Lungs of the City:
Olmsted’s Parks in Music

In 2022 American Wild Ensemble is thrilled to collaborate with Landscape Music, Juventas New Music Ensemble, and Michigan Technological University Department of Visual and Performing Arts to present a new program commemorating the bicentennial of the birth of Frederick Law Olmsted. Known as the grandfather of American landscape architecture and the designer of world-famous sites from New York City’s Central Park to the grounds of the Biltmore Estate, Olmsted’s living legacy is found in landscapes across the country and beyond.

Lungs of the City: Olmsted’s Parks in Music will feature new works by Oliver Caplan, Nell Shaw Cohen, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Libby Meyer, Ayumi Okada, Justin Ralls, Christina Rusnak, and Ryan Suleiman, all members of Landscape Music, a network of composers and performers whose music engages with landscape, nature, and place.

These eight musical responses to notable designs by Olmsted and his sons’ firm, Olmsted Brothers, will take audiences on an imaginative journey from New England to the Pacific Northwest. Locations to be highlighted include New York City’s Central Park, Prospect Park, and Fort Tryon Park; Boston’s Emerald Necklace and Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site; Atlanta’s Olmsted Linear Park; Detroit’s Bell Isle Park; Portland’s Forest Park; and Seattle’s Cal Anderson Park.

Lungs of the City is a Celebration Partner of Olmsted 200, the nationwide Olmsted bicentennial celebration led by the National Association of Olmsted Parks.

american wild ensemble performances

May 27, 2022
The Dongan Lawn at Fort Tryon Park, Manhattan

May 28, 2022
The Boathouse at Prospect Park, Brooklyn

May 28, 2022
City College of New York, Manhattan

August 7 - 6:00 PM
Highland Park Bowl, Rochester, NY

Join us for a free outdoor performance of our Olmsted works, presented by the Highland Park Conservancy! Learn more about Highland Park’s full afternoon of festivities at the following Eventbrite link.

Composers

Featured Performers

Emlyn Johnson, flute
Ellen Breakfield-Glick, clarinet
Joel Ockerman, horn
Lauren Cauley, Molly McDonald, violin
Molly Goldman, viola
Daniel Ketter, cello
Colleen Bernstein, percussion

Partners