist Sabicas. He has had works premiered with the Teatro Albeniz in Madrid and the Carlota Santana Spanish Dance Company at the Joyce Theater in New York. Cortes was commissioned by the Coen Brothers to compose music for their film Paris Je T'Aime. Over the years he has toured with many greats including Jose Greco, Maria Benitez, Farrucita, La Tati, Merche Esmeralda, Manolete, and the late Lola Flores. Cortes was credited by The New Yorker for helping to keep Flamenco alive in New York City.
Cortes will be joined by the Cintron Brothers, Cristobal and Rafael, who are renowned for their knowledge of Rumba Flamenco. They have performed at Lincoln Center and have played for audiences around the world in Paris, Moscow, London, and Rome. In their native Spain they had the honor of performing for King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofia.
José Moreno is blessed with multiple talents as a percussionist, dancer, singer, and choreographer. Jose has shared the stage with many notables in the Flamenco world including Manolete, Pastora Galván, Omayra Amaya, Roberto Castellón, Chano Dominguez, Angel Munoz, Charo Espino, and Jorge Pardo, among many others. He has performed in Carmen with The Metropolitan Opera and the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. He also participated in Los Descendientes de Andalucía, a TV series produced by Canal Sur in Spain.
Dancer Elisabet Torras has performed in Europe and Asia with Zarzuela, Clasico Español and Flamenco companies. She toured Spain and China with Flamenco pianist Manolo Carasco’s company, performed several seasons with Javier LaTorre’s Somorrostro Dansa Flamenca Company and Rojas & Rodriguez Company in Madrid. Here in the United States, Elisabet has performed as a cast member of the companies Noche Flamenco, Omayra Amaya Flamenco Dance Company, and Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santa. Elisabet was the star of PALOMA, an award winning short film by up and coming director Sophia Conger.
Featuring
Pedro Cortes – guitar, composer
Cristobal Cintron – singer, guitar
Rafael Cintron – singer, guitar
Juan Pedro Jimenez – singer, guitar
Hamed Traore – bass
Jose Moreno – percussion, singer, dancer
Elisabet Torras – dancer
Featuring
Samuel Torres – congas, percussion
Luis Perdomo – keyboards
Tom Guarna – guitar
Noah Bless – trombone
Ryan Keberle – trombone
Ruben Rodriguez – bass
Jimmy Macbride – drums
Jonathan Gomez – Colombian percussion, background vocals
Maria Raquel – guest vocalist
Wednesday | August 18, 2021 | 7pm
Samuel Torres –
From Latin Jazz to Salsa & More...
Samuel Torres is a Grammy award-winning percussionist, composer, and arranger. A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Torres was exposed to music at an early age thanks, in part, to an extended family of musicians, which included his uncle Edy Martínez, a pianist-arranger who earned fame in the New York salsa scene of the 1970s. A classically trained percussionist with a degree in music composition, Torres established himself as a musical force in his homeland at a young age. His career took flight when acclaimed Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval asked him to join his group shortly after Torres moved to the U.S. Since then, Torres has gained renown in his own right through his work as a performer, arranger, and producer in the worlds of Latin jazz, Salsa, Latin Pop and Jazz. He has worked with top artists including Lila Downs, Paquito D’Rivera, Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Chick Corea, Angélique Kidjo, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Shakira, and Rubén Blades, among others. His talents have also been featured in concerts with classical orchestras such as the City of London Sinfonia, Boston Pops, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition, Torres has released several albums of his own work, most recently the Latin Grammy Award winning, Regreso (2019), which he recorded in collaboration with the New Philharmonic of Bogotá.
See and hear Samuel
Variations on Conga | Samuel Torres & AGUA'BAJO
Samuel's photo by Juan M. Soria
Special Thanks to
The Township of Weehawken
for being
the principal sponsor
of this concert.
Wednesday | August 25 | 7pm
An Evening of Broadway–
The Music of Stephen Sondheim
What better way to celebrate the return of Broadway than by honoring the Great White Way’s greatest living composer/lyricist!
Hosted by Emmy Award winner Nancy Giles
Director – Danny Gardner
Musical Director – Garrett Taylor
Jessica Vosk can be seen this November in her debut solo show at Carnegie Hall, titled “My Golden Age.” Before the shutdown, Jessica starred as the Narrator in the 50th anniversary of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, at Lincoln Center. She also created the role of Aunt Val in the world premiere of Becoming Nancy, directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell. Before that, she finished an acclaimed run as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, having played the role for two years. Jessica starred in the NYC Ballet Jerome Robbins tribute Something to Dance About, directed by Warren Carlyle and re-created the role of Fruma Sarah in the most recent revival of Broadway’s Fiddler on the Roof. Other Broadway appearances include Finding Neverland, The Bridges of Madison County. She starred as Anita in the Grammy-nominated San Francisco Symphony’s West Side Story. Next year, you’ll find Jessica overseas in London for her concert debut at Cadogan Hall. Her debut solo album, Wild and Free, and her debut EP, A Very Coco Christmas, both spent time on the Billboard Charts and are available to stream. jessicavosk.com @jessicavosk
Rema Webb just last month played the title role in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill at the Cape Playhouse. Other one-woman shows include:Billie & Me, To Ella & Judy With Love, Speak on It: The Fannie Lou Hamer Story, and Children Will Listen. Recent TV Credits: The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Central Park, and Murphy Brown reboot. Broadway Credits: Escape to Margaritaville, The Color Purple, Violet, The Lion King, The Book of Mormon, and Ragtime. Off-Broadway and Regional credits: Unmasked, Footloose, Disney’s Hercules, Little Shop of Horrors, The Cradle Will Rock, The Colored Museum, A New Brain, You’re Standing In My Way: A New Song Cycle, and Being Alive. Rema's life work is Teaching and Mentoring. She is the Founder/Executive of On Broadway Performing Arts Training Program. On Broadway provides year-round acting, singing, dance classes to young people ages 6 to 16. onbroadway-patp.com @remawebb
John Callison made his professional singing debut with the Ohio Light Opera and has performed in over fifty operas and musicals. Opera highlights include the roles of Ford in Falstaff (Bronx Opera), Escamillo in Carmen (Opera Wilmington) and Count Almaviva in the Marriage of Figaro (dell’Arte Opera Ensemble). Favorite musical theater roles include Edward Rutledge in 1776 and Lt. Cable in South Pacific, both with OHTC. John received a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the Manhattan School of Music. He also enjoys sharing his passion for music as a K-2 music teacher in New Jersey.
Brandon Contreras – New York theater: Almost Famous (Pre-Broadway), Road Show (City Center Encores!), Jerry Springer: The Opera (The New Group), The Connector (NYTW), Our Lady of 121st Street (Off-Broadway), The Secret Garden (Developmental Lab), and The Hamilton Mixtape (The Public Theater). He was also seen in the 1st National Tour of In the Heights and has worked at multiple regional theaters around the country. TELEVISION: Mr. Robot (USA), Awkwafina is Nora from Queens (Comedy Central). Brandon is also a co-creator, writer, and executive producer of the Queer Sketch platform The Homo Sapien Experience. BrandonAContreras.com @OhHey_Brandon
Danny Gardner returns for his third show for Summer Concerts on the Hudson and his second time as director, choreographer, and performer. He made his Broadway debut as Lucky in Dames At Sea. Other select credits include, Lady, Be Good! at City Center (with subsequent album), The NY Spectacular starring the Rockettes (Radio City Music Hall). National Tours: Irving Berlin’s White Christmas and 42nd Street. He will be joining the cast of the new musical Flying Over Sunset at Lincoln Center this fall. His choreographic credits include: Resident Choreographer for six years of the Broadway By The Year concert series at Town Hall in NYC, choreographer for The Joshua Show and The Joyfully Jolly Jamboree. His choreography has also been seen at BC BEAT at Cielo, and Kicking and Screaming at Symphony Space. danny-gardner.com
Nancy Giles is an Emmy Award-winning contributor to CBS News Sunday Morning. She won a Theatre World Award for her Off-Broadway debut in the satirical musical Mayor; won two Gracie Awards (from the Alliance of Women in Media) for talk radio’s Giles and Moriarty (with 48 HRS Erin Moriarty); was in the ensemble cast of ABC-TV’s China Beach for three seasons; and had small parts in big films with directors like Mike Nichols, Clint Eastwood, and Woody Allen. Giles toured with Chicago’s famed Second City, co-created 4 solo shows with director Ellie Covan at her acclaimed Dixon Place on the Lower East Side, has been a long-time volunteer with Hell’s Kitchen’s 52nd Street Project, and continues to toil on a collection of true stories, Notes of a Negro Neurotic, because the nutty stories just keep coming. Check out her funky new podcast, The Giles Files, on iTunes, Google Play or Stitcher!
Ben Jones has appeared as soloist on the stages of famous concert halls around the world including the Royal Concertgebouw, the State Opera of Prague, the Mariinsky, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and the Shanghai Concert Hall. Ben moves easily between the classical, opera, and theater worlds. Favorite musical theater roles include Sky in Guys and Dolls, Buddy in Follies, Ravenal in Show Boat, Jimmy in Thoroughly Modern Millie, and Tobias in Sweeney Todd, to name a few. Ben has also sung with top American orchestras such as the San Francisco Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, and the Indianapolis Symphony, sharing the spotlight with the likes of the great conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, and opera stars Frederica von Stade, Nathan Gunn, and Isabel Leonards. Ben has been featured on recordings on the Albany, Naxos, and Delos labels. benjonessinger.com
Emily Larger has performed in the National Tours of Elf (including the Kennedy Center and Madison Square Garden), The 39 Steps, and Cabaret. Regional Credits include Billy Elliot (Goodspeed Opera House), A Chorus Line (Bucks County Center for the Performing Arts), A Merry Little Christmas Concert (Bucks County Playhouse), and Calamity Jane (New York Premier). emilylarger.com
Diane Phelan is an actor, producer and activist based in New York City. She has performed in lead roles on Broadway as well as national & international productions, most notably in School of Rock (Wintergarden), West Side Story (Maria, 50th Anniversary World Tour), and The King and I (Lincoln Center and national tours). You can catch her starring in the new musical film Marry Harry as Sherri, streaming on Amazon Prime. Diane's most recent project has been playing Sibella in A Gentlemen’s Guide To Love and Murder. She also served as an Executive Producer and is very proud that the production raised over $25,000 as a Broadway benefit for Stop AAPI Hate. As an activist, Diane is a founding member of the viral hashtag campaign #RacismIsAVirus. dianephelan.com @DianicaPhelan
Lexi Rabadi returns for a second time to the stage of Summer Concerts on the Hudson, having appeared in our Leonard Bernstein Tribute in 2018. She most recently played the title role in Hannah Senesh, a one-woman play with music, to rave reviews. This very special and important production was produced by the National Yiddish Theater Folskbiene. Other significant credits include Belle in Beauty and the Beast and Laura in The Glass Menagerie, both at the Fulton Theatre. Lexi is also a poet, a yoga teacher, and a proud dog mom. lexirabadi.com @LexiRabadi
Special Thanks to
for being the
principal sponsor
of this concert.
Rema Webb
Jessica Vosk
John Callison
Brandon Contreras
Danny Gardner
Emily Larger
Nancy Giles
Ben Jones
Lexi Rabadi
Diane Phelan
Friday | September 10, 2021 | 7pm
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
This performance will feature the New Jersey live premiere of Ms. Chen’s major new work, Shadow Force, inspired by the pandemic. The program will be performed by ten world-class dancers in a mind-bending, foot-stomping choreography celebrating the Re-opening, joy of nature, and our common, connected humanity. Additional repertoire will feature an eclectic range of music including The Way of Five - Fire with music by Tan Dun and Raindrops with music by Sanko Namchilak.
Bridging the grace of Asian elegance and American dynamism, the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company provides cultural experiences that reflect the inspiring hope and energy of the immigrant's journey. The company dances at the intersection of innovation and tradition and its exuberant productions have been presented at some of the most prestigious concert halls in the United States and in thirteen tours around the globe.
Choreographer/Dancer, Nai-Ni Chen, is a unique artist whose work crosses cultural boundaries. Each of her dances reflect her personal vision as an immigrant American female artist with deep roots in the Asian culture. From this very personal perspective, she creates new works that reflect current issues with global influences. Some of her works have been developed in collaboration with renowned artists such as the Ahn Trio, Glen Velez, Joan La Barbara, and the members of the New Asia Chamber Music Society.
Featuring
Ryan Hernandez - guitar
Pat Gannon - tenor sax
Griffin Fink - bass
Hank Allen-Barfield - drums
Sunday | September 26, 2021 | 4pm
Jazz at Hamilton Park –
Part of Jazz at Lincoln Center's
Swing in the Streets
Rising Stars from the Jazz Studies Program at William Paterson University.
Curated by
Please note this concert will take place at Hamilton Park, Boulevard East, Weehawken.
Leadership support for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s outdoor concert series provided by Lisa K. Meulbroek and Brent R. Harris, with major support provided by Susan and J. Alan Kahn.
Ryan Hernandez, guitar
Ryan began his musical training in Huntington Beach, California, guided by blues guitar master, Walter Trout. Upon moving to New Jersey in 2010, he developed a passion for Jazz and joined NJPAC’s jazz program and the New Jersey Youth Jazz Orchestra. During this time, he appeared on stage with jazz greats like Christian McBride, Jon Faddis, Stefon Harris, and Paquito D'Rivera. Ryan enrolled in the Jazz Studies Program at William Paterson University where he studied and performed with top-tier musicians such as Bill Charlap, Steve LaSpina, Harold Mabern, and Joe Lovano. Ryan plays regularly at various NY and New Jersey clubs and his latest residency is at the Stone House in Watchung, NJ. He is pursuing a Masters in Jazz at the Manhattan School of Music.
Pat Gannon, tenor saxophone
Pat is a jazz saxophonist based in the NY/NJ area. He has performed and headlined at venues such as Chris’ Jazz Cafe in Philly, The Shapeshifter Lab in Brooklyn, and the Montclair Jazz Festival. He has studied with saxophonists Vincent Herring, Mark Gross, and Bruce Williams, and is currently finishing his degree at William Paterson University.
Griffin Fink, bass
Griffin grew up in Paramus, New Jersey and began his musical studies at an early age on both classical and jazz bass. Early teachers included Ryan Putney and Linda McKnight. He entered the Jazz Studies Program at William Paterson University in 2018 and has studied with David Wong, Marcus Mclaurine, and Steve LaSpina. Griffin is interested in jazz education and has instructed at youth camps run by Jazz at Lincoln Center and Jazz House Kids, directed by Melissa Walker and Christian McBride. He is fortunate to have worked with Jazz masters including Bill Charlap, Mike Ledonne, Jeremy Pelt, Harold Mabern and others. And he performs whenever possible at New York City venues with a younger generation of players including Evan Sherman, Benny Benack III, and Bryan Carter, to name a few.
Hank Allen-Barfield, drums
Hank was born and raised in Sacramento, California. He started playing the drums at age 10 at the urging of his father, John Allen, who was a successful professional musician. Originally into rock and particularly influenced by John Bonham of Led Zeppelin, he turned towards jazz in middle school where he soon began winning awards and competitions. In order to further his jazz studies, Hank moved across the country to attend the Jazz Studies Program at William Paterson University , where he worked with Bill Goodwin, Joe Farnsworth, Bill Charlap, Vincent Herring, Mike Ledonne and many others. Hank has performed at many clubs around New York City and New Jersey and most recently has been a part of the Vincent Herring Quartet and the Jerry Weldon Sextet.
