TILTED AXES CELEBRATES 15 YEARS WITH “AXIAL TILT” — A WINTER SOLSTICE SITUATION AT CITICORP CENTER
Mobile electric guitar ensemble returns to its Make Music New York roots with a free performance of music, movement, and audience participation on December 21
NEW YORK, NY — November 2026 — Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars celebrates its 15th anniversary with AXIAL TILT — A Winter Solstice Situation, a free public performance on Monday, December 21, 2026, at 5:30 pm at The Hugh Plaza at Citicorp Center, located at Lexington Avenue and East 53rd Street in Midtown Manhattan.
Presented by BXP, Make Music New York, and Peppergreen Media as part of Make Music Winter NYC, the event marks a homecoming for the innovative musical ensemble, which was created by composer-performer Patrick Grant as part of Make Music New York in 2011.
Performed by: Patrick Grant, John Ferrari, Jeremy Nesse, John Halo, Angela Babin, Gene Ardor, Howie Kenty, Kevin Pfeiffer, Christopher Caines, Dmitri Shapira, Jessica Dankowitz, Liz Hogg, Kammy Yedor, Roxan Jurkevich, Jim Lee, Lori Bingel, James Schoen, and Grace Goss.
For 15 years, Tilted Axes has transformed public spaces into unexpected musical environments, combining original compositions for electric guitars and percussion with choreographed movement. Equipped with portable, battery-powered amplifiers, the musicians are free to move through their surroundings, creating a constantly shifting musical and spatial experience that blurs the boundaries between concert, procession, and performance art.
For AXIAL TILT, the ensemble of 18 musicians will celebrate the winter solstice with a program of music for mobile electric guitars and percussion, incorporating choreographed movement throughout The Hugh Plaza. Audience members will also be invited to participate in selected musical passages using tuned hand bells, becoming part of the ensemble’s collective sound.
The title AXIAL TILT refers to the tilt of the Earth’s rotational axis, the astronomical phenomenon responsible for the changing seasons and the winter solstice. It also plays upon the ensemble’s name, Tilted Axes, in which “axe” is musical slang for an electric guitar. This intersection of astronomy and musical terminology reflects the group’s identity while providing a fitting theme for a performance celebrating the changing seasons through music and movement.
Since its founding in 2011, Tilted Axes has developed a distinctive approach to public performance, bringing contemporary instrumental music beyond the traditional concert stage and into streets, plazas, festivals, and theatrical settings. Its work draws upon the rhythmic energy of rock music, the interlocking patterns of Balinese gamelan, and the structural processes of contemporary classical composition.
EVENT DETAILS
Event: TILTED AXES: AXIAL TILT — A Winter Solstice Situation
Date: Monday, December 21, 2026
Time: 5:30 pm
Location: The Hugh Plaza at Citicorp Center, Lexington Avenue at East 53rd Street, New York City
Admission: Free and open to the public
Featuring: 18 musicians performing music for mobile electric guitars and percussion, choreographed movement, and audience participation with hand bells
Part of: Make Music Winter NYC
Presented by: BXP, Make Music New York, and Peppergreen Media
ABOUT TILTED AXES
Founded in New York City in 2011 by composer-performer Patrick Grant, Tilted Axes: Music for Mobile Electric Guitars is an 18-member ensemble and performance project that combines original music, choreographed movement, and site-specific public performance. Using portable amplification, its musicians transform familiar urban environments into dynamic spaces for musical discovery. The project has performed in streets, plazas, festivals, and theaters, developing a distinctive repertoire that brings together contemporary composition, electric guitar traditions, and global rhythmic influences.
Website: http://www.tiltedaxes.com
Instagram: @tiltedaxes
Press contact: Jocelyn Gonzales c/o peppergreennyc@gmail.com
