Recent Project — Biophony: Solstice
Thousands experienced the summer solstice in a kaleidoscope of sound and ecstatic music.
June 20, 2024 • 5:00am and 7:30pm • Brooklyn Botanic Garden
See photo highlights
A landmark experience.
Biophony: Solstice featured a World Premiere arrangement of Simeon ten Holt's minimalist landmark, Canto Ostinato, created by Metropolis Ensemble, Sandbox Percussion, and Erik Hall, with composers Benjamin Wallace, alongside Ledah Finck, and David Leon, at sunrise and sunset on the longest day of the year.
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An epic collaboration.
Biophony: Solstice is the culmination of a four-season collaboration between Brooklyn Botanic Garden and Metropolis Ensemble, performed by over 50 percussionists (from Sandbox Percussion and the Mannes School of Music at The New School), instrumentalists from Metropolis Ensemble, and pianist Erik Hall.
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Biophony is a series of citywide site-specific music experiences for everyone.
30,000+
audience participants since 2021
580
musicians and composers employed
43
new original works commissioned
122
event locations across New York City
Expanding community access to the arts
The annual Biophony festival and pop-up concert series brings new music to world-class institutions, open streets, and public parks across the city in multi-year partnerships with organizations including Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Make Music New York, and NYC Department of Transportation.
Recent and upcoming Biophony events
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![A digital distorted photo of tree branches and green leaves against a blue sky with pixelated digital glitch effects.]()
Biophony Solstice 2024
June 20, 2024 | Music for sunrise and sunset at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
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![A street scene in New York City with a live band playing music outdoors. The band consists of five musicians, some playing saxophones, a double bass, a violin, and an accordion. They are performing on a cobblestone street surrounded by tall buildings, with the Brooklyn Bridge visible in the background. There are banners and a sign promoting the Metropolis Ensemble biophony project.]()
Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2023
June 10–24, 2023 | New music in new places that celebrate our city’s diverse neighborhoods.
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![People walking, sitting, and relaxing along a waterfront promenade with city buildings and trees in the background.]()
Face the Music 2023
May 6, 2023 | Choose your own sonic adventure with Metropolis and Kaufman Music Center’s teen new music program.
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![An indoor lush green botanical garden with various plants and ferns, enclosed in a glass greenhouse with sunlight streaming through. There are informational signs on a curved display at the bottom.]()
Biophony SoundGarden 2023
February 11–12, 2023 | An immersive soundbath experience in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden conservatory ecosystems.
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![A distorted digital image of a city skyline with tall buildings and a green park in the foreground.]()
Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2022
May 15–June 21, 2022 | Expanding community access to the performing arts across the city.
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![Colorful collage of lush green trees and pink flowering bushes.]()
Biophony Festival 2022
May 14, 2022 | An outdoor musical adventure at Brooklyn Botanic Garden, inspired by nature’s first musicians: birds.
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![A Japanese garden with a stone bridge over a pond, surrounded by lush green trees with some autumn-colored leaves and a red torii gate in the background.]()
Biophony Festival 2021
September 18, 2021 | Our inaugural “pandemic proof” festival at Brooklyn Botanic Garden.
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![Scenic landscape with rolling green hills, a river, and distant mountains under blue skies with scattered white clouds.]()
Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2021
July 21–September 17, 2021 | Introducing a city-wide ritual bringing new music to new places.
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![A street scene with a small live music performance by a band playing instruments including a violin and saxophone, with three people performing. Colorful paper lanterns and umbrellas decorate the street, which features signs for businesses like a beauty salon and an employment agency.]()
Biophony Pop-Up NYC 2024
August 31—September 29, 2024 | Discover an immersive soundtrack across New York City’s neighborhoods.
Supporting 500+ expert musicians since 2021
Our diverse independent artists in the Metropolis community collaborate to create each site-specific Biophony event using a self-organizing digital platform and present flexible musical works for any combination of instruments at a variety of scales.
Meet some of our Biophony artists
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![Black and white portrait of a young man wearing a flat cap and a zip-up shirt, smiling subtly, with a soft light and blurred background.]()
Ricardo Romaneiro
Composer, Electronics
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![A young woman with shoulder-length brown hair, wearing a sleeveless black top with ruffled edges, sitting outdoors in a grassy area with trees in the background during late afternoon sunlight.]()
Claire Dickson
Composer, Vocals
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![A young man with long dreadlocks, glasses, and a beard, adjusting his glasses while wearing a red beanie and a patterned shirt, standing against a purple background.]()
Joel Ross
Composer, Percussion
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![Portrait of a young woman with natural curly hair, wearing a black top and a thin necklace, standing against a red background.]()
Eden Girma
Vocals
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![Portrait of a young woman with light brown hair tied in a bun, standing outdoors in an urban setting during daytime.]()
Charlotte Greve
Composer, Saxophone
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![Portrait of a man with a thick afro hairstyle, beard, and mustache, wearing a brown jacket over a blue shirt, standing outdoors with a blurred background.]()
Matthew Evan Taylor
Composer, Flute
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![Close-up of a woman with brown hair and brown eyes, wearing a navy blue shirt with white paint splatters, looking directly at the camera with natural light on her face.]()
Ananya Ganesh
Piano
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![Person squatting, holding two flutes, with other flutes on the floor, against a plain white background.]()
Isabel Lepanto Gleicher
Flute
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![A young man with glasses, shoulder-length wavy hair, a mustache and beard, wearing a light-colored button-up shirt, smiling outdoors with a blurred natural background.]()
Andres Abenante
Guitar
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![A woman with dark hair, wearing a black top, covering her mouth with her hand, with colorful lighting in the background.]()
Hannah Sumner
Composer, Vocals
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![Portrait of a person with long dreadlocks, wearing glasses and a black long-sleeve top, posing with hands clasped against a light-colored background.]()
Immanuel Wilkins
Composer, saxophone
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![Portrait of a woman with short, curly hair and earrings, looking at the camera with a neutral expression, against a plain light background.]()
Shara Lunon
Composer, Vocals
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![Young man with long dark hair and facial hair holding a flute and a clarinet crossed in front of his chest against an orange background.]()
Pablo O’Connell
Composer, oboe
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![Young man with dreadlocks and a beard, wearing a checkered shirt, standing outdoors with a blurred green forest background.]()
Tyrone Allen
Percussion
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![A man with curly hair holding a trumpet, illuminated in yellow light, with curtains and part of a monitor in the background.]()
Adam O'Farrill
Trumpet
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![A young woman with shoulder-length black hair, wearing a white blazer, looking confident against a plain white background.]()
Erika Dohi
Composer, Synths
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![Portrait of a man with dark skin, short hair, wearing a purple shirt, holding a gold trumpet.]()
Burt Mason
Composer, Trombone
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![A young man with light skin, black hair, and facial hair, wearing a denim shirt, standing in front of a red wall.]()
Yuma Uesaka
Composer, Clarinet
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![Portrait of a woman with short, tousled brown hair wearing a leopard print top against a neutral background.]()
Sara Serpa
Composer, Vocals
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![A man wearing glasses, a black cap, and a black shirt, smiling in an indoor setting with a wooden shelf holding books, electronics, and plants in the background.]()
Zekkereya El Magharbel
Composer, Trombone
Producing immersive musical adventures
Biophony events are free, accessible, and “pandemic proof” experiences that draw thousands of participants to unexpected areas in the city that are rarely offered new music, uniting neighbors and artists together in locally-relevant spaces.
Looking for the next Biophony event?
Be the first to hear new music from Metropolis.
Go behind the scenes at our concerts.
Looking for the next Biophony event? Be the first to hear new music from Metropolis. Go behind the scenes at our concerts.
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Creative Collaborators
Special thanks to the Metropolis Brain Trust: our thought-partners who helped make each Biophony project possible:
Jakub Ciupinski • Ryan Francis • Kate Gilmore • Paula Matthusen • Phong Tran • Amelia Brey • Jay Julio • Lesley Mok • Isabel Crespo Pardo • Ricardo Romaneiro
Support Biophony + Metropolis
100% of your donation can brings our Biophony projects to life, empowering and employing hundreds of artists. Together we can amplify impact and promote greater access to the arts.