by Michael Deering
Although we are almost out of 2020, let’s not rush through this holiday season! Though it may be a bit quieter than usual, this season should be a time of good will towards all. Stay in touch with loved ones and if you need some entertainment for yourself, or to share with others, here are some excellent free events from Queens College and beyond to bring into your homes. Warmest wishes from myself and all of us at Benjamin Rosenthal Library!
Music
- Tuesday, December 8 at 7:30PM: The Queens College New Music Group presents a concert of New Works for Mixed Ensembles. This group consists of Aaron Copland School of Music composers who are interested in the many directions music is going.
- Wednesday, December 9 at 7:30PM: Join the Queens College Choral Society, Vocal Ensemble and Treble Choir for an Evening of Choral Music! One highlight will be the world premiere of Karen Siegel’s Meditation for live remote choir including a Q&A with the composer.
- Thursday, December 10 and Thursday, December 17 at 7PM: The Louis Armstrong House presents short films featuring projects inspired by Louis Armstrong. Inside the Laughing Barrel will air on the 10th followed by Letters on the 17th. Register for the free live streams here.
- Thursday, December 10 at 8PM: Jazz Foundation of America Presents Bird Calls, a COVID-19 Musicians’ Emergency Fund Digital Concert featuring the music of, and the music inspired by, Charlie Parker. RSVP here.
- Friday, December 11 through Friday, December 18: The US-China Music Institute presents the China and Beethoven Festival. The virtual festival will showcase how Beethoven’s legacy is more relevant than ever and also explore Beethoven’s legacy in China as a heroic figure during the changing politics of the 20th century and China’s oscillating affiliation with Western classical music. Register here!
- Saturday, December 19 at 3PM: The Kupferberg Center for the Arts brings Brooklyn-based multi-instrumentalist Elena Moon Park to your screens. Enjoy a set of reimagined folk and children’s songs from East Asia. Join her to sing and dance along to Taiwanese train songs, Korean and Chinese New Year’s songs. RSVP here!
Literature
- Tuesday, December 8 at 7PM: Kupferberg Center for the Arts presents Off the Page: Cherríe Moraga and Vanessa Pérez-Rosario in Conversation. Cherríe Moraga is an internationally acclaimed poet and author who has been active since the 1980s. You can learn more about her and RSVP for the free event here.
- Wednesday, December 9 at 7PM: Catch the worldwide facebook premiere of The Library that Dolly Built. This documentary traces icon Dolly Parton’s history that led her to create the Imagination Library which provides free literature for young children. RSVP for this feel great premiere here!
- Thursday, December 17 at 3PM: We think having free access to these cultural riches is something to celebrate! This event will bring together a diverse group of organizations, musicians, artists, activists, and thinkers to highlight the new works entering the public domain in 2021 and discuss those elements of knowledge and creativity that are too important to a healthy society to lock down with copyright law. Register for Public Domain Day here!
Theatre
- Available December 10 through December 11: Christopher Plummer and Nikki M. James star in the Stratford Festival’s 2008 production of the George Bernard Shaw play, Caesar and Cleopatra.
- Friday, December 11 at 8PM through December 15: Lesli Margherita stars in Who’s Holiday? A solo play by Matthew Lombardo about middle-aged Cindy Lou Who, who recalls the night she first met the Grinch. Filmed Off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre in 2017. You can catch this play and a ton of other impressive and hysterical productions on Broadway Cares Youtube channel!
- Available through December 24: Milwaukee Rep is making their 2016 production of the classic, Mark Clement’s A Christmas Carol, available through Christmas Eve. Be sure to fill out this form to receive the link!