Description
AMERICAN SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA OPENS 2026-27 SEASON WITH FREE CONCERT IN BRYANT PARK ON SEPTEMBER 11
Performance Commemorates 25th Anniversary of 9/11
The Program is repeated at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Queens, on September 13
New York, NY, August 10, 2026 — The American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) will open the Orchestra’s 65th season with a free concert on September 11 at 7 pm as part of the Picnic Performances series at Bryant Park. Conducted by Music Director Leon Botstein, the performance occurs on the 25th anniversary of September 11 and offers a memorial program with music by Copland, Walker, Ives, Haydn, and Mahler. The free concert will be repeated at the Kupferberg Center for the Arts in Queens on September 13.
The ASO will next perform in Manhattan with the Bard Festival Chorale in a program focusing on Mozart and the composers who influenced him on November 5 at Riverside Church.
New York Resounds
Friday, September 11, 2026, at 7:00 PM, Bryant Park
Sunday, September 13, 2026, at 3:00 PM, Kupferberg Center
American Symphony Orchestra
Leon Botstein, Conductor
Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
George Walker: Lyric for Strings
Charles Ives: The Gong on the Hook and Ladder
Joseph Haydn: Symphony No. 44 in E minor “Trauersinfonie”
Gustav Mahler (arr. Cliff Colnot): Adagio from Symphony No. 10
While serving as an occasion for remembrance, this program also celebrates the strength of the human spirit. The majesty of Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, the beauty of Mahler’s Adagio from Symphony No. 10, the poignancy of George Walker’s Lyric for Strings, the imagery of Ives’s The Gong on the Hook and Ladder, and the intensity of Haydn’s Symphony No. 44, (“Mourning Symphony”) together pay tribute to the contributions of everyday Americans, as well as the courage and sacrifice of 9/11 heroes.
Attendance for both performances is free. RSVP to Kupferberg is required. Bryant Park staff lends out hundreds of free picnic blankets, provides bistro chairs, and offers a curated selection of food and drink to purchase from local vendors. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
American Symphony Orchestra
The American Symphony Orchestra (ASO) was founded in 1962 by Leopold Stokowski with the mission of providing great music for everyone. Leon Botstein expanded that focus when he joined the ASO as Music Director in 1992 by creating concerts that explore music through the lens of the visual arts, literature, religion, and history, as well as by reviving rarely performed works that audiences would otherwise never hear performed live.
The ASO’s signature programming includes its Vanguard Series, which features concerts of seldom-performed orchestral repertoire presented at Carnegie Hall, Bryant Park, and other historic venues, and its Chamber Series—curated by ASO’s musicians—offering concert programs dedicated to reflecting the diverse perspectives of American culture. During the summer, the ASO is the orchestra-in-residence at Bard’s SummerScape and performs at the Bard Music Festival. All ASO presentations comprise a year-round series of vital and innovative programming for audiences of all backgrounds.
As part of its commitment to expanding the standard orchestral repertoire and ensuring accessibility to musical masterpieces, the ASO offers free streaming of exclusive live recordings on its digital platform, ASO Online. Content includes SummerScape operas, chamber performances, and short films. In many cases, these are the only existing recordings of some of the forgotten works that have been restored through ASO performances.
For more information, please visit americansymphony.org.
Leon Botstein
Leon Botstein has been music director and principal conductor of the American Symphony Orchestra since 1992. He is also music director of The Orchestra Now, an innovative training orchestra composed of top musicians from around the world. He is co-artistic director of Bard SummerScape and the Bard Music Festival, which take place at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, where he was president from 1975-2026. Mr. Botstein is also active as a guest conductor and can be heard on numerous recordings with the London Symphony (including a GRAMMY nominated recording of Popov’s First Symphony), the London Philharmonic, NDR-Hamburg, and the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Botstein has revived numerous neglected operas, creating once-in-a-lifetime experiences for concertgoers and global audiences. Including rare repertoire such as Schoenberg’s massive Gurre-Lieder and the accompanying short-film, which documented the monumental undertaking, Strauss’s first opera, Guntram, and the U.S. Premiere of Sergei Taneyev’s final work, At the Reading of a Psalm. His recording of Paul Hindemith’s The Long Christmas Dinner with the ASO was named one of the top recordings of 2015 by several publications, and his recent recording of Gershwin piano music with the Royal Philharmonic was hailed by The Guardian and called “something special…in a crowded field” by Musicweb International. He is a prolific author and music historian and the recipient of numerous honors for his contributions to the music industry. In 2019, The New York Times named Leon Botstein a “champion of overlooked works…who has tirelessly worked to bring to light worthy scores by neglected composers.”
More info at LeonBotstein.com.
The ASO’s Vanguard Series is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
Media Contact
Pascal Nadon
Pascal Nadon Communications
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