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Free events for Wednesday, 05/15/24
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Free Events, Free Things to Do in New York City!  Read More

Are you looking for free things to do in New York City (NYC) on May 15, 2024?

34 free events take place on Wednesday, May 15 in New York City. Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides! Exciting, high quality, unique and off the beaten path free events and free things to do take place in New York today, tonight, tomorrow and each day of the year, any time of the day: whether it's a weekday or a weekend, day or night, morning or evening or afternoon, December or July, April or November! These events will take your breath away!

New York City (NYC) never ceases to amaze you with quantity and quality of its free culture and free entertainment. Check out May 15 and see for yourself. Summer or Winter, Spring or Fall! Just click on any day of the calendar above and you'll find most inspiring and entertaining free events to go to and free things to do on each day of May . Don't miss the opportunities that only New York provides!

Some events take place all year long: same day of the week, same time there are there for you to take advantage of. One of the oldest free weekly events in Manhattan is Dixieland Jazz with the Gotham Jazzmen, which happen at noon every Tuesday. Another example of an event that you can attend all year round on weekdays is Federal Reserve Bank Tour, which takes place every week day at 1 pm (but advanced reservations are required). You can take at least 13 free tours every day of the year, except the New Year Day, July 4th, and the Christmas Day. If you are classical music afficionado, you can spend whole day in New York going from one free classical concert to another. If you love theater, then New York gives you an option to attend plays and musicals free of charge, or at deep discount. You just need to have information about it. And we are here to make that information available to you.
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The quality and quantity of
free events,
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every day of the year
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So don't miss the opportunities
that only New York provides:
stop wondering what to do;
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free events to go to,
free things to do in NYC
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34 free things to do in New York City (NYC) on Wednesday, May 15, 2024

All events are free unless otherwise noted.

Editor's Picks

free events nyc Eastern European Folk with a Jazz Aesthetic
free events nyc Salsa Social in the Park
free events nyc Kramer vs. Kramer (1979): Winner of 5 Oscars, with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep
free events nyc On Hollywood and Weimar: Songs of European Composers from the Golden Age of Film
More Editor's Picks for 05/15/24
        

Workshop | Boot Camp Workout


An early-morning core body Boot Camp. Rotations through exercises like crunches, planks, push-ups, burpees, and mountain climbers ensure a mixture of cardio and strength training that will keep you coming back, and seeing results. No equipment necessary; smiles and high fives welcome.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 am
Free

Birdwatching | Birding at the Battery


Gabriel Willow explores the diversity of migrating birds that find food and habitat in The Battery.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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8:00 am
Free

Tour | 13 Tours, All City Neighborhoods, Any Time Of The Day, Choose One Tour Or Many


These free tours take place at various times during the day, all day long. You can make reservations for as many tours as your schedule allows. SoHo, Little Italy and Chinatown Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Heights + DUMBO 3 Hour Lower Manhattan Harlem Chelsea and the High Line 6 Hour Downtown Combined Greenwich Village Central Park Lower Manhattan Midtown Manhattan Grand Central Terminal Graffiti and Street Art Tours World Trade Center
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Fair | October 7th, 06:29AM: An Immersive Exhibition on Nova Music Festival Massacre


To celebrate the end of his two years of service as a medic in the Israel Defense Forces' paratrooper division, Tomer Meir joined 13 of his friends at the Nova Musica Festival on the weekend of October 6 in Re'im in southern Israel. It was his first ever music festival. "It was the best moments of my life. I can't explain the state we were in," the 21-year-old told the New York Jewish Week. "It was pure love -- people dancing, laughing, smiling. All the good stuff that we're living for." Until 6:29 a.m. on Saturday morning. The red alerts, the rockets and the running. "The music stopped. The rockets started. We started running for our lives," Meir said. Meir is a survivor of the Nova Music Festival Massacre, where Hamas militants killed 364 festival-goers and took at least 40 hotstages on the morning of Oct. 7. Six months after the attack, Meir is in New York sharing his story as part of an interactive exhibit about that day, which he says is helping him heal. The Nova Musical Festival exhibition, titled October 7th, 06:29AM, is an immersive step into what it was like to be at the festival when it was attacked. Screens show clips from the attack on Nova are displayed next to personal and camping items taken from the festival recreating the festival layout. The exhibit, which debuted in Tel Aviv for 10 weeks in December, was created by Israeli designers and cultural producers, many of whom were producers with the Nova Music Festival itself. It was brought to New York with the help of Scooter Braun, the Jewish-American music producer and philanthropist. The exhibit recreates the visuals and sounds of the Nova Music Festival massacre. But the New York version is in some ways "more intense," according to Yael Finkelstein, a volunteer who collected items from the Nova site and helped set up both the Tel Aviv and New York exhibit. New elements at the New York exhibit include dozens of video testimonies from survivors, Zaka volunteers and family members, as well as graphic raw footage taken on Oct. 7 from both festival-goers and Hamas militants. In addition, survivors of the massacre such as Meir and Sassi will be at the exhibit every day to share their stories and answer questions. Their goal, Meir said, is to show New Yorkers that the horror they experienced could happen to anyone.
   New York City, NY; NYC
10:00 am
$3

Park Walk | Park Tour: From Freight to Flowers


Hear the story behind New York City's park in the sky: an insider's perspective on the park's history, design, and landscape.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Workshop | Ribbon Dancing


Combine cardio with artistry as you wave long ribbons in the air to create rainbows, waterfalls, dragons and ocean waves. Ribbon Dancing is as visually stunning as it is fun and easy to learn. All ages and skill levels are welcome. Ribbons will be available to borrow, but participants may also bring their own.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Fair | Street Fair


Free fun for the whole family, including arts, crafts, antiques, plants, entertainment, games, and more.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:00 am
Free

Workshop | Morning Tai Chi


Tai chi—the ultimate mind and body workout, often described as “meditation in motion”—involves slow, fluid, continuous movements through formalized postures of centuries-old Chinese Taoist martial arts. Please wear comfortable clothes and shoes to move around in.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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10:30 am
Free

Workshop | Learn Juggling in the Park


Get in a quick lesson, stay for the whole time, or just enjoy watching them put their skills to the test. They're a friendly group and open to drop-ins, even if you catch them outside of the regular juggling lessons. All skill levels welcome. Equipment is provided.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Tour | Tour of New York City Hall


One of the oldest continuously used City Halls in the nation that still houses its original governmental functions, New York's City Hall is considered one of the finest architectural achievements of its period. Constructed from 1803 to 1812, the building was an early expression of the City's cosmopolitanism. City Hall is a designated New York City landmark, and its rotunda is a designated interior landmark as well.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:00 pm
Free

Classical Music | Bach at Noon (In Person and Online)


Take a momentary respite from a busy day to enjoy a selection of organ works by Johann Sebastian Bach in an intimate venue.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:20 pm
Free

Jazz | Jazz Hour


Take a moment out of your busy day to enjoy a captivating showcase of jazz music by some of NYC’s most talented musicians. Curated by The Jazz Gallery, whose mission is to “provide a platform for emerging artists to discover their unique voice, and a home for established musicians to continue to experiment and grow,” the concert will bring the intimate, vibrant atmosphere of a jazz club into the lobby of One Manhattan West. Featuring: Rafael Enciso Duo (bass and guitar)
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Concert | Piano in the Park


Come on by and tap your toes to The Big Apple's finest ragtime, stride, and jazz pianists around! Featuring special events and performances by distinguished musicians. Today's pianist: Ted Rosenthal.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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12:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Adult Chorus


Directed by Church Street School of Music, the chorus is open to all who love to sing. Learn contemporary and classic songs and perform at community events throughout the year.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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1:00 pm
Free

Film | Lion (2016) with Nicole Kidman


Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home. Director: Garth Davis Cast: Dev Patel, Rooney Mara, David Wenham, Nicole Kidman Nicole Kidman is an American and Australian actress and producer. Known for her work across various film and television productions from several genres, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and six Golden Globe Awards.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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2:00 pm
Free

Discussion | Israel and the World after October 7th (online)


Yael Eckstein provides insights into navigating Israel's global position after Oct. 7, humanitarian efforts, and Jewish-Christian relations. Since October 7th, Israelis and Jews worldwide have questioned how the Jewish state will relate to the international community. Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of The International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, one of the world's leading religious charitable organizations, has a unique perspective on Jewish-Christian relations and Israel's role in the world. Yael, based in Israel, will be in discussion with AJU President Jeffrey Herbst about the lessons she has learned from helping many thousands of Jews move to Israel, providing humanitarian aid to victims of terror, and building inter-religious understanding.
   New York City, NY; NYC
2:00 pm
Free

Concert | Eastern European Folk with a Jazz Aesthetic


This fiddle-forward fusion band blends Eastern European, Balkan and Gypsy dance music with a convivial jazz aesthetic. Inspired by fiddling folk bands of Romania and Hungary, Sedi Donka will get you tapping your toes to odd-meters and singing along in a myriad of languages!
   New York City, NY; NYC
3:30 pm
Free

Book Club | Demian by Herman Hesse


Emil Sinclair is a young boy raised in a middle class home, amidst what is described as a Scheinwelt, a composite word meaning "world of illusion," so his entire existence can be summarized as a struggle between two worlds: the show world of illusion (related to the Hindu concept of maya) and the real world, the world of spiritual truth (see Plato's cave and dualism). Accompanied and prompted by his mysterious classmate and friend "Max Demian," he detaches from and revolts against the superficial ideals of the world of appearances and eventually awakens into a realization of self.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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4:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Settlers of Catan Social


Play one of the most popular board games in the world. They welcome players of all levels to this weekly social.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:00 pm
Free

Gallery Talk | Liu Shiming: Sculpture as Truth


A gallery talk led by former Art In America editor Richard Vine, entitled Liu Shiming: Sculpture as Truth. The richly illustrated talk will trace Liu Shiming’s remarkable personal journey, placing the idiosyncratic artist in the context of postwar sculpture both in China and abroad. Its major emphasis will be on distinguishing verisimilitude, with its susceptibility to visual rhetoric, from direct and honest observation. Q&A to follow.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Workshop | Wellness Wednesdays


Curated by Sputnik Yoga, Wellness Wednesdays will offer a variety of fitness and wellness themed classes on a weekly basis. Bring your own yoga mat or blanket.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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5:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Cities in the Sky: The Quest to Build the World's Tallest Skyscrapers


Jason Barr, one of the world's top experts on the economics of skyscrapers, discusses his fascinating account of the ever-growing quest for super tall buildings across the globe. The world's skyscrapers have brought us awe and wonder, and yet they remain controversial--for their high costs, shadows, and overt grandiosity. But, decade by decade, they keep getting higher and higher. What is driving this global building spree of epic proportions? Barr explains all: why they appeal to cities and nations, how they get financed, why they succeed economically, and how they change a city's skyline and enable the world's greatest metropolises to thrive in the 21st century.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Shanghailanders: Backwards in Time with One Family


Julie Min's dazzling and ambitious debut novel that follows a cosmopolitan Shanghai household backward in time--beginning in 2040 and moving through our present and the recent past--exploring their secrets, their losses, and the ways a family makes and remakes itself across the years.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Poetry Reading | An Evening of Poetry, Performance, and Music


Austin Alexis is the author of the full-length poetry collection Privacy Issues, which received the 20th Annual Naomi Long Madgett Poetry Award. He is also the author of two chapbooks published by Poets Wear Prada. His work has appeared in Barrow Street, Hawaii Pacific Review, The Journal, The Pedestal Magazine, Crosswinds Poetry Journal, Westchester Review, Paterson Literary Review and other journals and anthologies. Bakar Wilson has performed his work at the Bowery Poetry Club, Poetry Project, The Studio Museum of Harlem, The Asian-American Writer's Workshop, and the Langston Hughes House, among others.  His poetry has appeared in The Vanderbilt Review, The Lumberyard Radio Magazine, The Brooklyn Rail, Flicker and Spark: A Contemporary Queer Anthology, and The Ostrich Review, among others. Danny Shot’s WORKS was published in 2018 by CavanKerry Press. His new collection The Jersey Slide is forthcoming from CavanKerry Press. Recent endeavors include being an Associate Editor of A Gathering of the Tribes online (2020-2023) and Poetry Editor of Red Fez (2018-2021). Eve Packer is a Bronx-born, poet/performer/actress. Packer has published four poetry books, skulls head samba, playland poems 1994-2004, new nails. (Fly By Night Press), and no mask no talk corona poems 2020-2021 from Autonomedia Press. Daniel Carter is a musician and writer. Since coming to New York City in 1970, he has sought out musicians and situations that encourage free expression. Some of his writing can be found in the following publications: The Tinker: Innovative Arts and Literature Magazine, 50 Miles of Elbow Room, Number One (2000), Callaloo: A Journal of African Diaspora Arts and Letters, Dyed-in-the-Wool (2000), Intervalsss: The Poems and Words of Musicians (2000), Sex Sells Magazine (1997), Wandering Archive One (1998).  Jennifer Blowdryer is a singer and writer whose songs observe in a somewhat detached manner the underworld of punk rock and regular people. She started as front person for an SF Punk Band, the Blowdryers and later co-founded White Trash Debutantes. Throughout the decades and with no knowledge or desire to conform to social norms, she produced and MC’d a 5-year-long worldwide show called Smut Fest, which showcased sex workers' expression and drew on crowds otherwise not known to intermingle. Kim D. Brandon is a Poet/Artist/Activist/Storyteller. Her work has been included in stage performances, anthologies, and journals. She is a 2021 Brooklyn Poets’ Poet of the Week, and a VONA alum.  She is the founder of Brooklyn Society Writers group and the host of writing workshops for people of color. This year her work centers on the revolutionary power of Black love. A Joe for Annie Mae, her upcoming novel, highlights the transformative power of love in the lives of those who seek it. Nancy Mercado is the recipient of the American Book Award for lifetime achievement. She has featured at: The Whitney Museum in New York City, the University of Nantes in France, and Casa de las Americas cultural institute in Havana, Cuba among others. Mercado has authored 2 books, 7 theatre plays, has edited 3 anthologies and several literary magazines. Sheila Maldonado is the author of the poetry collections that's what you get (Brooklyn Arts Press, 2021) and one-bedroom solo (Fly by Night Press / A Gathering of the Tribes, 2011). Truffles is a cathartic turbid musical collective, with five or four members – perfect for dancing! Yuko Otomo is a visual artist and a bilingual writer of Japanese origin. She writes poetry, haiku, art criticism, travelogues and essays. Her most recent publications are Anonymous Landscape (Lithic Press), In Delacroix’s Garden: a collaborative book with Basil King (Spuyten Duyvil) and PINK (Lithic Press).
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Dancing | Dance Party: Motown


Superb bands and expert dance instruction 6pm: West Coast Swing Instruction 7pm: Live Dance Music with KD Browne Slip on your dancing shoes and get ready for a night filled with classic grooves provided live by KD Browne. DaChonne Nicole has worked in entertainment for over a decade and is known best for her captivating vocals and energetic live performances. Whether songwriting, playwriting, or performing around the world, you can see the love, passion and dedication she pours into every note and every dynamic performance.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Concert | Environmental Sound Artist Performs with Jazz Musician


Mary Edwards is a composer and sound artist whose interdisciplinary practice encompasses themes of temporality, impermanence, nostalgia and the natural world that recur throughout her work. Everywhere We Are is the Farthest Place is her "ode rather than an elegy" to the transforming Arctic landscape, climate vulnerability, elemental sensuality and terrestrial connectivity that also draws partly on sound as a vibrational phenomenon and Space Analogues. Edwards began this project while sailing on an artist and scientist research expedition above the 78th Parallel to Svalbard (halfway between Norway and the North Pole) to make field recordings and listen to the rhythm and breath of our planet from another pulse point. She documented sound properties of glacial geology and oceanographic data sonification--distinct groans and reverberant calving ice tumbling from the sublime glacier walls into the depths of fjords, the movement of subterranean rivers, Beluga whale song and vocal intonations--intended to provide sonic access for all by "de-centralizing the centered and un-othering the others." Mary Edwards (keyboards, Waterphone, electronics) will install and perform the piece with Michael Eaton (saxophone, flute, electronics,) a Brooklyn-based composer, and educator active in contemporary jazz and free improvisation.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Dancing | Salsa Social in the Park


Dancers of all ages and skill levels come together at this weekly Salsa party. Kick things off with a free class from 6-6:30pm and then open dancing the rest of the evening with incredible instructors from Salsa Dura NY.
   New York City, NY; NYC
6:00 pm
Free

Performance | Speech, Dance, and Music


In the context of the current exhibition El Dorado: Myths of Gold Part II, is the debut performance of Amor Eficaz, by Colombian artist Camilo Godoy. Amor Eficaz  will bring together speech, dance, and music to invoke the activism of the Colombian priest Father Camilo Torres Restrepo (1929–1966), who is also the artist’s namesake. Before joining the revolutionary armed struggle, Torres Restrepo delivered his last speech highlighting economic, political, and social justice by means of a resistance against oligarchic extraction and repression. Godoy connects this with the myth of El Dorado, and its role in forming an extractivist ethos in the Americas. A group of spiral shaped chest ornaments that the artist encountered at El Museo del Oro in Bogotá inspired him to connect these political ideas with indigenous perceptions of temporality and the eternal cycle of political change in Colombia. Inspired by the Latin American Liberation Theology and the ideology of progress, the artist 's performance addresses the colonial legacy of injustice, trauma, and subversive politics.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:00 pm
Free

Workshop | Bodyroll Workout


Joyful and cathartic dance aerobics with VIVA! Low stakes, all fun, and open to all levels.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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6:30 pm
Free

Book Discussion | Little Seed: An Experimental Memoir


Wei Tchou's experimental memoir braids together the narrative of the author's relationship with her brother and family with a deeply personal field guide to ferns. The chapters move associatively, commenting on each other indirectly and drawing out questions of assimilation, race, class, gender, nature and the general problem of being and knowing. When the author's brother has a psychotic break, the rigid structure of the book itself breaks apart and the protagonist adventures to the cloud forest of Oaxaca in order to truly live: to know the world by experiencing it rather than reading about it or following the direction of others. Some persistent themes throughout the book: What does it mean to be Chinese? What is love and how best to love? What really is a fern?
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
$5

Discussion | Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance: A View from the Heights (online)


West Harlem served as home to many players of the Harlem Renaissance and served to inspire the generation of creative artists that would follow! May’s Virtual Parlor Chat is a presentation and conversation with Harlem historian John T. Reddick that will focus on a variety of Harlem players from Paul Robeson and his wife, the scholar and author Eslanda Goode Robeson, jazz artist Sonny Rollins and the late creative visual artist Faith Ringgold among others. The Morris-Jumel Mansion and the beauty of its surrounding park made residing in the area an attraction for generations of aspirational African Americans, situated as it is at the crest of Harlem’s famed Sugar Hill.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:00 pm
Free

Movie in a Park | Kramer vs. Kramer (1979): Winner of 5 Oscars, with Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep


After his wife leaves him, a work-obsessed Manhattan advertising executive is forced to learn long-neglected parenting skills, but a heated custody battle over the couple's young son deepens the wounds left by the separation. Director: Robert Benton Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander 105 min.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free

Classical Music | Choral Works by Faure and More


The Fieldston Choral Society (FCS); and Sophia Miller, conductor, perform a program that celebrates the joy and uplifting power of singing, both sacred and secular, from a 16th-century madrigal to the music of Faure to contemporary settings of hymns, poems, and folk songs.
   New York City, NY; NYC
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7:30 pm
Free

Concert | On Hollywood and Weimar: Songs of European Composers from the Golden Age of Film


A night of live music with Karyn Levitt, Soprano, and Jed Distler, Piano. Many of Hollywood's greatest film scores were written by ?migr? and exiled composers who fled Nazi Europe for Southern California. From dusty westerns and sweeping romances to the thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock, this program celebrates the blending of the old world and the new to produce the uniquely hybrid sound of Hollywood's Golden Age.
   New York City, NY; NYC
7:30 pm
Free
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