Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn & CONCORA | Naumburg Orchestral Concerts

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Grayson Dantzic

simone dinnerstein baroklyn naumburg orchestral concerts

Join Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn, and the CONCORA choir for a free evening of Bach and Philip Glass in Central Park.

Join Simone Dinnerstein, Baroklyn, and the CONCORA choir for a free evening of Bach and Philip Glass at the Naumburg Bandshell on June 9, a program that moves between centuries and brings together a pianist, a string ensemble, and a full professional choir under the open sky. No tickets, no reservations, just arrive by 7:30 PM.

The program is anchored by Bach, including a complete cantata and three movements drawn from cantatas composed across a decade of his career, alongside his chorale prelude Herr Gott. Philip Glass's The Hours, a work Dinnerstein has performed and recorded extensively, opens the concert and sets a different kind of contemplative tone alongside the Bach.

Simone Dinnerstein is a Brooklyn-based pianist who first came to wide attention through her 2007 recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations, which the New York Times described as representing "a unique voice in the forest of Bach interpretation." She has since made fifteen albums, all of which have topped the Billboard classical charts, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Berlin Philharmonie, and the Sydney Opera House. Philip Glass composed his Piano Concerto No. 3 for her, co-commissioned by twelve orchestras.

Baroklyn is the string ensemble Dinnerstein founded and directs, its name combining Baroque and Brooklyn. The group appears on her most recent album, Complicité, released in 2025.

CONCORA, Connecticut Choral Artists, was founded in 1974 and holds a particular connection to Bach's choral repertoire. The ensemble is a major partner in THE COMPLETE BACH, a project running from 2024 to 2035 that aims to present every work Bach ever wrote, the first such undertaking in America. The choir is led by artistic director Chris Shepard, who also serves as music director of the Worcester Chorus in Massachusetts.

The continuo realizations for Bach's Cantata 9 were composed by Philip Lasser, who also contributes a 2025 work, In the Air, closing the program and bringing the Bach and Glass threads together through a living composer with deep roots in both traditions.

The concert is free and open to all. Seating is first-come, first-served. The performance will be broadcast live and streamed on WQXR.

Event Details

• Date: June 9, 2026
• Time: 7:30 PM
• Location: Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park (mid-park at 72nd St)
• Admission: Free, no tickets or reservations required
• Seating: First-come, first-served
• Rain policy: No rain dates, held rain or shine
• Broadcast: Live on WQXR and streamed online

Program

BAROKLYN

SIMONE DINNERSTEIN, DIRECTOR & PIANO

CONCORA CHOIR

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), Herr Gott, BWV 617 (1716)

Philip Glass (b. 1937), The Hours (2002)

INTERMISSION

J.S. Bach, Cantata 9, Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, BWV 9 (1734)

I. Es ist das Heil uns kommen her, II. Gott gab uns ein Gesetz, III. Wir waren schon zu tief gesunken, IV. Doch mußte das Gesetz erfüllt werden, V. Herr, du siehst statt guter Werke, VI. Wenn wir die Sünd aus dem Gesetz erkennen, VII. Ob sichs anließ, als wollt er nicht

*Continuo realizations by Philip Lasser (b. 1963)

J.S. Bach, Three Movements from Cantatas 99, 22, & 182 (1724, 1723, 1714)

I. Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan, V. Ertot uns durch dein Gute, VIII. So lasset uns gehen in Salem der Freuden

J.S. Bach/Lasser (b. 1963), In the Air (2025)