Morgan Park Summer Music Festival
Entertaining Long Islanders for Over 60 Years!
The audience has settled in chairs and on blankets along the rolling lawns and trees of the park. As twilight fades to darkness, the beauty of the harbor and Long Island Sound just beyond offers an extraordinary backdrop to the stage. The performers appear. A magical evening is about to begin.
And that magic has been happening here in Glen Cove for over 60 years.
RAINED OUT GO TO...
Many Long Island communities have cherished traditions but few can boast of the longevity of an enterprise such as the Morgan Park Summer Music Festival. Managed by a volunteer committee and supported entirely through donations from individuals and local businesses, this summer MPSMF continues its beloved tradition of free summer concerts in Morgan Park into its 60th season.
​
Morgan Park was donated to the people of Glen Cove in 1932 by J.P. Morgan in memory of his wife. But it was not until 1959, when Joseph A. Suozzi, then mayor of Glen Cove, suggested that there be free concerts in the park; he reached out to Laura Parsons Pratt to make it happen.
Morgan Park Summer Music Festival was born beginning with one concert that first summer, expanding over the years to offer performances every weekend in July and August.
​
Eventually, the park’s charming gazebo proved to be inadequate for some of the larger concerts so longtime chairman Marguerite (Marge) Suozzi, then chairman of Morgan Park Summer Music Festival, and her team of volunteers came up with strategies that raised money for the beautiful new stage. The stage, as the concerts, was funded entirely through private donations.
​
In 2015, Mrs. Suozzi retired as the long-term chairman of MPSMF. With the unanimous approval of the members of the executive committee, the baton was passed to her son, Tom Suozzi.
In the fall of 2017, MPSMF lost two of its stalwart leaders, Marguerite Suozzi and Nancy Epstein. On Earth Day 2018, a tree was planted in the park to honor them and their many years of service to our community. We will always miss Marge and Nancy’s wisdom and guidance.
​
An important part of MPSMF’s mission is to promote talented young musicians. For 45 years, MPSMF sponsored the Young Performers Competition. This competition, which was named after Marguerite Suozzi upon her retirement, was open to youth ages 10 to 25 who lived or went to school on the North Shore of Nassau County. The competition provided students with a professional auditioning experience, monetary awards and an opportunity to perform at their own concert. In 2019, in lieu of the competition, MPSMF collaborated with the Nassau Music Educator’s Association to provide a scholarship to a student who plans to enhance his/her musical studies.
Morgan Park Summer Music Festival’s message of community enrichment and entertainment continues to reach into the homes and businesses of Glen Cove, the surrounding North Shore communities and to wherever MPSMF fans have moved.
​
The Laura Parson Pratt Roll of Honorees
Morgan Park Summer Music Festival gratefully acknowledges the following supporters for their exceptional and extraordinary contributions of their time, talent and treasure to make the Festival a success these many decades.
Marguerite Suozzi Peggy Minnick Nancy Epstein Virginia O'Keefe
​
​
2020 Morgan Park Summer Music Festival Team
Click here to view the list.