Six Lower Manhattan Events To Commemorate The 20th Anniversary Of 9/11

Next month is the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. As we near the date, there will be a number of events ongoing in Lower Manhattan to aid mourners and others who want to pay their respects to the victims. See below for a short list of remembrances, lectures and performances; note that you can also visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum (180 Greenwich Street), which is open all year. 

A Time and Space for Remembrance and Healing

St. Paul’s Chapel
September 10, 9 p.m., to 8pm September 12, 8 p.m.

This will be a time and place to pray, reflect, mourn, or simply sit with your memories. Clergy from the NY Diocese will be present to offer support and prayers, and from 7am-7pm on Saturday, brief musical interludes and readings will be offered on the hour by Trinity Church’s staff and community of musicians: Avi Stein, Janet Yieh, and Forrest Eimold, organ; Farrah Dupoux, piano; Melissa Attebury, mezzo-soprano; Melissa Baker, flute; Thomas McCargar, baritone; Julian Wachner; Chris Hemingway, saxophone; and Kendall K. Williams, steel drums. An exhibit displaying artifacts from the events of September 11 will be available at St. Paul’s Chapel, along with interactive digital exhibits at trinitywallstreet.org/911. Free.

Eiko Otake: Slow Turn 

Belvedere Plaza 
7am and 6pm, September 11

At sunrise and sunset movement-based artist and dancer Eiko Otake will perform in Belvedere Plaza, accompanied by clarinetist David Krakauer. Eiko & Koma were artists-in-residence in the World Trade Center North Tower throughout the year 2000. In 2002, they premiered Offering: A Ritual of Mourning on Belvedere Plaza. Eiko Otake returns to Belvedere Plaza to explore memories from 20 years ago. Battery Park City Authority. Free.

Remembering the 9/11 Boatlift: America’s Largest Water Evacuation

September 11, 11am
online Zoom lecture, short film and Q&A

At this virtual event, see the short documentary film “Boatlift: An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience,” narrated by Tom Hanks, followed by a panel discussion on the largest water evacuation in maritime history. Panelists are National Maritime Historical Society trustee emeritus RADM Richard Larrabee, USCG (Ret.), USCG Safety and Security Division Chief for Sector New York John Hillin, president of the New Jersey Sandy Hook Pilots Association Capt. Andrew McGovern, founder of the fireboat John J. Harvey Huntley Gill, and USCG-licensed marine engineer and author of Saved at the Seawall: Stories from the September 11 Boat Lift Jessica DuLong. Free.

”Tribute In Light”

Dusk, September 11

“Tribute in Light” is a commemorative public art installation presented from dusk to dawn, on the night of September 11. It has become an iconic symbol that both honors those killed and celebrates the unbreakable spirit of New York. Assembled on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage south of the 9/11 Memorial, the twin beams reach up to four miles into the sky and comprise eighty-eight 7,000-watt xenon light bulbs positioned into two 48-foot squares, echoing the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers. The installation can also be viewed from a 60-mile radius around Lower Manhattan.

”Verdi’s Requiem”: The Met Remembers 9/11

7:45pm, Metropolitan Opera

Family members and 9/11 stakeholders are invited to this performance of “Verdi’s Requiem,” conducted by the Metropolitan Opera’s Music Director, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and featuring the Met’s extraordinary orchestra and chorus. The program will also feature soprano Ailyn Pérez, mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča, tenor Matthew Polenzani, and bass-baritone Eric Owens. The performance will be transmitted live with closed captioning as part of Great Performances on PBS, with dancer Misty Copeland hosting live from the World Trade Center site. $25.

Remembrance, Reflection, Resilience: A 9/11 Tribute Concert

Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust
8pm, September 11

The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra and the Museum of Jewish Heritage present a special concert to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the events of September 11, 2001. The concert will feature Samuel Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” the world premiere of Gary S. Fagin’s “9/11 In Memoriam,” Edward Kennedy (Duke) Ellington’s “Come Sunday” featuring the KCO’s Orlando Wells on violin, among other musical pieces. This program will be held live in the Museum’s Edmond J. Safra Hall. The audience may attend in person and via livestream. Admission is free; $20 suggested donation.