July 12, 2022
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: James Stephen Smith 516-313-4568, [email protected]
Director of Media Relations
Queens, NY (July 12, 2022) – Following a two-year COVID-19 interruption, St. John’s University’s Annual Great Lawn Summer Concert returns to the Queens campus on Thursday, July 28 from 7 to 9 p.m.
The 22nd annual concert features jazz overtones and classical masterpieces performed by the Queens Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Music Director Maestro Martin Majkut. Guests should enter through Gate #1 on Utopia Parkway before the 7 p.m. start and bring chairs and blankets.
“For over a generation, we have worked with the Queens Symphony Orchestra in bringing some of the finest music to the people of Queens and surrounding communities,” said Joseph Sciame, the University’s Vice President for Community Relations and event sponsor. “The financial support provided by Con Edison and University funds make it possible for us to offer everyone a chance to sit back and enjoy music from around the world.”
“This year’s jazz theme,” Mr. Sciame added, “promises to inspire our guests to keep in step to the sounds of music.”
Founded in 1953 and in its 69th season, the Queens Symphony Orchestra is the borough’s only professional orchestra and the oldest and largest professional arts organization in Queens.
The two main pieces to be performed are George Gershwin’s “An American in Paris” and Roberto Molinelli’s “Four Pictures from New York.” This jazzy homage to New York City will be performed by internationally renowned saxophonist Otis Murphy.
The orchestra will also play the deeply moving “Prayer for Ukraine,” a non-jazz work by Ukrainian composer Valentin Silvestrov.
For more information about the summer concert, contact Paul Lazauskas, Associate Director of Community Relations at St. John’s University, by calling (718) 990-1912 or e-mail inquiries to [email protected].
For media inquiries, please contact the University’s Office of Media Relations at 718-990-1621; [email protected].
WHAT: St. John’s University 22nd Annual Summer Concert Featuring the Queens Symphony Orchestra
WHEN: Tuesday, July 28that 7 p.m.
WHERE: St. John’s University Queens Campus
Great Lawn
8000 Utopia Parkway
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About St. John’s University
St. John’s University is a private, coeducational, Roman Catholic University founded in 1870 by the Congregation of the Mission (the Vincentians), with its main campus located in Queens, NY. St. John’s University also has campuses and locations in Staten Island and Manhattan; in Rome, Italy; in Paris, France; and in Limerick, Ireland. St. John’s University is comprised of six colleges, including the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, The Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies, St. John’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, The Peter J. Tobin College of Business (including the Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management, Insurance and Actuarial Science), The School of Education, and the School of Law.
As of Fall 2021, the University has 1,410 full-time and part-time faculty, 15,452 undergraduate students, and 4,206 graduate students who come from 48 states and 118 countries. St. John's offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, including 15 doctoral programs.