Jackson, Brown et al. Lead NY Pops 2011-2012 Season; Full Season Schedule Announced!

On October 14, 2011, The New York Pops orchestra - famous for presenting popular music with a symphony orchestra of the highest quality - will launch its 29th season; a Carnegie Hall series celebrating the stylistic diversity of some of popular music's greatest icons. Music Director Steven Reineke - heralded by The New York Times as a "polished, welcoming host" who is "young and vigorous, with a playful attitude that has been a pops orchestral tradition since the heyday of Arthur Fiedler" - leads the orchestra in this thrilling lineup of concerts, which includes hits from iconic American composer Irving Berlin, a tribute to the cool and catchy tunes of the 50s and 60s, a swinging celebration of the holiday season with the "power couple" of the jazz world, an homage to Ella Fitzgerald's Gershwin songbook by one of today's top jazz vocalists, and an evening of award-winning music from great American films.

"We've raised the bar once again with a terrific series of concerts for my third season as Music Director of this fantastic orchestra," says Reineke. "We'll be playing great music in a great hall with some of the world's finest entertainers - including Patti Austin, Cheyenne Jackson, John Pizzarelli and Ashley Brown - and, of course, doing what The New York Pops does best; carrying the torch as one of the world's leading interpreters of the Great American Songbook. It doesn't get much better than that!"

Friday, October 14, 2011, 8:00PM, Stern/Perelman
Irving Berlin: RAGS TO RITZES
Jack Everly, Guest Conductor
Ashley Brown, Tony DeSare, James T. Lane, Hugh Panaro, NaTasha Yvette Williams, Guest Artists

Celebrated composer Jerome Kern once said, "Irving Berlin has no place in American music - he is American music." Jack Everly conducts a stirring concert program that includes "There's No Business Like Show Business," "Blue Skies" and "Puttin' on the Ritz.

Friday, November 18, 2011, 8:00PM, Stern/Perelman
Cheyenne Jackson'S COCKTAIL HOUR: MUSIC OF THE MAD MEN ERA
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Cheyenne Jackson, Guest Artist

Star of Broadway, 30 Rock and Glee, Cheyenne Jackson invites you to snap your fingers and tap your toes to the cool, swinging tunes of the 50s and 60s: a time when Bossa Nova was new, the lounges of New York City were hip and catchy dance music spun on every hi-fi. Cheyenne's magnetic voice will captivate you with hits such as "Feeling Good," "Luck Be a Lady" and "Sway".

Friday December 16, 2011, 8:00PM, Stern/Perelman
Saturday, December 17, 2011, 8:00PM, Stern/Perelman
John Pizzarelli AND Jessica Molaskey WISH YOU A SWINGIN' CHRISTMAS
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
John Pizzarelli and Jessica Molaskey, Guest Artists
Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor

The couple described by The New York Times as "a musical match made in heaven" swings seasonal favorites from the era when Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole and Rosemary Clooney ruled the airwaves. Joining The New York Pops will be Essential Voices USA, led by Judith Clurman.

Friday, March 16, 2012, 8:00PM, Stern/Perelman
Patti Austin SINGS Ella Fitzgerald'S GERSHWIN SONGBOOK
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Patti Austin, Guest Artist

In commemoration of the 65th anniversary of Ella Fitzgerald's Carnegie Hall debut, Patti Austin - one of today's top jazz vocalists - pays homage to Ella Fitzgerald's classic album of the George & Ira Gershwin songbook. For the first time at Carnegie Hall, concertgoers will hear Nelson Riddle's original symphonic arrangements of works by the legendary songwriting brothers - including "I Got Rhythm," "'S Wonderful" and "Our Love Is Here to Stay." This concert, which features a special guest appearance by Christopher Riddle, is produced in association with the Ella Fitzgerald Foundation and the Nelson Riddle Foundation.

Friday, April 13, 2012, 8:00PM, Stern/Perelman
HOLLYWOOD AWARD WINNERS
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor

Steven Reineke rolls the credits on the orchestra's concert season with an evening of Academy Award®-winning scores and songs from such films as Doctor Zhivago, Out of Africa, Titanic, and The Lord of the Rings, plus an 80th birthday tribute to John Williams with Oscar®-winning music from Jaws, Star Wars, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and Schindler's List. Essential Voices USA will once again join The New York Pops in the closing concert of the 2011-2012 season.

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 Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall, enjoying one of the venue's highest subscription renewal rates of any series. The New York Pops was founded by former NBC Music Director Skitch Henderson in 1983 with a mission to create greater public awareness and appreciation of America's rich musical heritage. Along with performing at Carnegie Hall, The New York Pops tours throughout the world and gives free concerts in New York City parks. The orchestra's media projects include performing for the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC, nationwide radio broadcasts, and numerous recordings. The New York Pops' extensive education programs allow thousands of public schoolchildren to participate in concert and music-making experiences at Carnegie Hall and in schools throughout New York City's five boroughs.

Subscriptions to the 2011-2012 Carnegie Hall series are available now to renewing subscribers at a special price. New subscriptions, priced at $165, $200, $260, $360, $470 and $520, go on sale April 9, 2011. Subscriptions may be purchased at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 57th Street and 7th Avenue, or by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800. Visit www.carnegiehall.org for more information. Single tickets will be available to the public beginning August 29, 2011 and are priced from $37 to $108.

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos