Heather Headley Will Sing INTO THE WOODS, AIDA & More at Carnegie Hall

Grammy and Tony Award Winner Heather Headley will perform with The New York Pops, led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, in an all-new program on Friday, February 10, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall as part of The New York Pops' 40th anniversary season.

One Night Only: An Evening with Heather Headley features highlights from her career on stage, including selections from Aida, The Lion King, The Bodyguard, Into the Woods, plus "Over The Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz, Elton John's "Your Song", "For Good" from Wicked, and more.

Heather originated the role of Nala in Elton John and Tim Rice's hit Tony winning musical The Lion King, and then went on to play the title role in the duo's next Broadway venture Aida which won her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Heather won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album in 2009 for Audience of One. She can currently be seen as a series regular on Netflix's Sweet Magnolias.

The New York Pops' 2022-23 Carnegie Hall season also includes The Marvelous Marilyn Maye, celebrating the cabaret legend's birthday on March 24, 2023.

Performance Details:

THE NEW YORK POPS
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

Tickets are available for purchase at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, at 57th and Seventh, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website at carnegiehall.org.

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.

Heather Headley

Tony and Grammy Award Winner Heather Headley considers her multifaceted career a blessing. She was born and spent most of her childhood on the beautiful Caribbean island of Trinidad. The family moved to the United States in the early 90s where Heather's love for the arts continued.

In 1997, Heather won the role of Nala in the original Broadway cast of Elton John and Tim Rice's hit Tony winning musical The Lion King. While still in The Lion King, Heather was asked to audition for the title role in the writing duo's next Broadway venture together, Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida. Her portrayal of the Nubian princess, Aida, won her the praise of critics and the prestigious Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. In addition to other awards, she also received the coveted Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical. That year she was listed as one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People and Essence Magazine's 30 Women To Watch. In 2012, Heather made a triumphant return to the stage, starring in The Bodyguard in London's West End, where she gained the critics praise and a new fan base overseas.

Heather continued her musical success on the pop charts with her 2002 debut album on RCA Records, This Is Who I Am, which featured productions by several top-flight producers. Two songs, "He Is" and the album track "I Wish I Wasn't", both emerged as Top 5 R&B and Dance chart hits. Heather earned numerous accolades for This Is Who I Am, including Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. Heather returned in January 2006 with In My Mind, her long-awaited second solo album. The opening title tune single became Heather's first #1 hit, topping the Dance and R&B charts.

In 2009, Heather released Audience of One for which she won the Grammy Award for the Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album. In 2012, she released Only One In The World, an album that featured songs that Heather wrote as well as some of her favorite songs that she covered.

To the audience and critics' delight, Heather made her return to Broadway In 2016 starring in the Tony Award winning, The Color Purple in the role of Shug Avery. In 2018, Heather had a recurring role on Chicago Med playing the formidable Gwen Garrett. Heather can currently be seen as a series regular on the Netflix Series Sweet Magnolias.

Photo credit: Nathan Johnson