Anthony Roth Costanzo to Be Honored at New-York Historical Society's Annual History Makers Gala

The New-York Historical Society will present the 2022 History Makers Award to opera superstar, arts innovator, and civic leader Anthony Roth Costanzo for his achievements in the performing arts and for his activism. The gala will take place on October 6, 2022, at New-York Historical's Central Park West home. Pam Schafler, chair emerita of New-York Historical's Board of Trustees, will be honored with the 1804 Founders Medal for Distinguished Service. Renowned historian and Pulitzer prize-winning author Jon Meacham will deliver the keynote address.

"Anthony Roth Costanzo is the Yo-Yo Ma of millennials," said Dr. Agnes Hsu-Tang, New-York Historical's Board of Trustees. "With his musical virtuosity-a clarion voice described by the Wall Street Journal as 'otherworldly'-and fearless artistry, Anthony has electrified a new generation of opera goers with defining roles in classical repertoire and boundary-breaking contemporary American masterpieces, including as Akhnaten in Philip Glass' eponymous work. But Anthony is much more than a consummate artist; he ably deploys his boundless creative energy towards civic initiatives, most recently as the creator and executive producer of the New York Philharmonic Bandwagon that brought diverse concerts to all five boroughs during the COVID pandemic. At 40, Anthony has already made a mark as a civic leader in New York, and it is a privilege to recognize his many achievements with our History Makers Award. In the same light, we are honored to acknowledge another great New Yorker, our chair emerita Pam Schafler, for her brilliant and indefatigable leadership for the last nine years-a period of robust foundation-building that has immensely strengthened our institution. With deep gratitude, we honor Pam with our 1804 Founders' Distinguished Service Medal."

The funds raised at the History Makers Gala benefit support New-York Historical's education programs, which provide dynamic programming and curriculum resources for more than 250,000 local students and teachers and countless more remotely. Past recipients of the History Makers Award include Dr. Anthony Fauci (2021), Andrew Roberts (2019), Jim Dale (2018), William J. Bratton and Rikki Klieman (2017), Ken Burns and Ric Burns (2016), Ron Chernow and Lin-Manuel Miranda (2015), Hillary Clinton (2014), David Petraeus (2013), Wynton Marsalis and Walter Isaacson (2012), and Henry Kissinger (2011), and Robert A. Caro (2008), among others.

What Annual History Makers Gala

When Thursday, October 6, 2022

Where New-York Historical Society, 170 Central Park West

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact: 212-744-0799 or barbi@barbizakinevents.com.

2022 Honorees

Anthony Roth Costanzo, a 2022 Grammy Award winner, has appeared in opera, concert, recital, film, and on Broadway. This spring, he returns to the Metropolitan Opera in his acclaimed performance of the title role in Philip Glass's Akhnaten. This season, he is also the Artist-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, performing and curating programming to reflect on questions of identity. He also created and produced the New York Philharmonic's Bandwagon initiative, the orchestra's innovative response to the ongoing pandemic. It began with 81 impromptu concerts in all five boroughs of New York City, including at New-York Historical, at which Mr. Costanzo, musicians from the orchestra, and other special guests performed a wide range of repertoire. It evolved into a series of festivals created with partner organizations throughout the city, which utilize the resources of the Philharmonic to center and amplify the voices of the community.

Costanzo has performed and produced around the world at venues including Carnegie Hall, Versailles, Madison Square Garden, Philadelphia Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Kennedy Center, the London Symphony Orchestra, Kabuki-Za Tokyo, San Francisco Opera, the Guggenheim, Chicago Lyric Opera, the Park Avenue Armory, Teatro Real Madrid, and many others. His debut album, ARC, a collection of arias by Handel and Glass with Les Violons du Roy, was nominated for a Grammy. His live show and second album Only an Octave Apart with cabaret legend Justin Vivian Bond received numerous "Best of 2021" accolades, ranging from Time magazine to the New York Times and the Washington Post. Costanzo was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for his performance in a Merchant Ivory film and graduated with honors from Princeton University-where he has returned to teach-and Manhattan School of Music, where he is on the board of trustees.

Pam B. Schafler is chair emeritus of the New-York Historical Society. In September 2013, Pam Schafler was elected chair of the board of New-York Historical, having previously served as vice chair of the board from 2010. She served as chair until February 2022. She was founding chair of New-York Historical's Chairman's Council, a group dedicated to securing the institution's future as pre-eminent in American history and served in that role for seven years from 2006. From 2004-2006, Ms. Schafler transcribed 18th century documents in the Gilder Lehrman Collection on deposit at New-York Historical where her work on the correspondence of Henry Knox included a Notebook of Highlights from the George Washington and Henry Knox Collection.

Previously, Ms. Schafler worked on The Papers of William Livingston, a federally and state-funded project to collect, edit, and publish five volumes of selected papers of the first governor of the State of New Jersey. She was an assistant editor of Volume I: June 1774-June 1777 and an associate editor of Volume II: July 1777-December 1778. Ms. Schafler has been actively involved in community organizations, and previously served on the boards of the Gracie Mansion Conservancy, the 10 Gracie Square River Corporation, and the Anti-Defamation League where she held numerous leadership positions at one of the nation's premier civil rights and human relations agencies for almost two decades. She is currently a member of the Visiting Committee of the Ruth Keeler Memorial Library in North Salem, NY. Ms. Schafler received her B.A. in history and art history from Simmons College and did post-graduate work in history at New York University.

About the New-York Historical Society
Experience 400 years of history through groundbreaking exhibitions, immersive films, and thought-provoking conversations among renowned historians and public figures at the New-York Historical Society, New York's first museum. A great destination for history since 1804, the Museum and the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library convey the stories of the city and nation's diverse populations, expanding our understanding of who we are as Americans and how we came to be. Ever-rising to the challenge of bringing little or unknown histories to light, New-York Historical will soon inaugurate a new annex housing its Academy for American Democracy as well as the American LGBTQ+ Museum. These latest efforts to help forge the future by documenting the past join New-York Historical's DiMenna Children's History Museum and Center for Women's History. Digital exhibitions, apps, and our For the Ages podcast make it possible for visitors everywhere to dive more deeply into history. Connect with us at nyhistory.org or at @nyhistory on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Tumblr.