By Megan Westberg
Taking in a free concert at the Naumburg Bandshell on a sticky summer evening is a bit of a New York tradition—in fact, the Naumburg Orchestral Concerts have been presented, free and outdoors, to New Yorkers since 1905. This year, however, the bandshell is undergoing some repairs and thus the summer events will have to shift venues—and they’re taking it inside.
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Temple Emanu-El’s Streicker Center, at 5th Avenue at 65th Street, has stepped in to help, providing the 114th season of free concerts a home. “They have helped us ensure that there will be no disruption to our series of free concerts of top-tier classical ensembles while the Naumburg Bandshell undergoes renovation,” said Christopher London, Naumburg Orchestral Concerts’ president of the board, in a statement. “We hope that our longstanding audience members, as well as new attendees, will enthusiastically embrace this new location and its stellar acoustics for the summer of 2019.”
Concerts will start at 7 PM, and reservations are required. New York–based chamber ensemble the Knights will kick off the season on June 18, with music by Mendelssohn, Britten, Bielawa, and Whitman.