Deborah Cox, Barry Manilow and More Will Honor Clive Davis at NY Pops 41st Birthday Gala

Notable guest artists from across the recording industry including Babyface, Toni Braxton, Busta Rhymes, Deborah Cox, Fantasia Barrino Taylor, Kenny G, Melissa Manchester, Barry Manilow, John Mellencamp, Ray Parker Jr., Carlos Santana, Rob Thomas, and Dionne Warwick will now join The New York Pops to honor the record industry's most innovative and influential executive Clive Davis at the orchestra’s 41st Birthday Gala, The Soundtrack of Our Lives: A Tribute to the Legendary Clive Davis, on Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. Additional guest artists to be announced.

The star-studded concert will showcase Mr. Davis’ immense impact on the worlds of Pop, Rock and Roll, R&B, Country and Hip-Hop through a wide array of musical selections. Throughout his career, Mr. Davis has earned four Grammys in his role as Album Producer, has received the Grammy Trustees Lifetime Achievement Award, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and, in 2010, The Recording Academy named The Grammy Museum theatre in his honor. 

Proceeds from the Gala support the orchestra and its PopsEd music education programs. The concert is followed by a black tie optional dinner and dance at the Mandarin Oriental New York.

About the Artists

The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series at Carnegie Hall, and is among the venue’s most presented ensembles. Now in its 41st season, The New York Pops’ annual birthday gala is celebrated each spring, raising funds for the orchestra and its education programs. The New York Pops performs annually in Queens, NY at Forest Hills Stadium, a 14,000-seat historic concert venue. 

The New York Pops celebrates the diversity of popular music’s evolving songbook. Every concert is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with influences ranging from Broadway melodies to film scores, jazz, rock, pop, and everything in between. Under Reineke’s dynamic leadership, The New York Pops continues to re-imagine orchestral pops music.

Through its PopsEd music education programs, The New York Pops fulfills its dedication to lifelong learning by collaborating with public schools, community organizations, and senior centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City. PopsEd allows thousands of New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to participate in fully customizable music programs that blend traditional education with pure fun.

The New York Pops is committed to serving all members of the community. Through its Kids in the Balcony and Kids in the Stadium programs, thousands of children and their parents have had an opportunity to see The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and Forest Hills Stadium free of charge. 

The New York Pops was founded by Ruth and Skitch Henderson in 1983 with a mission to create greater public awareness and appreciation of America’s rich musical heritage through presentation of concerts and education programs of the highest quality. The New York Pops is a non-profit organization supported solely through the generosity of individual donations, institutional grants, corporate sponsorships, and concert income.

Steven Reineke is one of North America's leading conductors of popular music and is in his second decade as Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall.  Additionally, he is Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Principal Pops Conductor of the Houston and Toronto Symphony Orchestras.
Reineke is a frequent guest conductor and can be seen on the podium with the Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Detroit Symphony Orchestras.

On stage, Mr. Reineke creates and collaborates with a range of leading artists from the worlds hip-hop, R & B, Broadway, television and rock including: Maxwell, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Ne-Yo, Barry Manilow, Cynthia Erivo, Ben Rector, Cody Fry, Sutton Foster, Kelli O’Hara, Amos Lee, Dispatch, Jason Mraz, and Ben Folds, amongst others.  In 2017 he was featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" leading the National Symphony Orchestra - in a first for the show's 45-year history - performing live music excerpts in between news segments.  In 2018 Reineke led the National Symphony Orchestra with hip-hop legend Nas performing his seminal album "Illmatic" on PBS's Great Performances.

As the creator of hundreds of orchestral arrangements, Reineke’s work is performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, including performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare was used to commemorate the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s pavilion, and his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands perennially.

A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio (2020 Alumnus Distinguished Achievement Medal), where he earned bachelor of music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He currently resides in New York City with his husband Eric Gabbard.

About the Honoree

As the record industry's most innovative and influential executive, Clive Davis has had a profound effect on the world of music spanning over 50 years. He has earned four Grammys in his role as Album Producer, has received the Grammy Trustees Lifetime Achievement Award, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000, and, in 2010, The Recording Academy named The Grammy Museum theatre in his honor. 

Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Davis graduated from New York University and Harvard Law School. He first worked at Columbia Records, where he was named President in 1967. In 1974, Mr. Davis founded Arista Records, and expanded the company to include Arista Nashville in 1988. He continued his exploration of different musical genres with the formation of LaFace Records in 1989, and Bad Boy Records in 1994. In 2000, Mr. Davis formed J Records, which quickly emerged as a dominant force in the industry. In 2008, Mr. Davis was appointed Chief Creative Officer for Sony Music Entertainment, a position which expanded the number of artists for whom he was creatively responsible. 

Mr. Davis has impacted the worlds of Pop, Rock and Roll, R&B, Country and Hip-Hop, and has played a key role in the careers of countless artists across those genres including: Janis Joplin, Blood, Sweat and Tears, Chicago, Santana, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Aerosmith, Earth, Wind & Fire, Simon & Garfunkel, Sly & The Family Stone, Barbra Streisand, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Barry Manilow, Whitney Houston, Patti Smith, Sarah McLachlan, Aretha Franklin, Annie Lennox, The Kinks, The Grateful Dead, Dionne Warwick, Carly Simon, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn, Toni Braxton, Sean “Puffy” Combs, Notorious B.I.G., Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Luther Vandross, Rod Stewart, Jennifer Hudson and he launched the first six American Idol award winners to multi-platinum success. 

His autobiography, The Soundtrack Of My Life, published in 2013, has become the largest-selling book involving music in history. The Ridley Scott firm produced and Chris Perkel directed the award-winning and highly praised documentary film on his life: Clive Davis: The Soundtrack Of Our Lives, which Apple TV, Apple Music and iTunes launched worldwide in 2017 and debuted at No. 1 on iTunes, stayed at #1 for five consecutive weeks and is now available on Netflix. In 2019, Clive Davis produced the highly acclaimed Memorial Concert for Aretha Franklin on CBS and executive-produced with Brian Grazer the eight-part limited TV series GENIUS: ARETHA, which aired on National Geographic Channel in March 2021. In August 2021, Mr. Davis also co-executive produced the historic “We Love NYC: The Homecoming Concert” with the City of New York and Live Nation, which was a monumental globally televised music event.  In March 2022,  Paramount+ debuted Clive Davis: MOST ICONIC PERFORMANCES, a 4-episode concert music series in which Davis takes viewers through some of his favorite musical performances from the last few decades and includes interview excerpts from his acclaimed 2021 Pre-Grammy Gala virtual events.  In November 2022, Davis was also one of seven honorees of the National Portrait Gallery’s Portrait of a Nation awards, and his portrait was painted by David Hockney. 

Image of Babyface by Lenzy Kravitz; image of Deborah Cox by Joan Marcus; image of Fantasia by Salvatore DeMaio; image of Kenny G by Art Streiber; image of Melissa Manchester by Nick Spanos; image of John Mellencamp by Marc Hauser; image of Carlos Santana by Maryanne Bilham; image of Dionne Warwick by Debbie O’Donnell