Symphony Space, which has new artistic leadership, also has a new framework for its coming season: the organization announced Tuesday that much of its programming in the coming year would be related to four special thematic projects.
One, “Project Fifteen,” will look at the year 1915, when Symphony Space’s home at Broadway and 95th Street was built, originally as an indoor market, by Vincent Astor. The series, starting in October, will include concerts celebrating Frank Sinatra and Édith Piaf, who were both born that year; Sinatra films; and a Thalia Book Club presentation on Franz Kafka’s “The Metamorphosis,” which was published that year.
Another, the “Fuse Project,” will feature concerts and conversations arranged by the violist Nadia Sirota, including premieres of works by David Lang and Donnacha Dennehy. “Project B-way/95” will include this year’s “Wall to Wall” marathon, which will pay tribute to the music and lyrics of Stephen Schwartz, who wrote “Godspell,” “Pippin” and “Wicked.” It will also feature a Patti LuPone concert.
And with “The Source Project” in May, Symphony Space will explore the culture of Cuba as the first installment in what it said would be a multiyear exploration of the influence of Africa on world culture. It will feature a block party, several concerts, films and discussions.
The season — which will also feature longstanding programs including its readings series, “Selected Shorts,” and family series, “Just Kidding” — is the first programmed by Symphony Space’s new artistic director, Andrew Byrne, who was appointed in 2014.
Mr. Byrne, who previously directed festivals and projects at Carnegie Hall, said in a statement that he wanted to “take advantage of the impressive breadth of programs and use it to explore four larger stories” central to the organization’s identity — from new work to Broadway musicals to international culture to a celebration of the centennial of the building.