A Lecture by Paul Goldberger, of The New Yorker, and Architect Michael Sorkin on Architecture in New York and Latin Jazz Performance by Chris Washburne and the S.Y.O.T.O.S Band Are Among Free December Programs at The New York Public Library

Throughout December, patrons of all ages will have the opportunity to attend a variety of free programs at The New York Public Library. City residents will have the opportunity to learn about the impact of architectural design on the New York skyline through a discussion with Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker, and Michael Sorkin, founder of the Michael Sorkin Studio. The discussion, “Architectural Explorations in Books-Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture,” will take place at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building on December 2. New York’s influential Latin Jazz Band, Chris Washburne and the S.Y.O.T.O.S Band, will perform at the Bronx Library Center on December 5, as part of the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Series.The Library presents more than 20,000 free public programs throughout its 87 branches in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island annually, complementing its broad collections and other services.A complete listing of events is available at www.nypl.org/events. More information on young adult programs at the Library is available at http://teenlink.nypl.org

Highlighted Programming for The New York Public Library in December

Architectural Explorations in Books - Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture
Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 6:00 p.m., Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, Manhattan
Paul Goldberger, architecture critic for The New Yorker, and Michael Sorkin, founder of the Michael Sorkin Studio will lead a discussion on the role of architecture in society as part of the “Architectural Explorations in Books” Series. Goldberger’s and Sorkin’s talk will touch on the impact of architecture styles on a person’s life and the judgment and praise that stem from architectural designs around the city. The conversation, which will draw on ideas from Goldberg’s novels Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture , Why Architecture Matters , and Sorkin’s Twenty Minutes in Manhattan, will be a worthwhile experience for city residents curious about how architectural advancements have shaped the New York skyline.The talk will be held in the Margaret Liebman Berger Forum (Room 227) in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.

A Very Lively Art: Producing Public Programs at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
Thursday, December 3, 2009, 6:00 p.m., The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, Manhattan
Alan Pally, Manager for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Public Programs, will lead a presentation reviewing the variety of public programs LPA has organized and exhibited throughout the years. Performing-arts lovers will have the opportunity to view audio and visual clips from past events featuring participants such as Mrs. Vincent Astor, Marcia Gay Harden, Julie Harris, Frank Langella, James Levine, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Pete Seeger, Bobby Short, David Strathairn, the Aswan Folkloric Dance Group of Egypt, and many others. These past participants are part of a rich tradition at the Library for Performing Arts which provides audience members with a wide assortment of free concerts, dance and theater performances, film screenings, lectures, and panel discussions each year.

Meet The Author: Jessica Bendinger
Friday, December 4, 4:00 p.m., Stephen A. Schwarzman Building Children’s Center at 42nd Street, Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street, Manhattan
Jessica Bendinger, the screenwriter, producer, and director who has written such films as Bring It On and Stick It, visits The New York Public Library to discuss her first teen novel coming out The Seven Rays. Teens are invited to come and listen to Ms. Bendinger discuss her writing career so far and what she has coming out next.

Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series presents Latin Jazz with Chris Washburne and the S.Y.O.T.O.S Band
Saturday, December 5, 2009, 2:30 p.m., Bronx Library Center, 310 East Kingsbridge Road, Bronx
The Bronx Library Center will host Chris Washburne and the S.Y.O.T.O.S. Band as part of the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert Series. Chris Washburne, labeled “one of the best trombonists in New York” by The New York Times is the founder and Director of Columbia University’s Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program and an assistant professor of ethnomusicology at Columbia University. As a freelance studio musician, he has extensive experience on the trombone, bass trombone, tuba, didjeridu, and on percussion instruments, recording and playing with musicians and groups of all genres, including The Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Celine Dion, Justin Timberlake, Bjork, Celia Cruz, and Tito Puente. Although Washburne is known for his ability to perform a wide variety of music styles and cross cultural boundaries, his Latin Jazz Group, S.Y.O.T.O.S, is one of the most popular Latin jazz groups in New York. Among S.Y.O.T.O.S’s four albums, their album Paradise in Trouble was nominated as the Best Latin Jazz Record of 2004 by the Jazz Journalists Association.

15 Days of Dance: The Making ofGhost Light
Thursday, December 17,2009, 6:00 p.m., The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, Manhattan
Filmmaker Elliot Caplan, choreographer Brian Reeder, and a collection ofAmerican Ballet Theater dancers will join the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on December 17th for the second part of the screening of 15 Days of Dance: The Making of Ghost Light. 15 Days of Dance, an 18 hour documentary, chronicles the choreographic process behind Brian Reeder’s new piece, a ballet for six dancers set to Music for the Theater by Aaron Copland commissioned by the Center for the Moving Image. Elliot Caplan’s intimate filming process with Brian Reeder and his dancers during the rehearsal stages of this production allowed Caplan to experiment with a new method of dance preservation. Throughout the screening, Caplan will show excerpts from 15 Days of Dance and engage Reeder and the dancers in a discussion about the creative process behind dance productions.

Highlighted Movie Screenings for The New York Public Library inDecember

Harlem Library Cinema Series: Black to Our Roots
Wednesday, December 2, 2009, 6:30 p.m., George Bruce Branch, 518 West 125th Street, Manhattan
The Harlem Library Cinema Series presents Black to Our Roots, a Tre WhitlowLiving film detailing the journey 17 year old Sylvia Dorsey takes to explore her ancestral home in Ghana in an attempt to escape the cycle of violence and poverty of her Atlanta neighborhood. The screening will be preceded by a Music Lounge at 6:00 and a Q&A session with a guest speaker will follow the screening.

Movie Time:Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
Thursday, December 3, 2009, 3:30 p.m., Yorkville Branch, 222 East 79th Street, Manhattan
“The question isn’t ‘what are we going to do,’ the question is ‘what aren’t we going to do?’” – Ferris Bueller
The late, great John Hughes wrote and directed this teen opus that documents one man’s struggle to take it easy.

Holiday Films Series: Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Friday, December 4, 2009, 2:00 p.m., 58th Street Branch, 127 East 58th Street, Manhattan
The 1940s Christmas classic, Miracle on 34th Street, returns to Manhattan during this holiday season at The New York Public Library. Through this heartwarming story about a Macy’s Santa Claus institutionalized for his claims that he is the true Kris Kringle and the legal battle that ensues, movie-lovers will be able to embrace the true spirit of Christmas.

Tortured Artists on Film: Capote (2005)
Monday, December 7, 2009, 6:00 p.m., Jefferson Market Branch, 425 Avenue of the Americas, Manhattan
Capote, is a biographical film detailing Truman Capote’s investigation of a brutal murder of a Kansas family. Philip Seymour Hoffman will shock viewers with his Oscar-winning portrayal of Capote, a conflicted writer dedicated to the research behind his non-fiction novel, In Cold Blood, whether or not it compromises his friendship with one of the brutal killers, Perry Smith.

Family Film Night: Muppet’s From Space (1999)
Thursday, December 10, 2009, 5:00 p.m., Huguenot Park Branch, 830 Huguenot Avenue, Staten Island
Family members of all ages will enjoy the humorous tale of an alien encounter as Tim Henson’ s Muppet characters return to the screen in Muppet’s From Space.

About The New York Public Library
The New York Public Library was created in 1895 with the consolidation of the private libraries of John Jacob Astor and James Lenox with the Samuel Jones Tilden Trust. The Library provides free and open access to its physical and electronic collections and information, as well as to its services. Its renowned research collections are located in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street; The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem; and the Science, Industry and Business Library at 34th Street and Madison Avenue. Eighty-seven branch libraries provide access to circulating collections and a wide range of other services in neighborhoods throughout the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Research and circulating collections combined total more than 50 million items. In addition, each year the Library presents thousands of exhibitions and public programs, which include classes in technology, literacy, and English for speakers of other languages. All in all The New York Public Library serves more than 17 million patrons who come through its doors annually and millions more around the globe who use its resources at www.nypl.org.
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Contact: Jon Pace | 212.592.7710 |Jonathan_Pace@nypl.org