The New York Philharmonic Presents PHIL THE HALL

The New York Philharmonic will present Phil the Hall, special $5 concerts conducted by Music Director Jaap van Zweden for New York's first responders, volunteers, and other service professionals. Miss America 2019 Nia Franklin, a soprano and composer, will host the concerts, which feature iconic music central to the history of New York and its Philharmonic as well as World Premieres of works created by New York City students participating in the Philharmonic's Very Young Composers program. The Orchestra will be joined by the Westminster Symphonic Choir, directed by Joe Miller. The concerts will take place Thursday, April 4, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, April 5 at 8:00 p.m.; and Saturday, April 6 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.

Jaap van Zweden said: "In our first season together, I personally wanted to connect with the public of New York, especially the people who do so much for this great city. It was so important to us to embrace our New York public and to spend this week performing for our neighbors at home - I think it's a wonderful thing."

President and Chief Executive Office Deborah Borda said: "We've invited fellow New Yorkers who work in the community, our service professionals, to join us. Many of them might not normally come to the Philharmonic, perhaps because they've never been invited. We hope that people will come to our home and experience what's so special about the New York Philharmonic."

All New York City service professionals are invited to attend Phil the Hall. Fifty groups have accepted the invitation on behalf of those who serve New Yorkers, including the FDNY, the NYPD, the Police Athletic League, The Acacia Network, The Bowery Mission, Breaking Ground, Bronx Council on the Arts, Brooklyn Defender Services, El Centro del Inmigrante, Coalition for the Homeless, Goddard Riverside, God's Love We Deliver, Henry Street Settlement, New Women New Yorkers, and Year Up.

The program will feature works connected with the history of the New York Philharmonic and the Orchestra's hometown:

• Selection from Beethoven's Symphony No. 5, a work performed on the Philharmonic's inaugural concert in 1842
• The "Ode to Joy" from the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, the US Premiere of which the Philharmonic presented in 1846, for which it commissioned the first English translation
• Elegy from August 4, 1964, by the late Steven Stucky, who served as host of the Philharmonic's Hear and Now new-music series; Maestro van Zweden led the premiere of the complete work with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra
• Former Music Director Leonard Bernstein's Candide Overture
• Two works by native New Yorker and Philharmonic Honorary Member Aaron Copland: The Promise of Living from The Tender Land, and Hoe-Down from Rodeo
• Ride of the Valkyries by Richard Wagner, named a Philharmonic Honorary Member in 1872
• World Premieres of works by Paloma Dineli-Chesky and Mack Scocca-Ho, two 11-year-old New York City students, created through the Philharmonic's Very Young Composers (VYC) program. Ms. Dineli-Chesky will perform as vocalist in the premiere of her work. Created by New York Philharmonic VYC Program Director Jon Deak - a composer and former Philharmonic Associate Principal Bass - this initiative enables students from diverse backgrounds to compose music to be performed by Philharmonic musicians, sometimes by the full Orchestra.

Single tickets are $5. Tickets will go on sale on March 12 and may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the David Geffen Hall Box Office. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m.