В исторической церкви Гринпоинта откроется новый культурный центр с концертами и лекциями

A historic Greenpoint church is opening its doors to a new performing arts center this fall, bringing chamber music, readings, screenings and other community programming to the neighborhood. St. John’s Lutheran Church, located at 155 Milton St., will launch The Cultural Center at St. John’s on Sept. 3 with a performance by Grammy-winning string quartet ETHEL. The opening-night concert will kick off a fall chamber music series intended to make the church a gathering place for the arts and the broader community. Tickets for the 6:30 p.m. performance are a $20 suggested donation, and organizers say no one will be turned away. “We’re thrilled to be launching with a music series that will feature ensembles who carry the progressive tradition of chamber music as a conversation between performers in an intimate social space rather than any strict fidelity to Western classical conventions,” Noelle Tannen, program director at The Cultural Center at St. John’s, said in a statement. The New York Community Trust supports the new center to help St. John’s remain open as a public venue for concerts, readings, screenings, and other community events. Craig Peterson, program director for the arts, culture and historic preservation at The New York Community Trust, said investing in local cultural centers is so important “amid cuts in arts funding and our city’s affordability crisis.” “We’re honored to have played a role in St. John’s new center, which will support local artists and bring arts programming to more communities in Greenpoint and beyond,” Peterson said in a statement. “We’re grateful to be able to provide this support thanks to our Edna Wells Luetz/Frederick Riedel Fund, which Mr. Riedel created at The Trust through his estate.” The church itself offers a distinctive setting for the performances. The neo-Gothic building, constructed in 1892, sits within the Greenpoint Historic District, with its two spires visible from across the river. Inside, the sanctuary features high vaulted blue ceilings and one of the few remaining tracker-action Jardine organs, built for the church’s loft in 1893. The space seats roughly 300 people. ETHEL, which has been performing for nearly three decades, blends traditional string quartet playing with contemporary music and multimedia collaborations. The group has premiered more than 500 works and has performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center and Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw. The quartet has also collaborated with artists including Ron Carter, Kurt Elling, Joe Jackson, David Byrne, Robert Mirabal and Bang on a Can All-Stars. The Cultural Center at St. John’s plans to expand its programming beyond chamber music in the coming months, with additional concerts, performing arts, film and literary events. Organizers say the center is intended to provide an accessible place for neighbors to experience the arts regardless of age or ability to pay. “A concert, a reading, or a film with a hundred people in the pews is part of the city’s ordinary joy that should extend to everyone,” organizers said in announcing the center. ETHEL will perform at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 3, at St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, 155 Milton St. in Greenpoint. The church is accessible via the G train at Greenpoint Avenue, as well as the B43 and B62 buses. Admission is a $20 suggested donation, with no one turned away.