A new tech-forward installation at the Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in Battery Park City uses non-generative AI systems to allow visitors to have conversations with ten real Holocaust survivors, each one a member of the museum’s Speakers Bureau.
Dubbed “Survivor Stories: An Interactive Dialog,” the installation has also been uploaded to the institution’s website, available as a web resource for anyone who can’t make it in.
According to an official press release, the ten featured survivors were filmed on-site last summer, “where they answered an extensive list of interview questions developed by partnering institutions [USC Shoah Foundations and USC Libraries] and informed by the questions most frequently posed by students and teachers when meeting with survivors and Holocaust educators.”
Museum goers will be able to use the large, interactive on-site screen to ask questions and receive corresponding pre-recorded video answers from the subjects, devoid of manipulation. Website users will be able to have a similar experience through their personal screens.
It’s important to note that the technology used to develop the installation “does not interpret, imagine, manipulate nor generate new or composite responses,” according to the press release. The AI simply matches and plays back an unedited answer in response to a question.
“Meeting a survivor and hearing from that person a firsthand account of lived experience has a profound impact on young people,” said Dr. Paul Radensky, Senior Director for Education at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, in an official statement. “It helps develop their sense of empathy and a deeper level of knowing like no history book can.”
The timing of the installation’s debut is especially significant, as it coincides with Holocaust Remembrance Day, marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz. This serves as a powerful reminder that the atrocities committed during World War II are still within living memory, underscoring the importance of continuing efforts to ensure we never forget.
When it comes to sports dynasties, no city does it better than New York. With iconic franchises that have achieved the rare and celebrated “three-peat” (winning three consecutive championships), New York holds a unique place in sports history.
A three-peat occurs when a team wins three championships in a row. It’s a rare feat due to the competitive nature of professional leagues, grueling schedules, and unexpected challenges. Achieving a three-peat cements a team’s legacy and makes it a permanent part of sports folklore.
NY Arrows: They were an indoor football team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978-1984. They were winners of the MISL’s first four championships.
New York Greek American: A New York City-based American soccer team. The team is one of the oldest American soccer clubs and plays its games at the Metropolitan Oval in Maspeth, Queens. They won the National Challenge Cup from 1967 to 1969.
Why New York is so dominant
New York’s combination of financial resources, passionate fanbase, and access to top talent creates the perfect formula for building dominant teams. The city’s cultural love for winning also pushes athletes and management to consistently deliver championship-level performances.
A cultural legacy beyond sports
Even if you don’t follow sports, the legacy of these winning teams has influenced pop culture, fashion, and New York pride. Yankees hats, for example, have become global fashion statements.
As modern teams like the Yankees, Mets, Knicks, and Liberty aim to replicate past successes, New Yorkers are eager for another era of dominance. Could there be another historic three-peat on the horizon? Only time will tell.
There are a ton of bakeries all around New York and, yet, none of them exclusively focus on one of the most underrated pastries out there: the cinnamon roll. Sunday Morning, a just-opened destination at 29 Avenue B near 3rd Street in the East Village, is changing that by serving a menu featuring ten different types of rolls daily alongside a range of coffee-based beverages.
Photograph: Jeremiah Dalmacio
The brainchild of chef Armando Litiatco and Ahmet Kiranbay, who also own the popular Rana Fifteen in Brooklyn, the bakery goes all in on Litiatco’s favorite pastry.
“He felt it was hard to find a great one in New York City, so, on his Sundays off, he would bake his own at home—hence the name Sunday Morning,” reads an official press release. “The cinnamon rolls are made in the classic American style: soft and pillowy with a save-the-center-for-last texture and served warm.”
Photograph: Jeremiah Dalmacio
The culinary guru was able to develop a recipe that uses less sugar than traditional cinnamon rolls call for, with the addition of premium ingredients like Belgian Callebaut chocolate, bread flour, house-made fruit preserves, caramel, pralines, frosting and custard. Seems intense? Get this: the dough is proofed three times, so the whole process takes about 6 hours for each batch of rolls.
Photograph: Jeremiah Dalmacio
Every day, patrons can expect a classic and glazed roll ($8 each) and a rotating selection of eight other flavors for $8.50 a piece, including a chocolate almond babka with dark chocolate and almonds; a guava and cheese variety inspired by Cuban pastelito pastries; a bananas foster with dark rum, banana liqueur caramel and caramelized bananas on top; and a blueberry lemon curd with house-made preserve and lemon curd.
Photograph: Jeremiah Dalmacio
Perhaps the most enticing lineup entry at the moment, though, is the ube macapuno with coconut preserve and ube yema—basically, Filipino custard with purple yam.
Sounds like we’ll be having cinnamon rolls for breakfast, lunch and dinner for the next few weeks at the very least.
From its legendary venues like Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center to housing world-class orchestras, NYC offers something special for every classical music enthusiast. This year, the classical scene promises an exciting blend of star-studded performances by the New York and the Vienna Philharmonic, Lang Lang and London Symphony Orchestra, and undoubtedly, lots of timeless masterpieces. Explore NYC’s rich tradition of symphonic excellence with our top classical concert picks throughout 2025.
The New York Philharmonic has started the new year with a stellar lineup and diverse program. One of its highlights includes the Lunar New Year Concert celebrating the Year of the Snake on February 11, led by Maestra Tianyi Lu.
It is also welcoming two highly-anticipated young conductors, namely Karina Canellakis, whose debut performance with the Philharmonic was named one of the New York Times’ “Best Classical Performances of 2024” and the chief conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Santtu-Matias Rouvali.
Another heavy hitter in the classical music world—the Metropolitan Opera—is also hosting sensational performances by celebrated artists.
A few worth mentioning are firstly, Angel Blue who is making her Met role debut as Aida and Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča as Amneris in Verdi’sAida, conducted by Hungarian Maestro Nézet-Séguin. Furthermore, Aigul Akhmetshina is returning to the Met as Rosina in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia. Other much-anticipated soloists include Amartuvshin Enkhbat from Mongolia and Lise Davison from Norway, who are set to appear in various productions.
Featuring two Beethoven sonatas and Quintet in F major for Two Violins, Two Violas, and Cello by Anton Bruckner, top-tier musicians—including Pinchas Zuckerman on violin—are set to wow audiences with technical brilliance at one of the most keenly awaited classical concerts of the year.
You might tune in to see their iconic New Year’s Concert at the end of your festive celebrations or you may be familiar with their two-century-long legacy. Either way, the acclaimed Philharmonic is taking over the Stern Auditorium for three consecutive days this year under the direction of Maestro Riccardo Muti and they’re bringing their Viennese-style instruments with them.
Concertmaster Carmine Lauri and cellist Peter Adams of the Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra team up with pianist Russell Hirshfield to perform a selection of rarely hear piano trios, such as Schubert’s Notturno in E-flat Major for Piano Trio, D. 897 and Jennifer Higdon “Pale Yellow” from Piano Trio.
Led by Conductor Sir Antonio Pappano, the London Symphony Orchestra returns to Carnegie Hall with back-to-back performances. The most recorded orchestra in the world will take on Mahler’s First Symphony, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with a special appearance by superstar pianist Yunchan Lim, among other well-known pieces.
From performing on the world’s oldest and biggest stages including the Beijing Olympics and at the 2014 Grammy Awards with Metallica to collaborating with crossover artists in the likes of Herbie Hancock and Pharrell, Lang Lang remains an enduring icon in the world of music.
This year, the renowned pianist is touring the world and stopping in NYC where he’ll take on pieces by Chopin, Schumann and Fauré. Watching Lang Lang perform live should be on your bucket list. You have two shots to cross him off your list as he’ll take over Carnegie Hall twice this spring.
This novel initiative features works by narrative-driven composer and flutist Erin Spencer and 2020 Latin GRAMMY® Winning contemporary classical composer and flutist José Valentino. Performed by the talented Beta Quartet, hear breathtaking chamber music guided by the melodies of the flute.
May 22, 2025
Benzaquen Hall, DiMenna Center for Classical Music
New England Symphonic Ensemble spring concerts
The NESE started as a youth ensemble in 1964 and has now become a huge platform for young musicians to play on world-renowned stages. This year, they return to NYC with performances of Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia X, Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass, Mack Wilberg’s A Cloud of Witnesses, and more. Expect to see conductors like Kathleen Hansen, Sterling Poulson and Cailin Marcel Manson take the baton on selected dates.
The celebrated New York City-based chamber orchestra offers year-round classical concerts at Carnegie Hall and the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. But this performance of the Baroque composer’s Brandenburg Concerti is something you should keep an eye on as it’s an interpretation of the complete piece, inspired by the Margrave of Brandenburg.
During Lincoln Center’s annual Summer for the City, the festival comes together to offer free performances of classical masterpieces and contemporary works. This summer, fans of classical music can look forward to Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, Brahms’ Violin Concertowith Benjamin Beilman, Bologne’s Sinfonia Concertante in G, No. 2, and many more.
Every holiday season, the Distinguished Concerts International New York offer a captivating performance of Handel’s Messiah, presented in Mozart’s 1789 edition. The show features a combination of orchestral takes and choirs from diverse backgrounds and regions.
However, if you’re just getting into the genre, you don’t have to start big with costly performances. The globally celebrated Candlelight series offers a variety of classical tributes accessible for all audiences hosted at culturally significant venues across NYC, including The Sheen Center and Sony Hall. These shows pay homage to celebrated composers like Vivaldi and Joe Hisaishi as well as contemporary icons, such as Taylor Swift, Queen and Coldplay hits.
Year-round shows
Various locations
Source: Secret NYC
This year’s upcoming classical concerts highlight the city’s unmatched cultural vibrancy with stellar performances of renowned classics and contemporary works. Each show is unique in instrumentation and character, making them great plans for every classical music aficionado.
New York Yankees: The Yankees have accomplished this incredible feat three times (1936-1939, 1949-1953, and 1998-2000). They remain 
New York Islanders: This NHL franchise 
NY Arrows: They were an indoor football team that played in the original Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) from 1978-1984. They were winners of the MISL’s first four championships.
New York Greek American: A New York City-based American soccer team. The team is one of the oldest American soccer clubs and plays its games at the Metropolitan Oval in Maspeth, Queens. They won the National Challenge Cup from 1967 to 1969.
February – December 2025
David Geffen Hall
