'NEW YORK POPS' Awarded Grant For Strouse Tribute On 4/3/09

The New York Pops have been awarded a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). The grant, awarded in the category "Access to Artistic Excellence," will support Once Upon a Time and Tomorrow: The Best of Charles Strouse, a concert celebrating the 80th birthday of the Tony Award-winning Broadway composer. The performance will provide the opportunity to explore the works of this time-honored American composer whose talent has advanced the art of musical theater and touched the hearts of music-lovers for generations. The New York Pops holds the unique distinction of being the only symphonic pops orchestra in the country to receive an award from the NEA in the category of "Access to Artistic Excellence."

"The New York Pops prides itself in exploring the works of great composers, particularly those who have made an important contribution to the canon of American popular music," said James M. Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of The New York Pops. "We are pleased to have the support of the National Endowment for the Arts as we salute a living legend among composers for the American musical theater, Charles Strouse."

The concert on April 3, 2009 will provide the opportunity for audiences to explore music from Strouse's best-loved shows, Bye Bye Birdie, Applause and Annie, and will include lesser-known repertoire from Golden Boy, It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman and Nick & Nora. Martin Yates will conduct with guest artists Barry Bostwick, Debbie Gravitte, Rebecca Luker, Karen Mason, Emma Rowley, and Eric Jordan Young. Also to appear on the program is The Young People's Chorus of New York City, Francisco Nuñez, Director.

The National Endowment of the Arts grants awards to outstanding arts institutions to encourage and support artistic excellence, preserve our cultural heritage, and provide access to the arts for all Americans. Access to Artistic Excellence grants support the creation and presentation of work in dance, design, folk and traditional arts, literature, media arts, museums, music, musical theater, opera, presenting, theater, and visual arts. In its first major grant announcement of fiscal year 2009, the NEA announced that it will fund 886 projects out of 1,394 eligible applications, for a total of $20,325,500 million. For more information see www.nea.gov.

The New York Pops <www.newyorkpops.org> was founded by former NBC Music Director Skitch Henderson in 1983 to give New York a permanent professional symphonic pops orchestra that would create greater public awareness and appreciation of America's rich and diverse musical heritage. The orchestra is now the largest independent symphonic pops orchestra in the United States. The New York Pops is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely through the generosity of individual donations, institutional grants, and concert income.