Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovenden Star in New York Pops' Season Opener Tonight

Tonight, October 9, 2015 at 8:00PM, The New York Pops, led by Music Director Steven Reineke, opens its 33rd season at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage with My Favorite Things: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein.

The concert honors the duo's timeless work, which has captured the hearts of every generation of music lovers, and will feature guest artists Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovenden, who replaces the previously announced Steven Pasquale, alongside Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA.

The program will feature numbers from all eleven of the collaborations between Rodgers and Hammerstein. Selections will include "A Wonderful Guy" and "There Is Nothin' Like a Dame" from South Pacific, "The Sound of Music" from The Sound of Music, and the Cinderella Waltz from Cinderella.

"It's always a joy to program the songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein," says New York Pops Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke. "They are the songwriting team that revolutionized musical theater and paved the way for many songwriters today. They dared to interject real pathos and social issues into their stories.­ The New York Pops and I are thrilled to welcome the brilliant performers Sierra Boggess and Julian Ovenden to Carnegie Hall to bring these songs to life for the opening of our 33rd Season. I know it will be an incredible concert, filled with genuine emotion and soaring melodies, rounded out by the incredibly skilled musicians of The New York Pops!"

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS:

Sierra Boggess will next be seen on Broadway starring in the Andrew Lloyd Weber's School of Rock opening at the Winter Garden Theatre this winter. Boggess recently concluded a run in the Broadway musical
It Shoulda Been You opposite Tyne Daly under the direction of David Hyde Pierce. Other Broadway credits include a limited run as Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera as well as the 25th-anniversary engagement in The Phantom of the Opera, the revival of Master Class and The Little Mermaid (Drama Desk and Drama League nominations, Broadway.com Audience Choice Award). Her London credits include LES MISERABLES, the 25th-anniversary concerts of The Phantom of the Opera at Royal Albert Hall, and Love Never Dies (Olivier Award nomination). Boggess's other New York theater credits include the one-night-only concert of Guys & Dolls at Carnegie Hall opposite Nathan Lane, Patrick Wilson and Megan Mullally; the final off-Broadway cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore; and Music in the Air for City Center's Encores! series. She also starred as Christine Daae in the Las Vegas production of The Phantom of the Opera. Regionally, she has been seen in Princesses (world premiere, Goodspeed Opera House and Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre), and the national tour of LES MISERABLES. Her recordings include the 25th-anniversary concert of The Phantom of the Opera (also on DVD), the symphonic recording of Love Never Dies, The Little Mermaid, and Andrew Lippa's A Little Princess. Concert appearances include the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall, Lincoln Center's American Songbook series The Lyrics of David Zippel, The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, and Broadway by the Year at Town Hall. Boggess has appeared several times at 54 Below, her first appearance resulting in the release of her first solo recording, Awakening: Live at 54 Below. She played her second solo show, Finding the Balance (The Journey of the Middle Child), to sold out audiences at 54 Below and San Francisco's Feinstein's at the Hotel Nikko.

Julian Ovenden has built a reputation over the last decade as a truly versatile performer, in constant demand on stage, screen, in concert and in the recording studio. Julian is currently shooting a recurring role in the CBS series Person of Interest. He recently starred in the critically acclaimed hit Downton Abbey for Julian Fellowes as well as the Olivier nominated play My Night With Reg in London's West End. He has starred in other notable TV series such as Foyle's War, Smash, Poirot, Cashmere Mafia, The Forsyte Saga, Any Human Heart, Family Guy and ABC miniseries The Assets. Notable appearances on stage include the first French production of Sunday in the Park with George at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Michel Legrand's Marguerite in the West End, Butley opposite Nathan Lane on Broadway, Death Takes a Holiday for the Roundabout Theatre off-Broadway, Finding Neverland for the Weinstein Company, Annie Get Your Gun at the Young Vic, and both Grand Hotel and Merrily We Roll Along for Michael Grandage at the Donmar Warehouse. Julian will next be seen in the upcoming feature Colonia opposite Emma Watson and Daniel Brühl. He is set to star as Captain von Trapp in a performance airing live on ITV December 20.

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) is widely regarded as one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles. It comprises a highly talented roster of both seasoned professionals and auditioned volunteers. Within this group, Clurman has created a dynamic choral model in which the size of the ensemble is dictated by the unique needs of each project. EVUSA performs regularly on the Carnegie Hall subscription series with The New York Pops and at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music. The ensemble was in residence with National Public Radio during the month of February 2011. That same year, the ensemble launched The Composer Speaks, a popular series of informal concerts in workshop format designed to encourage dialogue with composers and lyricists and moderated by Judith. In 2011 and 2012, EVUSA "rocked the rock" on NBC's national broadcasts of the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting. A highlight of the 2012-2013 season was EVUSA's participation in the Presidential Inaugural activities, including a sing-along of the "Sing Out, Mr. President" song cycle at the "Church of the Presidents" in Washington, D.C. The ensemble's CD was also featured on NPR on Inauguration Day 2013. They performed on the 2014 Macy's July 4th Fireworks Spectacular broadcast on NBC. EVUSA has recorded three CDs for Sono Luminus: Celebrating the American Spirit, Cherished Moments: Songs of the Jewish Spirit and Holiday Harmonies: Songs of Christmas.

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, as well as a summer concert series at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, NY. 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), Instagram (@thenewyorkpops), 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, Principal Pops Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Principal Pops Conductor Designate for the Houston Symphony, beginning in the 2017-2018 season. 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.

Tickets are available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, 154 West 57th Street, by calling CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website, carnegiehall.org. Single tickets are priced $40-$122.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride