Flushing Town Hall presents new
slate of performances for August
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
In August, Flushing Town
Hall will continue to welcome
in-person audiences back for
select events while continuing
to livestream all programs.
The venue’s next upcoming
events will be The Gino
Sitston Trio’s innovative and
energetic performance of African
music, an outdoor exhibition
of work by Queens-based
artists, Taiwanese piano talents
Ching-Yun Hu, Natasha
Wu and Yao-Wen Chang, and
the final virtual Louis Armstrong
Legacy Jazz Jam.
“As we are carefully reopening
our facilities for select
events, we are delighted
to welcome familiar and new
faces to Flushing Town Hall,”
said Ellen Kodadek, executive
and artistic director of
Flushing Town Hall. “Across
the city, venues are reopening,
and we are thrilled that
we can bring local artists to
our patrons while taking all
necessary safety measures for
our guests and performers to
feel safe.”
Gino Sitson Trio: High energy,
live performance with inperson
audiences
The Gino Sitson Trio will
deliver “Beautiful Vibration”
– Colors of African Music live
from the stage at Flushing
Town hall for a hybrid in-person
and virtual audience on
Friday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m.
The Los Angeles Times
calls Sitson “an extraordinarily
pliable voice in settings
rich with melody, emotion and
rhythm. His gift for melody
and his persuasive powers for
interpretation establish an instant
connection for listeners
… always fascinating.”
Originally from the
Bamiléké region of Cameroon,
central Africa, Sitson’s family
comes from a long line of Cameroonian
musicians known as
Ntontas (players of horns). His
daring musical project combines
jazz, gospel, blues and
traditional African polyphonies,
polyrhythms and melodies
in a most innovative way.
Outside of the music world,
Sitson is also a UNICEF Cameroon
Goodwill Ambassador,
who is engaged in reaching
out to street children and advocating
for their well-being.
During his performance
on Aug. 20, Sitson (voice, body
percussion and compositions)
will be accompanied by Marvin
Sewell (acoustic guitar
and voice) and Lonnie Plaxico
(double bass).
For this concert, Flushing
Town Hall is offering both virtual
and in-person tickets. In
order to ensure the safety of audiences,
performers and staff,
only 42 in-person tickets will be
available in honor of Flushing
Town Hall’s 42nd anniversary.
Details about social distancing
requirements should be reviewed
online before purchasing
in-person tickets.
The performance will also
be streamed live online, and
virtual ticket holders will receive
the live link and reminder
before the show.
Virtual tickets are available
for $7 for the general public or
$5 for members, and in-person
tickets must be purchased in
advance for $12 for the general
public or $10 for members at
flushingtownhall.org.
Louis Armstrong Legacy
Virtual Jazz Jams
Flushing Town Hall will
host the last virtual Louis
Armstrong Legacy Jazz Jams
on Wednesday, Aug. 11, at 7
p.m. before returning to inperson
jams in September.
The widely popular virtual
jams have attracted more than
200 musicians and 7,000 national
and international viewers
since Flushing Town Hall
first closed its facility for COVID
19 precautions in March
2020. This will also be the
last jazz jam with a dedicated
theme, which will celebrate
the birthday of its inspiration,
the legendary Louis Armstrong
— and other August
birthdays.
Starting Sept. 8, the monthly
Louis Armstrong Legacy
Jazz Jam will return to its prepandemic,
in-person format
for participating musicians
the second Wednesday of the
month, but it will continue
streaming to viewers’ homes
for free.
Led by Astoria resident
Carol Sudhalter and the wonderful
house band featuring
Joe Vincent Tranchina, Scott
Neumann and Eric Lemon,
the jam invites musicians, including
Flushing Town Hall
jazz jammers from Queens
and Long Island, as well as
newcomers from around the
world, to share their music,
lift our spirits and honor those
whose lives were lost.
“It seems so fitting to be
celebrating the legacy of Louis
Armstrong, and his and other
August birthdays this month
at our last jam in the virtual
world. I am excited to discover
what legendary artists, past or
present, our performers will
choose to pay tribute to in our final
virtual jam,” said Suhalter,
Flushing Town Hall’s jazz band
leader. “We thank all who have
stuck with us — audience and
performers alike — who have
dared to go with the change. We
look forward to our in-person
return in September!”
Musicians interested in
participating in the virtual
jams should email education@
flushingtownhall.orgwith the
suggested three- to four-minute
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tune they intend to play in
line with this month’s theme.
The performance can be live
or a pre-recorded audio or
video (but not a professional,
edited recording such as a CD
or YouTube video).
Musicians who performed
in 2020 are now welcome to
return. Each month, up to five
returning musicians and up
to 15 new musicians can participate.
Selection is on a firstcome,
first-served basis.
An Evening With Taiwanese
Piano Stars, featuring Ching-
Yun Hu and new talents
Natasha Wu and Yao-Wen
Chang
Flushing Town Hall is
partnering with the Taipei
Economic and Cultural Office
(TECO) on Aug. 14 at 7 p.m.to
livestream “An Evening With
Taiwanese Piano Stars,” featuring
Ching-Yun Hu and new
talents Natasha Wu and Yao-
Wen Chang on its YouTube
channel.
Hailed by The Philadelphia
Inquirer as a “first class talent
… superb pianist” and by
International Piano (London),
which said that “praises follow
her around the world,” Hu
is a unique presence in the international
concert scene.
Hu is the winner of the Arthur
Rubinstein and Concert
Artists Guild Competitions,
and since her debut with the
Philadelphia Orchestra and Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra,
she has continued to perform
internationally at major concert
venues across the world.
Her albums with Naxos,
ArchiMusic and BMop Sound
have received critical acclaim
and won the prestigious Golden
Melody Award for “Best
Classical Album of the Year.”
Pianist Magazine has called
her latest Rachmaninoff album
as an “essential listening
for Rachmaninoff admirers.”
Renowned also as a presenter,
curator, educator and a
passionate classical music
promoter, Hu is the founder
and artistic director of the renowned
Philadelphia Young
Pianists’ Academy (PYPA)
and serves on the piano faculty
at Temple University in
Philadelphia.
In this concert, Hu is joined
by two rising Taiwanese piano
stars, Natasha Wu and Yao-
Wen Chang, in a program of piano
classics by Schubert, Chopin,
Liszt, Rachmaninoff and
Taiwan’s own Tyzen Hsiao.
This event is co-presented by
The Taipei Cultural Center
in New York (TCC), Yun International
Music Foundation
(YIMF) and Flushing Town
Hall. The concert is part of
TCC in New York’s 30th Anniversary
program.
“OutFront 24/7” exhibition
Curated by the Southeast
Queens Artists Alliance,
“OutFront 24/7” is a public exhibition
of original artworks
printed on weatherproof banners
for display on publicfacing
fences that will travel
to select Queens cultural institutions
and be on display
at Flushing Town Hall’s fence
on Northern Boulevard from
Aug. 18 to Sept. 3.
When the exhibition opens
on Aug. 18, Flushing Town
Hall will host an in-person
walkthrough led by participating
artists at the fence, on the
sidewalk and in the garden at
Flushing Town Hall from 3:30
to 4:30 p.m. This event is free,
but RSVP is required.
Following the exhibition
at Flushing Town Hall, the
works will then be installed
at King Manor Museum from
Sept. 7 to 18.
The exhibit will present
works by 10 Queens artists
selected for their works’ response
to the theme: reflections
on life during this
pandemic. It engages people
on the street with visual
messages about people’s experiences
of the COVID -19
pandemic. Beautiful and contemplative,
the banners will
capture the public’s attention
and slow the pace by provoking
thought, inspiring discussion,
and inviting responses
to the works on display — a
viable way to rebuild community
after months in quarantine.
“OutFront 24/7” provides
an in-person opportunity for
safe art viewing that has been
missing for many in Queens.
Reach reporter Carlotta
Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–4526.
The Gino Sitson Trio will deliver “Beautiful Vibration” —
Colors of African Music live from the stage at Flushing
Town hall for a hybrid in-person and virtual audience on
Friday, Aug. 20 at 7 p.m. Photo courtesy of Flushing Town Hall
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