Susan Egan, Harvey Fierstein, Judy Kuhn, and More to Perform at New York Pops 35th Birthday Gala

The New York Pops, led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, today announces an initial line-up of guest artists and its honorary co-chairs for its 35th Birthday Gala, Part of His World: The Songs of Alan Menken on Monday, April 30, 2018 at 7:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall, presented by The New York Pops.

Guest artists have played pivotal roles performing and working with Menken and include: Michael Arden (Quasimodo in Paper Mill Playhouse's production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Roger Bart (the title role in Disney's animated classic Hercules), Jodi Benson (Ariel in Disney's film version of The Little Mermaid), Ashley Brown (Belle in the Broadway production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast), Nick Cordero (Sonny in the Broadway production of A Bronx Tale), Susan Egan (Belle in the original cast of the Broadway production of Disney's Beauty and the Beast, and Meg in the film version of Disney's Hercules), Harvey Fierstein (book writer for the Broadway production of Disney's Newsies), James Monroe Iglehart (the Genie in the original cast of the Broadway production of Disney's Aladdin), Adam Jacobs (the title role in the original cast of the Broadway production of Disney's Aladdin), Judy Kuhn (the singing voice of the title role in Disney's film Pocahontas), and Patina Miller (Deloris Van Cartier in the original Broadway and London casts of Sister Act). Additional guest artists will be announced.

Honorary co-chairs for the event include Ashley Brown, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeremy Jordan, Audra McDonald, Sir Tim Rice, and Bernard Telsey.

Proceeds from the Gala support the organization's PopsEd music education programs. The concert is followed by a black tie dinner and dance at the Mandarin Oriental New York.

The New York Pops 35th anniversary season additionally includes The Best of Hollywood: Blockbuster Film Scores on Friday, March 9 at 8:00 p.m. at Carnegie Hall.

Tickets, priced from $75, are available at newyorkpops.org or by calling 212-765-7677. Tickets are also available at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, at 57th and Seventh, or by phone at CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800, or at carnegiehall.org.

Tickets to the full gala evening range from $1,350 (concert and dinner seating for one) to $50,000 (premier concert seating and dinner table for eight). For more information about the black-tie dinner and dance at the Mandarin Oriental New York, call 212-765-7677 or visit www.newyorkpops.org.

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 and a summer 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.

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 Houston Symphony and 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 Seattle, Edmonton and Pittsburgh. As the creator of more than one hundred orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra and the composer of symphonic and wind ensemble compositions, Mr. Reineke's work has been performed worldwide.

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. PopsEd makes music open to all, and use tools like composition, lyric writing, performance and mentorship to foster learning and unbridled creativity. In doing so, PopsEd excites students and gives them skills that they can apply to all areas of their lives.

Image of Susan Egan by Kevyn Major Howard
Image of Steven Reineke by Michael Tammaro