Stephen Sondheim Will Be Feted at New York Festival of Song's 2017 Gala

On Wednesday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York Festival of Song presents Honoring Stephen Sondheim, an evening to benefit NYFOS's 29th Season. The Gala is co-chaired by Jamie Bernstein and Hal Prince, and Guest of Honor Stephen Sondheim will be in attendance.

Grammy and Emmy Award-nominee Ron Raines, who also received a Tony nomination for his performance in the recent Broadway revival of Sondheim's Follies, leads a cast of distinguished singing-actors including Pamela Myers (Marta in the original Broadway production of Company), opera singers bass-baritone Greer Grimsley and mezzo-soprano Luretta Bybee (husband and wife lauded for their portrayals of Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett at The Glimmerglass Festival this past summer), and NYFOS Emerging Artist alums soprano Meredith Lustig and baritone Theo Hoffman.

With NYFOS Artistic Director Steven Blier as pianist and guide, the evening will feature songs from many of Sondheim's musicals including Sweeney Todd, Follies, A Little Night Music, Company, Marry Me a Little, and Saturday Night-with possible surprises along the way. See program details below.

Dinner and additional performances to follow at '21' Club. For more information, call the NYFOS Office at 646-230-8380 or email info@nyfos.org.

A limited number of press passes are available for the 7PM concert. Gala tickets, which include the concert and dinner, range from $750 to $15,000 for a premium table of ten. Information regarding donations and on purchasing tickets and tables can be obtained online at www.nyfos.org/gala or by calling (646) 230-8380.

Marking the end of another successful season, and paying tribute to its rich history, the Spring Gala serves as the major fundraising event for the season, and contributions to the event help keep the music playing at NYFOS events for years to come.

THE PROGRAM:

(subject to change)

Pamela Myers
Another Hundred People
Broadway Baby

Ron Raines and Pamela Myers
You Must Meet My Wife

Ron Raines
The Road You Didn't Take

Meredith Lustig
The Girls of Summer

Theo Hoffman
Not While I'm Around

Meredith Lustig and Theo Hoffman
Two Fairy Tales
So Many People

Greer Grimsley and Luretta Bybee
Epiphany
Have a Little Priest
By the Sea

Now in its 29th season, New York Festival of Song (NYFOS) is dedicated to creating intimate song concerts of great beauty and originality. Weaving music, poetry, history and humor into evenings of compelling theater, NYFOS fosters community among artists and audiences. Each program entertains and educates in equal measure.

Founded by pianists Michael Barrett and Steven Blier in 1988, NYFOS continues to produce its series of thematic song programs, drawing together rarely-heard songs of all kinds, overriding traditional distinctions between musical genres, exploring the character and language of other cultures, and the personal voices of song composers and lyricists.

Since its founding, NYFOS has particularly celebrated American song. Among the many highlights is the double bill of one-act comic operas, Bastianello and Lucrezia, by John Musto and William Bolcom, both with libretti by Mark Campbell, commissioned and premiered by NYFOS in 2008 and recorded on Bridge Records. In addition to Bastianello and Lucrezia and the 2008 Bridge Records release of Spanish Love Songs with Joseph Kaiser and the late Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, NYFOS has produced five recordings on the Koch label, including a Grammy Award-winning disc of Bernstein's Arias and Barcarolles, and the Grammy-nominated recording of Ned Rorem's Evidence of Things Not Seen (also a NYFOS commission) on New World Records. This past season saw the release of Canción Amorosa, a CD of Spanish song-Basque, Catalan, Castilian, and Sephardic-on the GPR label, with soprano Corinne Winters accompanied by Steven Blier.

In November 2010, NYFOS debuted NYFOS Next, a mini-series for new songs, hosted by guest composers in intimate venues. The series is currently held at National Sawdust in Brooklyn.

NYFOS is passionate about nurturing the artistry and careers of young singers, and has developed training residencies around the country, including with The Juilliard School's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts (now in its 12th year); Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts (its 9th year in March 2017); San Francisco Opera Center (over 18 years as of February 2016); Glimmerglass Opera (2008-2010); and its newest project, NYFOS@North Fork in Orient, NY.

NYFOS's concert series, touring programs, radio broadcasts, recordings, and educational activities continue to spark new interest in the creative possibilities of the song program, and have inspired the creation of thematic vocal series around the world.

Photo Credit: Jerry Jackson