MTA adds 26 new acts to music program

Jasmeen Thomas, a Universal Songstress, performed at the 27th annual auditions for Music Under New York in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall. Photo Credit: AMNY.COM

Straphangers will get to enjoy new music ranging from a banjo player to an all-female a cappella group.

MTA Arts & Designs have added 26 new performers and groups to the Music Under New York program, culled from about 70 acts that auditioned at Grand Central Terminal last month.

The perfomers were selected based on the quality of the music, its appropriateness in the mass transit system and whether it contributed to musical variety in the system.

The program has over 350 performers on its roster and around 7,500 performances are given throughout 30 locations across the city each year.

The selection this year includes jazz ensembles, folk music, Korean drums, Andean pipes and Celtic harps among other traditional instruments like violins and guitars.