Morgan Park Music Festival, Suozzi family legacy, turns 65

As summer unfolds in Glen Cove, the community once again becomes a hub of activity, offering a variety of events and activities for residents and visitors. The Morgan Park Summer Music Festival is an annual favorite. Celebrating its 65th anniversary this summer, the festival is one of the city’s biggest attractions, drawing crowds from across Long Island and beyond to its diverse range of musical performances.

Running through August, the festival offers free concerts every Sunday evening in Morgan Memorial Park. Its longevity and success can be attributed to the unwavering dedication of the Suozzi family and a team of volunteers, as well as the generosity of individual and corporate donors.

“It’s just a staple of Glen Cove,” U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, a former mayor of the city, said. “We probably had six or seven hundred people there for the first concert of the season. For people who live in Glen Cove and the surrounding areas who couldn’t afford to go into New York City to go to a play or a concert, this is a way to provide free entertainment to the people.”

This beloved event, which has become a part of Glen Cove’s cultural fabric, features an array of professional, family-oriented musical performances spanning genres from Broadway to swing and from to jazz to pop and rock ’n’ roll.

“People look forward to sitting in Morgan Park — there is no more beautiful venue than Morgan Park,” Glen Cove Mayor Pamela Panzenbeck said. “To sit there, up above the water when the sun is setting, and listening to fantastic music —we used to take our children, (and) they would be down dancing in front of the stage.”

The festival was founded in 1959 by Suozzi’s father, Joseph, who was then the mayor, and his wife, Marguerite. They envisioned a series of free concerts that would be accessible to all, offering first-rate entertainment and fostering a sense of community. Marguerite Suozzi chaired the festival committee for 56 years, overseeing every detail of its organization until she died in 2017. Tom has since taken over as chairman, and carries on his parents’ legacy of bringing music to the community.

“My mother always emphasized the importance of keeping the concerts free,” Suozzi said. “. . . It’s a very important part of the fabric of Glen Cove.”

The 40-acre Morgan Memorial Park overlooks Long Island Sound. The property was donated to the city by financier J.P. Morgan in 1926 in memory of his wife, and he offered the city a 999-year lease for $1. The park’s natural beauty, with its rolling lawns and views of the harbor, provides an extraordinary backdrop for the concerts. Over the years, the festival has grown from a single concert to a full season of performances every weekend in July and August.

This year’s festival began July 7, with “One Night in Memphis,” a tribute to Elvis Presley. The season features performances designed to appeal to a wide range of musical tastes. Highlights include tributes to Carole King and George Harrison, classic hits from the 1960s and ’70s, a celebration of soul music, and performances of Broadway and swing and big band music.

“We try to stay true to the mission of providing free concerts to people and making it culturally uplifting while also just providing straight-out entertainment,” Suozzi explained. “We’re very grateful to the Terian Family and Rallye Motor Company for their incredible, ongoing support.”

An important aspect of the festival’s mission is to promote talented young musicians. For 45 years, MPSMF sponsored the Young Performers Competition, in honor of Marguerite Suozzi. The competition provided youth aged 10 to 25 with a professional auditioning experience, monetary awards, and an opportunity to perform at their own concerts. In recent years the festival has also collaborated with the Nassau Music Educators Association to offer a scholarship to a student planning to pursue further musical studies.

The festival is managed by a volunteer committee and supported entirely through donations from individuals and local businesses. Performances are scheduled for every Sunday from now until Aug. 25, at 7 p.m.