David Hyde Pierce, Lauren Worsham, Bryce Pinkham and Hal Cazalet Lead NYFOS Gilbert & Sullivan Spring 2016 Gala Tonight

New York Festival of Song welcomes a starry, Broadway-filled cast for its 2016 spring gala, Topsy Turvy: The NYFOS Guide to Gilbert & Sullivan.

Tonight, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, NYFOS founders, artistic directors and pianists Steven Blier and Michael Barrett play host to an evening of songs and scenes from the Gilbert & Sullivan canon, operettas that combine the wit of Oscar Wilde with the delicacy of Mendelssohn. Dinner at the '21' Club with additional performances will follow.

Emmy and Tony Award-winner David Hyde Pierce, Broadway's Lauren Worsham and Bryce Pinkham (each nominated for a Tony Award for their performances in A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER) and the devilishly funny and sublime English tenor Hal Cazalet, a NYFOS favorite, bring their wit and charm to THE MIKADO and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, among other beloved G&S shows.

Marking the end of another successful season (NYFOS's 28th!), and paying tribute to its rich history, the spring gala serves as the major fundraising event for the season, and contributions to the event help keep the music playing at NYFOS events for years to come.

Gala tickets, which include the concert and dinner, range from $750 to $15,000 for a premium table of ten. Information regarding donations and on purchasing tickets and tables can be obtained online at www.nyfos.org/gala or by calling (646) 230-8380.

ABOUT NYFOS - Now in its 28th season, NEW YORK FESTIVAL OF SONG (NYFOS) is dedicated to creating intimate song concerts of great beauty and originality. Weaving music, poetry, history and humor into evenings of compelling theater, NYFOS fosters community among artists and audiences. Founded by pianists Michael Barrett and Steven Blier in 1988, NYFOS continues to produce NYFOS MAINSTAGE, its flagship series of thematic song programs, drawing together rarely-heard songs of all kinds, overriding traditional distinctions between classical and popular performance genres, and exploring the character and language of other cultures. Since its founding NYFOS has particularly celebrated the wide spectrum of American music. Among many highlights is the double bill of one-act comic operas, Bastianello by John Musto and Lucrezia by William Bolcom, both with libretti by Mark Campbell, commissioned and premiered by NYFOS in 2008 and recorded on Bridge Records.

NYFOS has produced five recordings on the Koch label, including a Grammy Award-winning disc of Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles, and the Grammy-nominated recording of Ned Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen (also a NYFOS commission) on New World Records. NYFOS's discography also includes Spanish Love Songs with Joseph Kaiser and the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson on Bridge Records. Its recently released CD on the GPR label, Canción amorosa, also focuses on Spanish song-Basque, Catalan, Castilian, and Sephardic-with soprano Corinne Winters accompanied by Steven Blier.

In 2010, NYFOS launched NYFOS NEXT, a series for new songs, hosted by guest composers in intimate venues. This season the series returns as a mini-festival during the month of February 2016 with all concerts presented at OPERA America's National Opera Center. In the fall of 2014, NYFOS officially introduced its unamplified cabaret series NYFOS AFTER HOURS at HENRY's Restaurant on the Upper West Side, drawing full houses and superlative voices accompanied by Blier at the piano.

NYFOS is passionate about nurturing the artistry and careers of young singers and through its NYFOS EMERGING ARTISTS program has developed professional training residencies around the country, including The Juilliard School's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts (now in its 11th year); Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts (its 8th year in March 2016); San Francisco Opera Center (over 15 years as of March 2014); Glimmerglass Opera (2008-2010); and its newest project, NYFOS@North Fork in Orient, NY (3 years).

NYFOS's concert series, touring programs, radio broadcasts, recordings, and educational activities continue to spark new interest in the creative possibilities of the song program, and have inspired the creation of thematic vocal series around the world.