Biophony is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts, New York City Cultural Affairs, The Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, The Blanchette Hooker Rockefeller Fund, and a constellation of generous donors and foundations, with additional support from Make Music New York and NYC DOT.

September 18, 2021 • 1-4pm
Brooklyn Botanic Garden
990 Washington Avenue • Brooklyn

Come join us as we 90+ musicians present the works of 75 composers newly commissioned to create flexible, open-score pieces for outdoor performances.

Use a LISTENING MAP to discover over 20 groupings of musicians planted throughout Brooklyn Botanic Garden's stunning 52-acre site. Each performance and listener-experience of Biophony will be unique, as determined by the unlimited flexibility of instrumentations, the topography of the site, and the freedom given to participants to choose their own musical adventure.

This event, presented for the first time as part of Make Music Autumn, is the grand finale of Metropolis Ensemble’s summer-long project where the orchestra-collective's musicians and composers created their own new music pop-up events across NYC.

General Admission

$18 adult / $12 student with ID / $12 senior 65+ with ID / $0 child under 12

Metropolis Subscribers

Check your email for details of a free ticket offer for this event.

Brooklyn Botanic Garden

Founded in 1910, Brooklyn Botanic Garden (BBG) is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment. Situated on 52 acres in the heart of Brooklyn and open year-round, the Garden is home to over 12,000 kinds of plants and more than 30 specialty gardens.

For hours, directions, and admission information, see bbg.org. Visitor entrances are at 990 Washington Avenue, 150 Eastern Parkway, and 455 Flatbush Avenue. Find out what’s in bloom, read the Garden’s blog, and learn what’s happening. Follow @brooklynbotanic on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and join the conversation using #BrooklynBotanicGarden.

Make Music New York

Make Music New York celebrates the talents and passions of local NYC musicians; connects New Yorkers to their communities and with each other; brings bold new artistic creations to life; and energizes the shared social spaces that make NYC a cultural capital.

Our mission is ambitious, inclusive, adventurous and fun, and we accomplish it by producing two annual flagship celebrations: the eponymous Make Music New York, held each summer solstice on June 21st; and Make Music Winter, held each winter solstice on December 21st. To support local musicians as NYC emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Make Music Autumn will make its debut September 18-19, 2021, with a small series of curated, free, outdoor programs.

Support our Artists

Metropolis Ensemble is on a mission to empower outstanding performers and composers through the creation of new work, during and beyond the pandemic. Make a sustaining gift today.

Metropolis Creators

Each of our digital projects, developed in the midst of the pandemic, provide opportunities for our artists to do what they do best: make and share new music with music lovers everywhere.

For Musicians

• Create your own novel groupings (4-10 players)

• Select any number of newly commissioned Biophony works to intermix and play.

• In your pod, consider the surroundings of your location, proximity to other ensembles and what they are performing, and the listener participants who are present.

For Composers

• Create your own small collaborative groups and together, compose new music for nonspecific instruments.

• Creative prompts, loops, graphic scores, games, cells — invent your own novel system to achieve your open score.

• Individual pieces commissioned for Biophony, are for outdoor, acoustic-only performances.

• Spaced throughout a large geographic area, park, or field, pieces for Biophony are experienced individually and as a whole.

For Audiences

• For the listener: your decisions will shape your experience.

• Each performance and listener-experience of Biophony will be unique, as determined by the unlimited flexibility of instrumentations and groupings, the topography of the site, and the freedom given to participants to choose their own musical adventure.

• Biophony encourages exploration between music, site, listeners self-determination, and musicians interacting with all these moving elements.