Choir Festival

New York Vocal Collective is a professional-level ensemble, founded by Grammy and Emmy-award winning vocal arranger, producer, engineer, and educator, Ben Bram.

While many members of New York Vocal Collective are professional musicians, others have careers in theater, education, law, journalism, medicine, and more! NYVC brings together a diverse group of high-level singers from disparate vocal traditions, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds, identities, and careers. In their short existence, they have already become a thriving artistic community. 

The New York Vocal Collective is the first of its kind in the United States—a large, ongoing ensemble with a focus on pop, jazz, and R&B, sung a cappella at a professional level. We hope to be the first of many, and to inspire others throughout the country. 

Sing Harlem is the breakout musical group from Mama Foundation for the Arts.

Under the direction of Ahmaya Knoelle Higginson, the choir has grown to be a highly respected and influential force in the New York gospel scene, producing not only great vocalists, but top-notch global citizens. 

At its core, Sing Harlem serves as both a social impact initiative for young people that have graduated from Mama Foundation’s music training program, and as a commercial choir delivering acclaimed entertainment nationwide. All proceeds from Sing Harlem! events and performances benefit the Mama Foundation for the Arts’ music training programs, which are provided to the Harlem community tuition-free. 

Sing Harlem has performed at many prestigious venues, programs, and concerts across America including The Congressional Black Caucus, The Stellar Awards, New York Fashion Week (TOMMYxZENDAYA), The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, the US Open, Chicago’s Ravinia Festival, and Brooklyn’s Afropunk. Television performances include The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Saturday Night Live, The View, Good Morning America, VH1 Trailblazer Honors, and the Grammy Awards. Theatrical performances include The Let Go (Nick Cave), The Mile-Long Opera (David Lang, Liz Diller), and As You Like It (Public Theater, Public Works). In addition to headlining, Sing Harlem continues to accompany a variety of musical artists including SZA, Sting, Arianna Grande, Pharrell Williams, Alessia Cara, Lykke Li, Chance the Rapper, and Madonna.

Gaia Music Collective is a New York-based creative community seeking to foster a more connected world through collective music-making. Founded in June of 2021 in a living room in Brooklyn, Gaia was born out of a desire to create accessible, inclusive, playful spaces for people to explore connection, expression, healing, and release through collaborative song - spaces where folks feel empowered to make music free of judgment or expectation, and to make new friends as our full, beautiful, authentic selves.

We believe that communal music-making is a fundamental human practice, and this project seeks to build spaces for folks to nurture their relationship to music, whether they're shower singers, professional musicians, or anything in between.

All are welcome in Gaia spaces -- we seek to foster spaces of belonging for humans of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, classes, religions, abilities, national origins, languages, and musical experiences. All we ask is that you bring an open mind, a desire to connect, and a willingness to leave judgment of self and others at the door.

Bryant Park lends out hundreds of free blankets on a first come, first served basis, or bring your own cotton or fleece blanket. To protect the lawn, please do not sit on waterproof materials such as plastic tarps, yoga mats, or inflatable chairs. 

Take a seat in one of the pre-set chairs on the lawn or grab a chair from the gravel. You can use a chair anywhere on the lawn except for the center lawn blanket zone. 

Purchase food and drinks from tents on the east side of the lawn or bring your own picnic. Look for Stout NYC and Heaster Street Fair vendors, and be sure to visit the Bryant Park Shop, too!

Visit the Bryant Park Shop tent for exclusive Picnic Performances merchandise and more.

Find a parachute, hula hoops, and more fun on the east side of the lawn at select events. 

Dogs are welcome on the gravel and bluestone, but not on the lawn.

Performances are cancelled when it is unsafe to be outdoors. In some cases, the lawn may be too wet to open but the performance may continue. Follow @bryantparknyc for day-of event updates. You can also check the lawn status on the bryantpark.org homepage.