As our lives — slowly but surely — go back to normal, we are learning to reconnect: with friends and family, places, communities, and the things we love that bring us joy. Let’s listen to music by composers trying to reconnect with the people and places they miss. Will music help them to feel closer?



Dvořák’s Cello Concerto (for Ages 6–12)

Czech composer Antonín Dvořák spent three years living and working in New York City. Discover how he used the sound of the cello to reconnect with his beloved Bohemia and how his mixed-up feelings about longing for home were expressed through musical contrasts.

Meet the Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Get to know Antonín Dvořák, Bohemia’s most famous composer. Learn about his time in New York and his adventures in America.

The Cello Finds Its Voice

Join Teaching Artist Mitch Lyon to discover what “register” means in music and how Antonín Dvořák’s famous Cello Concerto showcases the instrument’s rich palette of voices and colors.

Dvořák: Hometown Harmonies

Ever feel homesick? Join Philharmonic Teaching Artist JL Marlor’s exploration of how we can transport ourselves as composers inspired by our memories of home.

Anna Clyne’s Within Her Arms (for Ages 12+)

Sometimes it’s hard to express how we’re feeling, especially when emotions are overwhelming or confusing. Listen to how music and poetry can help us make sense of, and communicate, big feelings so we can reconnect with those we love.


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Meet the Composer: Anna Clyne

British composer Anna Clyne began writing music to perform with friends when she was a little girl. Discover some of her earliest works and learn how journaling has helped her compose and be creative.

Anna Clyne: Using Emotion as Inspiration

What do you do to feel better on your worst days? Philharmonic Teaching Artist JL Marlor shows us how journaling can be a tool to process our emotions creatively.

Within Her Arms: Poetry and Music

Words like music can have rhythms that impact their delivery. Join poet Mahogany Brown and Teaching Artist Zeynep Alpan for an exploration and activity around the music that words can help to create, and the poetry music can inspire.




Support for Young People’s Concerts is provided by The Theodore H. Barth Foundation, The Brodsky Family Foundation, and Sally E. Cummins.

Major support for the New York Philharmonic Very Young Composers Program is provided by Susan and Elihu Rose.

Additional funding is provided by The Staten Island Foundation; Muna and Basem Hishmeh; Mr. and Mrs. A. Slade Mills, Jr.; Billy Rose Foundation; The Rochlis Family Foundation; Calvin Solomon; The ASCAP Foundation; The West Family; and the Solender Family Funds.