“Waterway Horns” is a singular artistic initiative commissioned and designed by Make Music New York to spotlight NYC’s vital public waterfront gathering spaces through the power of music. This Special Project will make its debut as the premier program of our annual music festival to be held on the summer Sosltice, June 21, 2025.
In partnership with the non-profit Tideland Institute, the Shoofly tugboat has been out-fitted with a custom-designed Wurlitzer organ, as well as salvaged and refurbished ship horns and bells, to broadcast a new composition that will literally (and littorally) activate the East River tidal estuary with a waterborne music spectacle auditable and viewable from dozens of shorefronts across Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens.
The score amplified from the Shoofly will be complemented by live brass and horn performances at several key “stages” along its route: the East River Promenade at 10th Street (East Village, MN); Pier 17 (Financial District, MN); Brooklyn Bridge Park’s Granite Prospect (Brooklyn Heights, BK); WNYC Transmitter Park (Greenpoint, BK); and Hunter’s Point South Park (Long Island City, QN). These live programs will be led by the specially assembled Landlubber Ensemble, under the direction of acclaimed com-poser/musician Stefan Zeniuk, in a dynamic and integrated call and response fashion. And in keeping with Make Music’s participatory ethos, the Landlubbers will invite and welcome additional professional and amateur ensembles and horn players through an open registration process.
Additional viewing locations that “Waterway Horns” will pass by include East River Park (MN), Piers 1, 2 & 3 of Brooklyn Bridge Park (BK), Empire Fulton Ferry (BK), Pebble Beach (BK), Domino Park (BK), Grand Ferry Park (BK), North Fifth Street Pier (BK), Marsha P. Johnson State Park (BK), Bushwick Inlet Park (BK), Greenpoint Public Park (BK), Newtown Barge Playground (BK), Gantry Plaza State Park (QN), the south end of Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms State Park (MN), East Midtown Greenway (MN), Malt Drive Park (QN), Under the K Bridge Park (BK), and Plank Road Public Shoreline (QN).
More About Tideland Institute
The Tideland Institute connects New Yorkers to our harbor by building on-water opportunities for physical access, celebration, and creative engagement.
It believes that vibrant waterways are good for both people and our environment. Vibrant means an extension of the city — a place where diverse industry, recreation, and culture all coexist. Vibrant also means that we are using our harbor as the place to do this work — the work of creating and imagining the possibilities of being a coastal city. The Tideland Institute builds infrastructure: a floating library and public docks. And they create events and experiences: celebrations, workshops, boat-in concerts, and opportunities for stakeholders to form community. They also share resources through grants, residencies, and technical support so diverse voices can influence the harbor's future.
More About Stefan Zeniuk
Stefan is a New York City-based musician, composer, and animator. He has been featured in the New York Times; has appeared on Saturday Night Live, NPR’s Tiny Desk, and Europe’s Arte Live; and has had his films featured on Billboard.com and NPR.com, as well as at the Venice Film Festival. As a composer, he has been a recipient of two Meet The Composer grants, and the Jean A. Edson award for composition; and has been commission by MoMA, CIMA (center for Italian art), The Collective Museum, Tideland Institute; and the United States Air Force Europe (USAFE). As a saxophonists and multi-reedist, he is known for specializing in low-horns, including the bass saxophone and bass clarinet, and has performed and/or recorded with The Violent Femmes, Vampire Weekend, Father John Misty, and Hal Willner.