{"id":215383,"date":"2026-04-30T13:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/215383\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T13:38:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:38:11","slug":"cm-ariola-hosts-queens-symphony-orchestra-at-russos-on-the-bay-in-howard-beach-for-a-night-at-the-opera-qns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/215383\/","title":{"rendered":"CM Ariola hosts Queens Symphony Orchestra at Russo\u2019s On The Bay in Howard Beach for \u2018A Night at the Opera\u2019 \u2013 QNS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608497 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Tenor-Alec-Carlson-and-Conductor-Italo-Marchini.-Not-pictured-Soprano-Laura-Soto-Bayomi.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\"  \/>Tenor Alec Carlson and Conductor Italo Marchini (not pictured \u2013 Soprano Laura Soto-Bayomi). Photo courtesy of the District Office of Council Member Joann Ariola<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cAccess to the arts should never be out of reach,\u201d said Ariola in a statement. \u201cSupporting the Queens Symphony Orchestra and organizing events like \u2018A Night at the Opera\u2019 allows us to bring high-quality performances directly into our neighborhoods, and gives residents the opportunity to experience live music close to home.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The guest musicians, Italo Marchini (Conductor), Alec Carlson (Tenor) and Laura Soto-Bayomi (Soprano) graced the upscale catering venue, located at 162-45 Cross Bay Blvd., to the delight of the evening\u2019s attendees.<\/p>\n<p>Led by Music Director Martin Majkut, the Queens Symphony Orchestra is considered the oldest and largest professional arts organization in the World\u2019s Borough. Founded in 1953, the orchestra presents \u201cat least 25 concerts throughout the year, serving 30,000 residents, including 8,000 youth,\u201d according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.queenssymphony.org\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">About Us section<\/a> of their website. Deborah Surdi, the Executive Director, expressed her gratitude to Ariola for making classical music more accessible for South Queens residents.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608493 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Councilwoman-Ariola-and-concert-attendee.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\"  \/>Council Member Joann Ariola and a concert attendee at Russo\u2019s On the Bay in Howard Beach. Photo courtesy of the District Office of Council Member Joann Ariola<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe are deeply grateful to Councilwoman Joann Ariola for her steadfast support of the Queens Symphony Orchestra,\u201d Surdi said in a statement. \u201cHer commitment to our annual \u2018Night at the Opera\u2019 at Russo\u2019s on the Bay, a treasured tradition in Howard Beach, brought our full orchestra and beautiful voices into the community. Additionally, this year she has enabled us to bring much-needed music lessons into schools allowing children to experience the transformative power of music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the evening\u2019s attendees was Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. Her father, conductor David Katz, founded the Queens Symphony Orchestra to introduce classical music to Queens residents without requiring a commute to Manhattan for world-class live experiences. According to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.queenssymphony.org\/about-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">About Us section<\/a>, he was described to have diligently rehearsed \u201cin the basement of his Forest Hills home\u201d and performed \u201ca series of chamber concerts for the community free of charge.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cI was honored to attend Council Member Joann Ariola\u2019s annual \u2018A Night at the Opera,\u2019 performed by the Queens Symphony Orchestra,\u201d said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement. \u201cThe QSO has become a cornerstone of our borough\u2019s cultural identity. My father, the founder of QSO, believed that music, art, and culture played a vital role in the positive growth and development of people, families, and communities. I share deeply in that belief, which continues to guide my community-centered approach to prosecution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-608496 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Queens-DA-Melinda-Katz-and-Councilwoman-Joann-Ariola.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\"  \/>Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Council Member Joann Ariola at Russo\u2019s On The Bay in Howard Beach. Photo courtesy of the District Office of Council Member Joann Ariola<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-608495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Over-200-people-came-to-Russos-on-the-Bay-for-A-Night-at-the-Opera.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"525\"  \/>Photo courtesy of the District Office of Council Member Joann Ariola<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For more updates on incoming community events in District 32, follow the Council Member\u2019s social media pages on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/joannariola32\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Instagram<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Ariola2021\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tenor Alec Carlson and Conductor Italo Marchini (not pictured \u2013 Soprano Laura Soto-Bayomi). Photo courtesy of the District&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":215384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[15585,84953,2025,221,29390,14496,2538,9,24,63,122,124,78664,123,84954,84955],"class_list":["post-215383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-a-night-at-the-opera","tag-cm-ariola","tag-community-news","tag-concert","tag-howard-beach","tag-joann-ariola","tag-music","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-music","tag-queens-news","tag-russou2019s-on-the-bay","tag-south-queens"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=215383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/215383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/215384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=215383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=215383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=215383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}