Celebration of America 250th, classical orchestra
July 3, 2026, 7:00pm–8:30pm
No tickets needed, just show up on the lawn at Bryant Park!
Celebrate Fourth of July weekend at a free outdoor performance by the intrepid chamber orchestra The Knights—a self-described “fellowship of adventurous musicians” with a fervent following at Carnegie Hall and across New York City. Led by Colin Jacobsen and Eric Jacobsen, they bring a program that fuses classical music with numerous American influences in true “Knightsian” fashion.
Hear arrangements of Bonds’s “Troubled Water,” based on the spiritual “Wade in the Water”; selections from Coleridge-Taylor’s 24 Negro Melodies, arranged by violinist Curtis Stewart; Stones River by violinist Jeremy Kittel, which draws from a multicultural well of American Revolutionary and Civil War music; Colin Jacobsen’s arrangement of Paul Simon’s “American Tune” and other short works; a piece by Jacobsen inspired by Dvorák and bluegrass; and more.