Upcoming Birthday Boy Walt Whitman simply looms too large to appear only one day this week. But for our final post, we’ve selected not a Whitman text, but a Whitman tribute. “Walt Whitman in 1989”, a breathtaking poem by Perry Brass, imagines Whitman, who had visited and volunteered in hospitals during the Civil War, doing the same at the height of AIDS Crisis.
Read MoreAre you ready for Walt Whitman’s birthday next weekend? We hope you got him something nice, because he’s turning 200 — kind of a big one. Dear Walt is such a big part of our American cultural fabric, especially in NYC, and we’re so happy to see so many artists and organizations celebrating his year.
Read MoreEvery five years or so, we at 5BMF like to go all out and commission twenty composers to write a new song each about this wild, wonderful, gritty, overwhelming city we call our home. For our Five Borough Songbook, Vol. II we were delighted to have the amazing Laura Kaminsky on the roster
Read MoreThis week’s Song of the Day is hosted by Jesse Blumberg and Donna Breitzer, the Artistic Director and Executive Director, respectively, of Five Boroughs Music Festival. A drag song! There had to be one, and Steve B. sure picked a winner. Much to my regret, I had never heard of John Wallowitch until Steve introduced […]
Read More“Amid the din of the ball” was one of the first songs I learned after my first lessons in Russian diction at CCM with Ken Griffiths. I was drawn to its dreamlike waltz feel, its incredibly vivid images from strophe to strophe, and the way Tchaikovsky spins his gorgeous melodic gifts from a noisy ballroom into a solitary bedroom.
Read MoreThis week’s Song of the Day selections come from the founders of Five Boroughs Music Festival Jesse Blumberg and Donna Breitzer. NYFOS is partnering with 5BMF in January to bring our NYFOS@Juilliard program Harry, Hoagy, and Harold to Flushing Town Hall. Thanks, Jesse & Donna! We’ve come to our final SOTD post for this week, and what fun it has been […]
Read MoreThis week’s Song of the Day selections come from the founders of Five Boroughs Music Festival Jesse Blumberg and Donna Breitzer. NYFOS is partnering with 5BMF in January to bring our NYFOS@Juilliard program Harry, Hoagy, and Harold to Flushing Town Hall. Welcome, Jesse & Donna! If thinking about NYC Songs reminds us again of our very own Five Borough Songbook, does that […]
Read MoreThis week’s Song of the Day selections come from the founders of Five Boroughs Music Festival Jesse Blumberg and Donna Breitzer. NYFOS is partnering with 5BMF in January to bring our NYFOS@Juilliard program Harry, Hoagy, and Harold to Flushing Town Hall. Welcome, Jesse & Donna! Thinking about 5BMF’s Inaugural program the other day got us all nostalgic, and that, coupled with […]
Read MoreThis week’s Song of the Day selections come from the founders of Five Boroughs Music Festival Jesse Blumberg and Donna Breitzer. NYFOS is partnering with 5BMF in January to bring our NYFOS@Juilliard program Harry, Hoagy, and Harold to Flushing Town Hall. Welcome, Jesse & Donna! Oh! What a Charming City… New York City has been a muse for poets and songwriters […]
Read MoreThis week’s Song of the Day selections come from the founders of Five Boroughs Music Festival Jesse Blumberg and Donna Breitzer. NYFOS is partnering with 5BMF in January to bring our NYFOS@Juilliard program Harry, Hoagy, and Harold to Flushing Town Hall. Welcome, Jesse & Donna! Well, first let us say what a treat it is […]
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