Heather Headley, Jordan Donica & More Join New York Pops 40th Anniversary Season at Carnegie Hall

The New York Pops, led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, has announced artist and programming updates for its 40th anniversary season with concerts in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall.

Heather Headley (Tony Award winner for originating the title role in Aida on Broadway, original Nala in Broadway's The Lion King, Netflix's Sweet Magnolias) will now be featured in a solo concert with The New York Pops on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 8:00 p.m., performing highlights from her career. Headley's performance replaces the previously scheduled appearance by Adrienne Warren, who had to withdraw due to a scheduling conflict.

Jordan Donica (Broadway's My Fair Lady, The Phantom of the Opera; San Francisco and Los Angeles companies of Hamilton) will join previously announced guest artists Nikki Renée Daniels, Matt Doyle, and Melissa Errico, together with The New York Pops and Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA on Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8:00 p.m. for a concert now entitled Broadway Blockbusters featuring iconic works by Leonard Bernstein, Alan Menken, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and more.

Additional concerts in The New York Pops 2022-23 Carnegie Hall season include The Music of Star Wars on October 21, 2022; Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree with Ingrid Michaelson and Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA on December 16, 2022; Winter Song: A Holiday Evening with Ingrid Michaelson on December 17, 2022; and The Marvelous Marilyn Maye on March 24, 2023. On Monday, September 19, 2022, Betsy Wolfe performs at The New York Pops Underground cabaret event at 54 Below.

2022-2023 Program Information

The Music of Star Wars

Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor

Friday, October, 21, 2022 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

Broadway Blockbusters

Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Nikki Renée Daniels, Guest Artist
Jordan Donica, Guest Artist
Matt Doyle, Guest Artist
Melissa Errico, Guest Artist
Essential Voices USA
Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor

Friday, November 18, 2022 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Ingrid Michaelson, Guest Artist
Essential Voices USA
Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor

Friday, December 16, 2022 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

Winter Song: A Holiday Evening with Ingrid Michaelson

Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Ingrid Michaelson, Guest Artist

Saturday, December 17, 2022 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

One Night Only: An Evening with Heather Headley

Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Heather Headley, Guest Artist

Friday, February 10, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

The Marvelous Marilyn Maye

Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Marilyn Maye, Guest Artist

Friday, March 24, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

Ticket Information

Carnegie Hall subscription packages for the 2022-2023 season are currently on sale. Single tickets for all 2022-2023 performances go on sale to Carnegie Hall subscribers and members on Monday, August 15, and to the general public on Monday, August 22.

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 milestone 40th 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 has established himself as 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 with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his extensive North American conducting appearances include Dallas, Detroit and the Ravinia Music Festival.

On stage, Mr. Reineke has created programs and collaborated with a range of leading artists from the worlds hip hop, R & B, Broadway, television and rock including: Maxwell, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Cynthia Erivo, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Wayne Brady, Peter Frampton 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 more than one hundred orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Mr. Reineke's work has been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. 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 worldwide.

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.