Carol Hall's JENNY REBECCA Receives Ovation At Carnegie Hall

Award-winning composer Carol Hall'S beloved classic "JENNY REBECCA" received a prolonged and extremely enthusiastic ovation at Frederica von Stade'S farewell New York concert this Thursday evening, April 22nd at Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage.

Before singing the song, MS. von Stade delightedly introduced MS. Hall to the many, many devoted fans in the sold-out-packed-to-the-rafters audience attending this milestone concert.

MS. von Stade loved the song so much she named her yet to be born daughter, JENNY REBECCA. She originally recorded it while pregnant with Jenny. Now thirty-four years later, after singing "JENNY REBECCA" she brought her JENNY REBECCA ELKUS to the stage to join her in a duet of Chris Brubeck's "ACROSS YOUR DREAMS" in tribute to daughters.

Ms. von Stade was accompanied by Martin Katz on Piano with special guests: Richard Stilwell (Baritone), Samuel Ramey (Bass), Emil Miland (Cello) and Lee Hoiby (Piano).

The evening's program also featured works by Maurice Ravel, Virgil Thomson, Aaron Copland, Marc Berthomieu, Gustav Mahler, Ambroise Thomas, William Bolcom, Arnold Weinstein and Pauline Viardot.

Attached is an MP3 of MS. von STADE'S live performance of "JENNY REBECCA" with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. It's from the CD "Frederica von Stade: Mormon Tabernacle Choir: Simple Gifts: Utah Symphony Orchestra: Joseph Silverstein" (1991).

MS. Von Stade also recorded the song live in 1976 on her CD "Frederica von Stade Sings Dorumsgaard, Mahler, Ives, Poulenc and Others."

ABOUT Carol Hall
Composer / lyricist / playwright

The first person ever to record one of Carol Hall's songs was the young Barbra Streisand. Subsequently, her songs were performed by such extraordinary singers as Tony Bennett, Barbara Cook, Margaret Whiting, Julie Wilson, Chita Rivera, Michael Feinstein, Mabel Mercer, Amanda McBroom, Lari White, Olivia Newton-John, Maureen McGovern, Miriam Makeba, RuPaul, David Campbell, Frederica von Stade, Kermit the Frog and Big Bird. Among others. She's also one of the few songwriters to have a hit Broadway show. Her classic musical THE BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS entertained Broadway audiences for almost five years, received a Grammy nomination for its cast album, and became a popular film starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton. Dolly's recording of Carol's song "Hard Candy Christmas" won an ASCAP Most Performed Country Song Award, and the film generated an OSCAR nomination for Charles Durning, singing "The Sidestep" as the slippery Governor of Texas. A recent national tour of WHOREHOUSE starring the entertainment legend Ann-Margret, enjoyed a run for over a year and a half. Carol also does a lot of writing for children. Her "It's All Right To Cry," and "Parents Are People" continue to be favorites of generations of children. Recently she created the score to the theatrical version of the popular children's series MAX AND RUBY. Four tours of the show are presently playing across the country, after a successful debut opening Off-Broadway in December 2007. Her most recent delight has been the making of her CD "HALLWAYS: The Songs of Carol Hall" which features many of her most loved and wonderful songs - both old and brand new - such as the hit "Hard Candy Christmas," as well as the timeless classic "Jenny Rebecca". As Carol says in the CD's booklet, "a song is not a song until somebody sings it..." And what an array of singers she has here! In addition to Carol, performing on the CD are Amanda McBroom, Johnny Rodgers, Scott Coulter, Tim DiPasqua, Tom Andersen, Lesley Gore, Susannah Blinkoff, Farah Alvin, Steven Lutvak, Laurel Massé, Bobby Gosh, Rick Jensen, Carol Woods and the Broadway Inspirational Voices. "HALLWAYS: The Songs of Carol Hall" was co-produced by Tex Arnold, who also served as its musical director, responsible for the exquisite arrangements. It was spectacularly engineered by Bill Moss at the famous NOLA Recording Studios, NYC. "HALLWAYS: The Songs of Carol Hall" most recently earned Carol her third prestigious BISTRO AWARD as this year's winner for the 2009 ASCAP Award for Outstanding CD. The CD was also nominated for three MAC AWARDS including Best Song, Best Special Material and Best Recording; winning Best Special Material for her highly acclaimed song "This is My Birthday".

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