by George Etheredge for the New York Times
Coming up in April- Lost Objects (Rome) and Terry Riley 90th birthday Tribute (Amsterdam)
Thursday, April 16, 2026
Lost Objects
Music by Michael Gordon, David Lang, Julia Wolfe with Libretto by Deborah Artman
Parco della Musica Contemporanea, Rome
more info
Friday, April 17, 2026
Terry Riley 90th Birthday Tribute
Bang on a Can All-Stars and Special Guests
Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam
more info
Julia Wolfe’s Her Story at Southern Mississippi
Julia Wolfe’s mesmerizing cantata Her Story dramatically explores the historic struggle for women to secure equal rights. Scored for large orchestra and women’s voices, with stage direction by Anne Kauffman, scenic design by Jeff Sugg, and production by Bang on a Can, you won’t want to miss one of the cultural events of the year in Mississippi.
March 25th: Talk with Julia Wolfe at 6:30pm
March 26th: Performance of Her Story 7:30pm
Mannoni Auditorium
Coming up in March
– David Lang at the NYPhil and the All-Stars play Sakamoto at Univ. of Colorado
March 19-22: David Lang, the wealth of nations with the NYPhil, Gustavo Dudamel conductor (World Premiere)
Inspired by economist Adam Smith’s 1776 magnum opus, David Lang dramatizes this foundational work about economics as inspired by Handel’s treatment of Biblical texts in Messiah. “I want this work to be enjoyable and thought-provoking,” says Lang, “encouraging audiences to consider what we truly value.” The world premiere of the wealth of nations is March 19-22, 2026, performed by the NY Philharmonic and Music Director Designate, Gustavo Dudamel! Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic.
More info and tickets
March 28: Bang on a Can All-Stars play Ryuichi Sakamoto and University of Colorado, Boulder
Ryuichi Sakamoto “was arguably the best-known and most successful Japanese musician in the world.” (Peter Tasker, Nikkei Asia) Now Bang on a Can All-Stars offer their realization of the album 1996 (arranged by the All-Stars’ multi-talented clarinetist-composer Ken Thomson) — which includes an incredible selection of many of Sakamoto’s greatest hits.
More info and tickets
Long Play 2026, April 30-May 3
Bang on a Can presents the 5th year of Long Play, a four-day destination music festival, presented from Thursday, April 30 through Sunday, May 3, 2026. 4-day Festival and Supporter Passes are on sale now.
Featuring 70+ concerts, Long Play also showcases a dense network of inventive music venues in Brooklyn – with performances at BRIC, BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Brooklyn Music School, Roulette, Pioneer Works, Public Records, the Church of St Luke and St Matthew, ISSUE Project Room, Polonsky Shakespeare Center for Theatre for a New Audience, and Fort Greene Park – and more!
4-Day Festival and Supporter Passes are on sale now, including Oneohtrix Point Never, Bang on a Can All-Stars playing a brand new arrangement of the iconic Philip Glass album Glassworks in its entirety, and Julia Wolfe’s Pulitzer prize-winning Anthracite Fields with Trinity Choir, Steve Reich’s classic Sextet plus Electric Counterpoint performed live by 13 electric guitarists, the legendary Billy Hart Quartet, the esteemed and extraordinary Amina Claudine Myers, and the US premiere of Kali Malone’s Does Spring Hide Its Joy ft. Lucy Railton & Stephen O’Malley.