Music

New Sounds Live, hosted and curated by WNYC’s John Schaefer, joins in celebrating the re-opening of the World Financial Center Winter Garden for three Wednesday evening concerts in November. The concerts, which will be taped for future broadcast on WNYC, constitute part of the recently revived arts series at the Winter Garden, the glass-encased centerpiece of the World Financial Center at 220 Vesey Street.

The center, which was damaged on September 11, is celebrating its reopening with modern dance, circus shows, and other attractions. The New Sounds Live events represent the first live music performances to take place since the reopening. "We are bringing some remarkable music, some from other parts of the world and some perhaps from other worlds entirely, to the Winter Garden," says John Schaefer. "It is quite simply one of the most special places in New York, and to hear this beautiful atrium resonating with music is an extraordinary experience."

Below is a summary of the New Sounds Live events at Winter Garden:

Morelenbaum2/Sakamoto
Wednesday, November 6 at 6:30pm
World Financial Center Winter Garden
Japanese pianist Ryuchi Sakamoto (pictured), Brazilian singer Paula Morelenbaum and her husband, and cellist Jaques Morelenbaum are all devotees of longtime great Brazilian songwriter Antonio Carlos Jobim. They've boiled down a list of Jobim songs to their classical essence for a recording made in Jobim's house on his old piano ("Casa," on Sony Classical). There is something quite special about the recording, and for those who missed the trio's recent live appearance at Joe's Pub, here's a chance to discover these unique, often mesmerizing arrangments. (Note: More information on this project can be found on an archival episode of Soundcheck).

Kitka
Wednesday, November 13 at 12:15 & 6:30pm
World Financial Center Winter Garden
Kitka, the all-women’s vocal ensemble has made their reputation crossing continents, languages and styles for 23 years straight. The group has a particular affinity for Eastern European vocal techniques, as demonstrated on their recent CD, The Vine, which features nineteen Balkan and Slavic folksongs. A variety of selections from this disc will be featured here, from traditional village chants to more complex contemporary choral pieces including love songs, work songs, sacred pieces, dance tunes, and songs about the seasons. More than a dozen different languages are promised, including Albanian, Armenian, Bulgarian, Serbo-Croatian, Greek, Hebrew, Ladino, Latgallian, Macedonian, Russian, Ukrainian, Hungarian, Georgian, Church Slavonic and Romanian.

David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir
Wednesday, November 20 at 6:30pm
World Financial Center Winter Garden
David Hykes has mastered overtone singing known as Harmonic Chant, the skill developed by Tibetan monk and Mongolian nomads that allows them to sing low and high notes simultaneously. Joined by his groundbreaking ensemble, The Harmonic Choir, he uses that technique to write otherworldly compositions that explore the normally untapped resonances of the human voice. The one-time New York-based ensemble, now residing in France, brings together the West and the East in the exploration of natural harmonics, the “DNA of all musical sounds.” The choir is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their landmark recording Hearing Solar Winds, which brought the world of "harmonic music" to many Western listeners for the first time.

Admission is free for all events. For information, call (212) 945-0505 or visit the World Financial Center Web site.