Lincoln Center is preparing to re-open its David Geffen Hall after a renovation project that has redesigned its performance spaces and created more open and welcoming public spaces. This includes inviting sitting areas and a coffee shop, a large wall-length video screen that will show performances in the lobby, and a glass-walled studio on the building's corner where passers-by can watch rehearsals. These community-focused elements are part of Lincoln Center's efforts to better reach out and encompass its surrounding community, and its opening concert will feature a work that reflects that. Lincoln Center commissioned the work San Juan Hill: A New York Story from composer, performer and storyteller Etienne Charles, who drew on the cultural history of its San Juan Hill neighborhood through generations of residents and immigrants. A Tempo host Rachel Katz this week speaks with Charles and Lincoln Center Senior Director of Artistic Programming Jordana Leigh about the work, which will be premiered by The New York Philharmonic, the newly renovated David Geffen Hall, and how Lincoln Center's programming aims to be more inclusive and welcoming for a broader community.
Lincoln Center to Welcome Community Back to Renovated David Geffen Hall with Musical Portrait of Neighborhood
