Kelli O'Hara & Matthew Morrison to Join New York Pops at Carnegie Hall in December

On December 19 and 20, 2014 at 8:00 PM, The New York Pops will present an evening full of holiday cheer at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage featuring Tony, Emmy and two-time Golden Globe nominee, Matthew Morrison, and five-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara. The orchestra will also be joined by Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA. Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke will lead the concert, which will include festive classics like "Carol of the Bells," "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year," and "Winter Wonderland," plus some of the Broadway's most beloved musical numbers.

"Our annual holiday program is one of our favorite traditions. It's a time for loved ones to come together and celebrate the season through music" says Steven Reineke, Music Director of The New York Pops. "This year, we're thrilled to be joined by two immensely talented friends-Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison-who will have their long-awaited reunion on one of New York's most beloved stages. We couldn't ask for a greater gift!"

The New York Pops will perform a special holiday Family Concert on Sunday, December 22, 2014 at 2:00 PM. Based on the iconic television special "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," this staged concert performance brings Rudolph, Santa and their friends to life through original choreography by director/choreographer Liza Gennaro, as performed by dancers from New York Theatre Ballet. In his debut with The New York Pops, Broadway actor John Bolton (Spamalot, Contact, Titanic) will narrate the classic Christmas tale, with additional characters voiced by Scot Cahoon, Rory Kulz, Bobby Underwood and students from TADA! Youth Theater. Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA will join The New York Pops to perform Johnny Marks' beloved score.

The orchestra's 32nd season continues on Friday, March 13, 2015, 8:00PM with One Night Only: Sutton Foster, with the two-time Tony Award-winning star of Thoroughly Modern Millie and Anything Goes in her solo debut at Carnegie Hall.

Kelli O'Hara is currently starring as Mrs. Darling in NBC's live telecast of Peter Pan, airing December 4, 2014.

Kelli received her fifth Tony nomination-along with Drama Desk, Drama League and Outer Critics award nominations-for her portrayal of Francesca in the musical adaptation of The Bridges of Madison County.

Other Broadway credits include Nice Work If You Can Get It (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, OCC nominations), South Pacific (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations), The Pajama Game (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations nominations), The Light in the Piazza (Tony and Drama Desk award nominations), Sweet Smell of Success, Follies, Dracula and Jekyll & Hyde. Regional and off-Broadway credits include Far From Heaven (Playwrights Horizons and Williamstown Theatre Festival), King Lear (Public Theater), Bells Are Ringing (City Center Encores!), Sunday in the Park with George (Reprise) and My Life With Albertine (Playwrights Horizons). Concerts span from Carnegie Hall to Capitol Hill.

Film and TV credits include Sex & The City 2, Martin Scorsese's The Key to Reserva, Blue Bloods, Alexander Hamilton, N3mbers and the animated series Car Talk. She is a frequent performer on PBS's live telecasts and the Kennedy Center Honors. Her solo albums, "Always" and "Wonder in the World," are available on Ghostlight Records.

On New Year's Eve 2014, Kelli will make her Metropolitan Opera debut in a production of The Merry Widow with Renée Fleming. This spring, Kelli will return to Broadway in the Lincoln Center revival of The King & I opposite Ken Watanabe.

The Emmy, Tony, and Golden Globe-nominated star Matthew Morrison may have come to national prominence through his role as the perpetually optimistic high school teacher Will Schuester on Fox TV's "Glee," but the Southern California native was turning heads years earlier on the Great White Way.

After studying musical theater, vocal performance and dance at Tisch School of the Arts in New York, Morrison made his Broadway debut in Footloose, followed by The Rocky Horror Picture Show. However, it was his role as Link Larkin in the original cast of the Broadway production of Hairspray that served as his breakthrough and led to Morrison being cast in the critically acclaimed The Light in the Piazza. His portrayal of young lover Fabrizio Naccarelli garnered him a Tony nomination for best performance by a featured actor in a musical. He subsequently received a Drama Desk nomination for outstanding actor in the off-Broadway musical 10 Million Miles and reprised the role of Lieutenant Cable in Lincoln Center's Tony-nominated production of "South Pacific."

Morrison was the first artist signed to 222 Records, the label started by Adam Levine, the leader of multi-platinum group Maroon 5. In 2011, Morrison released his first album, a pop collection of mainly originals featuring such guests as Elton John, Sting and Gwyneth Paltrow. Morrison turned to legendary producer Phil Ramone, along with Grammy Award-winning producer Gregg Field, to create his latest album.

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) was recently featured under Judith's baton in the NBC 2014 telecast of Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. The ensemble performs regularly at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops and produces "The Composer Speaks" series at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. EVUSA produced and performed on the critically acclaimed CD Celebrating the American Spirit (Sono Luminus), recorded Marvin Hamlisch's song "The Music in My Mind" for his children's book, was featured in the 2010 Leonard Bernstein Celebration at Symphony Space, and also performed on NBC's 2011 and 2012 national broadcasts of the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. EVUSA was thrilled to participate in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural activities: it performed in a community sing-along of the "Sing Out, Mr. President" song cycle at the Church of the Presidents in Washington, D.C, and had selections from Celebrating the American Spirit featured on NPR on Inauguration Day. Plans for the 2014-2015 season include several performances with The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, "The Composer Speaks" programs of Bach (with commentary by Bach scholar Christoph Wolff) and Mozart (with participation by noted music librarian and editor Michael Ochs), the musical launch of Harvard University professor Carol J. Oja's book Bernstein Meets Broadway, and the release of its Sono Luminus recording Cherished Moments which includes "Songs of Freedom: A Celebration of Chanukah," "Set Me as a Seal" by Nico Muhly, and other traditional and new works of the Jewish musical tradition.

ABOUT THE NEW YORK POPS

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. Under the leadership of dynamic Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, The New York Pops continues to re-imagine orchestral pops music. The orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall. The New York Pops is dedicated to lifelong learning, and collaborates with public schools, community organizations, children's hospitals 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. Visit www.newyorkpops.org for more information. Follow The New York Pops on Facebook (facebook.com/newyorkpops) and Twitter (@newyorkpops).

Steven Reineke is the Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Principal Pops Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Reineke is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and has been on the podium with the Boston Pops, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia. His extensive North American conducting appearances include San Francisco, Houston, Seattle, Edmonton and Pittsburgh. 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. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands around the world. A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, 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.

Single tickets are priced from $34 to $120. Subscriptions to the 2014-2015 Carnegie Hall series are also available, from $150 to $580. Purchases can be made at the Carnegie Hall Box Office (57th Street and Seventh Avenue) or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Visit www.carnegiehall.org for more information.