Folk and children’s band Elena Moon Park & Friends (2/8) perform music for audiences of all ages across New York City and beyond. Featuring music from East and Southeast Asia, plus original songs reimagined to mix musical traditions, languages, styles, and stories, Park celebrates learning about the world through music.
As one of our Mason Artists-in-Residence this season, the group will also offer opportunities for learning and educational activities in area schools and our community.
“We are looking forward to welcoming Elena Moon Park & Friends to the Hylton Center,” said Marit Majeske, education coordinator at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. "This residency provides an opportunity for members of our community to work with professional artists in creative workshops, using their imaginations and memories to create songs and stories. The activities planned for this residency are different than previous residencies because they are more creation-based than we have explored in the past. Elena’s background in both performing and facilitating collaborative music experiences makes this unique opportunity possible.”
Park released her debut all-ages album, Rabbit Days and Dumplings, in 2012 and her second all-ages album, Unhurried Journey, in 2020. She has performed with all-ages artists Sonia De Los Santos—who appeared on the Hylton Family Series in 2023—and Dan Zanes. In addition to being a performer, Park has spent the past 12+ years working with the nonprofit arts organization Found Sound Nation, which designs and leads collaborative music creation programs to bridge cultural, geographic, and generational divides.
Their residency activities at the Hylton Center will include:
- Four sessions of an interactive workshop titled, Let’s Draw a Story! Sounds, Dreams, and Story Shares, for students at R.C. Haydon Elementary School in Manassas
- A workshop titled, Let’s Make an Intergenerational Song! Sound, Memory, and Story Shares, for residents at The Wellington at Lake Manassas senior living community
- A moderated discussion, Creative Collaboration, Cultural Exchange and Making!, with students from George Mason University’s Carter School of Peace and Conflict Resolution
- A sold-out field trip performance for local elementary schools in Manassas City Public Schools, Manassas Park City Schools, and Prince William County Public Schools
All of these community activities culminate in a sensory-friendly Hylton Family Series performance by Elena Moon Park & Friends at the Hylton Center on Saturday, February 8, at 11 a.m. Purchase your tickets to this engaging group of musicians today!
Get to know Elena and Friends:
Elena Moon Park is a musician and cultural arts producer living in Brooklyn, NY. She collaborates with all kinds of artists and performs music around New York City and the globe, specializing in music for audiences of all ages and featuring reimagined folk and children's music from East and Southeast Asia.
Akiko Hiroshima is a NYC-based singer and actor born and raised in Japan. Since moving to the U.S. at age 18, Akiko has played various roles in theater throughout her career, such as Kim in Miss Saigon, Eponine in Les Misérables, Peppermint Patty in You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown, Ihara in Fishing for Wives, Pippin, Jesus Christ Superstar, La Bohème, and more.
John Foti is a songwriter/musician from northern New Jersey. He currently still lives in New Jersey and has toured with Grammy winning children's music act Dan Zanes & Friends and more recently with Improbable Theatre's production of The Devil and Mr. Punch.
Colin Brooks is a drummer hailing from Little Rock, Arkansas. He has played for numerous bands including Ho-hum, Trusty, The Big Cats, and Samiam. For many years, Colin toured the world with the all-ages band Dan Zanes & Friends, and played drums on Zanes’ Grammy Award-winning album Catch That Train!
Brett Parnell is a multi-instrumentalist whose past freelance projects include the guitar duo Threefifty, country rock band Runaway Dorothy, and folk band Darlin Darlin. He was also the guitarist and pedal steel player for the Tony Award-winning revival of Oklahoma! directed by Daniel Fish and played guitar and banjo for Justin Peck’s Illinoise. Brett is the founder of Bear in a Barn NYC, a homegrown studio that has evolved into a grassroots collective of New York City-based musicians.
Jess Tsang is a percussionist, researcher, and improviser dedicated to the creation of new interdisciplinary works. Through her creative practice, she is endlessly examining how objects shape our lives, and how that might be translated into music.
Xuan is a new media artist, filmmaker, and pianist working at the intersection of music, visual art, and technology. With a passion for ‘visual music,’ she actively develops collaborative, cross-disciplinary projects that broaden the immersive scope of new music and performance.