For an entire day, the Museum’s galleries pulsate with John Zorn’s restless and electric sounds, as musicians perform in various galleries during an unprecedented event that marks the creative genius’s 60th birthday. Most of the works presented on this day are Met Museum commissions; others are existing pieces, specifically selected for their organic and sonic relevance to particular gallery spaces.

A recipient of the 2006 MacArthur Award, Zorn’s impact on contemporary music worldwide is immeasurable. Performances begin in the Great Hall, and continue in galleries including Ancient Near Eastern Art, the Vélez Blanco Patio, the Emma and Georgina Bloomberg Arms and Armor Court, Medieval Sculpture Hall, The American Wing, the Egyptian Wing, the European period rooms, and The Temple of Dendur in The Sackler Wing. Performers include Mike Patton, voice; Milford Graves, percussion; Bill Frisell, guitar; Tony Arnold, voice; John Zorn, organ; Jay Campbell, cello; Lisa Bielawa, voice; Erik Friedlander, cello; and others.

In celebration of his sixtieth birthday, The Metropolitan Museum of Art honors the boundless musical vision and virtuosity of John Zorn as one part of a larger, international celebration.