Seventy Students from the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami Take the Stage to Perform at a Sold-Out Concert in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center

The Frost Symphony Orchestra, Under the Direction of Gerard Schwarz, Played "San Juan Hill: A New York Story," Composed by Frost School Professor Etienne Charles, Presented as Part of the Legacies of San Juan Hill Festival at Lincoln Center

CORAL GABLES, Fla., Oct. 24, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- In a testament to the excellence of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and the Frost Symphony Orchestra, 70 Frost School students traveled from Miami to New York City to perform "San Juan Hill: A New York Story," with Etienne Charles & Creole Soul, under the direction of Frost Symphony Orchestra Director Gerard Schwarz, to a sold-out crowd in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, on Thurs., Oct. 23. Composed by Frost School Professor Etienne Charles, "San Juan Hill: A New York Story" commemorates the people and cultures of San Juan Hill, the neighborhood that once filled the area where Lincoln Center is now located. The work was commissioned by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts for the New York Philharmonic to celebrate the reopening of David Geffen Hall in 2022. Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is presenting the second performance of "San Juan Hill: A New York Story" as one of the central events of the Legacies of San Juan Hill Festival, which is aimed at celebrating the artistic legacy of this historic neighborhood with a multi-day festival of live performance, film, and interactive events that shine a light on the artists who created there and the community that inspired them.

"San Juan Hill: A New York Story" is an immersive multimedia creation that celebrates a vital chapter of New York City through music, visuals, and first-person accounts. Blending diverse musical styles, including ragtime, jazz, stride piano, swing, blues, mambo, paseo, Antillean waltz, calypso, funk, disco, and Hip-Hop, with historical film and compelling narratives, the work showcases the myriad cultures that migrants brought to New York from the American South and the Caribbean. Featuring Etienne Charles & Creole Soul, the Frost Symphony Orchestra and special guests, the piece is a testament to the enduring spirit and forgotten stories of a community that helped shape New York City's cultural landscape.

Etienne Charles, Professor of Studio Music and Jazz at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami said, "When Lincoln Center invited me back to perform 'San Juan Hill: A New York Story,' I immediately accepted with one important caveat - that I be joined by the Frost Symphony Orchestra as directed by classical music legend Gerard Schwarz, one of our greatest conductors. I am proud to pay homage to the rich artistic legacy of San Juan Hill together with this fantastic orchestra of Frost School students who I'm confident will help shape our cultural future. The piece was inspired by the vibrant culture and history of a New York City community that was home to people who created an often overlooked cultural heritage reflecting their wide-ranging origins, dreams for the future, and passion for music and culture. The audience will be able to hear, see, and experience 'San Juan Hill: A New York Story' via a multi-sensory visual, musical, and narrative experience that will bring this vital neighborhood to electrifying life. I am able to do so thanks to the musical prowess of my band and students from one of the top music schools in the world."

The Frost Symphony Orchestra is the Frost School of Music's premiere classical music ensemble and provides invaluable performance experience to the nearly 100 undergraduate and graduate students that make up the full group. Some of the ensemble's recent achievements include a live recording of Beethoven's 9^th Symphony, which was recently nominated for a Suncoast Emmy Award, and a multimedia presentation of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition." Both performances were broadcast on over 200 PBS stations nationwide. Since the fall of 2024, the Frost Symphony Orchestra has performed works created through Maestro Gerard Schwarz's centennial commission series celebrating the Frost School's upcoming 100^th birthday, with original pieces by Pulitzer Prize-winning composers Bernard Rands and Paul Moravec, famed GRAMMY-winning composer Augusta Read Thomas; and by Frost School faculty members Etienne Charles, the composer of "San Juan Hill: A New York Story"; Emmy and GRAMMY winning television and film composer Carlos Rafael Rivera; and Dorothy Hindman, an associate professor of composition. The Frost Symphony Orchestra's concert on Oct. 23 marks the first time in recent years that the Frost Symphony Orchestra has performed in New York City, and it is the group's debut performance at the world-renowned Lincoln Center.

Gerard Schwarz, Distinguished Professor of Music, Conducting, and Orchestral Studies at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami and Music Director of the Frost Symphony Orchestra said, "From my earliest years, I have been involved with Lincoln Center in so many ways, including being a member of the New York Philharmonic, spending 20 years directing the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and performing or conducting in every hall and building there. I appreciate each of the remarkable opportunities I've experienced within the revered walls of this much respected and honored cultural institution. That's why it's especially meaningful to bring the remarkably gifted students from the Frost School of Music to Alice Tully Hall, and to be able to do so with Etienne Charles whose wonderful talent and work I greatly respect and admire."

The Frost School faculty regularly seek out opportunities for students to gain real-world, professional-caliber experience. That's why the school sought to enable 70 Frost School students to travel to New York City to perform at Lincoln Center, and why its donors helped support this valuable experience.

Dean Shelton G. "Shelly" Berg of the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami said, "Transformative performance opportunities for the Frost Symphony Orchestra are made possible by endowments funded by a cadre of valuable supporters. It's thanks to them that we were able to bring nearly the entire orchestra to New York City for this incredible invitation to perform in storied Alice Tully Hall. Our dedicated supporters know the value that comes from the real-world professional experiences our elite music school offers to Frost School of Music students, and this performance will surely have a profound and lasting  impact on the future trajectories of each of the students who will perform 'San Juan Hill: A New York Story' with the legendary Gerard Schwarz and the award-winning Etienne Charles."

About the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami
Established in 1926, the highly acclaimed Frost School of Music at the University of Miami is one of the top music schools in the world. In addition to being repeatedly recognized as a top music business school by Billboard magazine, the Frost School is listed as a top music school by Downbeat Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, InTune Magazine, Musical America Worldwide, Niche, College Factual, and U.S. News and World Report, among others. Students choose to attend the school for its innovative and dynamic curriculum; real-world opportunities in the U.S. and abroad; award-winning, highly regarded faculty; access to local Latin music record labels, festivals, and artists; and its state-of-the-art campus in Miami, one of the top music cities in the world.

Students who attend the Frost School benefit from its "THIS AND" approach to education thanks to its priority on combining traditional concentrations with cutting-edge programs that equip students with the artistic, technological, and entrepreneurial skills needed for success in today's world. Referred to as the Frost Method^®, this unique approach enables students to become well-rounded musicians and industry professionals. Around the world, Frost School alumni are known as being "Frost Built," a term that's become synonymous with the music creators, performers, educators, therapists, technologists, and industry professionals of the future who are ready to realize their professional passions, establish themselves as leaders, and make real contributions to society - thanks to their multidisciplinary education.

More information on the Frost School is available at frost.miami.edu.

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SOURCE Frost School of Music at the University of Miami