2016 Town Hall Gala to Honor Garrison Keillor's A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION

On Sunday, October 23 at 4pm at the Princeton Club of New York (15 West 43rd Street), The Town Hall will hold its Annual Gala where they will honor Grammy & Peabody Award-winner Garrison Keillor's acclaimed program A Prairie Home Companion with The Town Hall Friend of the Arts Award (over 150 shows were broadcast live from The Town Hall stage).

The evening will also honor Jennifer J. Raab, the President of Hunter College and will begin with a Special Concert from Grammy Award-winning jazz, blues & cabaret vocalist Catherine Russell, followed by a Cocktail Reception and then the Dinner & Awards Presentation honoring this year's recipients.

For Gala tickets, the public can call Helen Morris 212-997-1003 or hmorris@thetownhall-nyc.org.

A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor as host first hit the airwaves in July 1974. It has been a mainstay of American public radio ever since. Along the way Garrison has invited many wonderful performers to appear as guests on the show. Little-known and world-renowned, they have earned standing ovations and stares of amazement in equal measure. Since 1983, Town Hall has been Prairie Home's New York City home. With over 150 Saturday nights broadcast live from The Town Hall Stage, the mythical Midwest settlement of Lake Wobegon seems just as much at home on 43rd Street as it does in Minnesota. Garrison Keillor has been the host and writer of A Prairie Home Companion since the program started production in 1974.

Jennifer J. Raab is the President of Hunter College, the largest college in the City University of New York, with 23,000 students and a budget of over $250 million. During her 15-year tenure, she has over-seen a marked rise in Hunter's admission standards, graduations rates and national standing. Raab has secured more than $300 million in private support for Hunter. Raab is a graduate of Hunter College High School, Cornell University, the Woodrow Wilson School at Princeton, and Harvard Law School.

Catherine Russell is a Grammy Award-winning jazz, blues and cabaret vocalist born into musical royalty. Her father, Luis Russell, was Louis Armstrong's longtime musical director and collaborator. Her mother, Carline Ray, was a pioneering guitarist and vocalist who performed with Ruth Brown and Mary Lou Williams. For several decades Catherine Russell gained a place among the most indemand background singers, working with stars Paul Simon, David Bowie, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Cyndi Lauper, Rosanne Cash and more. She launched her solo career less than a decade ago with the stunning Cat, showing her powers and personality across an array of jazz and blues. In 2012, Catherine won a Grammy for her featured performance on the soundtrack for HBO's Boardwalk Empire.

The Town Hall is among New York City's most historic venues. Built in 1921 by a group of suffragettes, The Town Hall began as a lecture hall and public debate forum and grew to be a national landmark institution for arts, culture and education. Over the decades, Eleanor Roosevelt, Margaret Sanger, Billie Holiday, Igor Stravinsky, Marian Anderson, Bob Dylan and MiLes Davis have graced the stage. It was home to the legendary radio program, America's Town Meeting of the Air, dozens of historic albums and recordings, and American debuts of musical legends. Today, the Hall boasts the very best in music performances, spoken word, comedy and dance, including speaking engagements with residents and senators, live broadcasts of Garrison Keillor's Prairie Home Companion, and a number of new and critically acclaimed music series.