At Miller Theatre in Morningside Heights, NYC: Free Pop-Up Concert With Hub New Music Tonight

Miller Theatre at Columbia University runs a series of Pop-Up Concerts: free, hour-long weeknight performances held early in the evening. Audience members sit onstage, receive a complimentary drink, and can mingle with the musicians and other concertgoers after the show.

Tonight, Tuesday, November 10, the ensemble Hub New Music makes its Miller Theatre debut. The group has built its reputation as a champion of living composers, and the official page quotes The Washington Post calling it "a prime mover of piping hot 21st-century repertoire."

The program is built from recent works. It includes Christopher Cerrone's Barnes Dances (2024) and New Addresses (2020), Elijah Daniel Smith's Stagnation Blues (2024), and Dai Wei's How the Stars Vanish... (2021).

Doors open at 5:30 PM and the music starts at 6 PM. Admission is free, and onstage seating is first-come, first-served. The timing suits a stop on the way home from work or class, and the format is a low-pressure way to try contemporary music.

The next Pop-Up Concert is Tuesday, December 1, at 6 PM, with pianist Steven Beck. The theater is at 2960 Broadway in Morningside Heights.