Princeton Symphony to Welcome Sierra Boggess for 'Today Evening POPS!' Concert

On Saturday, February 4 at 8 pm, The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO)'s Saturday Evening POPS! concert celebrates famous songs and music of the stage and screen with guest vocalist Sierra Boggess and the return of Lucas Richman as host and conductor.

The concert highlights iconic melodies from productions which have found success on both stage and screen. Ms. Boggess performs songs from Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Little Mermaid, Phantom of the Opera, LES MISERABLES, Love Never Dies, and In the Good Old Summertime. The evening also includes a tribute to George Gershwin, dance music by Leonard Bernstein from On the Town, and selections from Oliver! and The Producers.

The concert takes place at Richardson Auditorium in Alexander Hall on the campus of Princeton University.

Grammy Award-winner Lucas Richman has collaborated with numerous film composers as their conductor, recording scores for such films as the Academy Award-nominated The Village, As Good as It Gets, Face/Off, Se7en, Breakdown, The Manchurian Candidate, and Kit Kittredge: An American Girl; in 2010, John Williams invited him to lead the three-month national summer tour of Star Wars in Concert. Recent recordings of his include Symphony of Hope: The Haiti Project (a project from within the film music community that has generated over $200K in donations), Noel Paul Stookey's recent solo album One & Many, and Marvin Hamlisch's final score, written for the Emmy Award-winning HBO movie Behind the Candelabra. He received a Grammy Award (2011) in the category of Best Classical Crossover Album for having conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra on Christopher Tin's classical/world fusion album, Calling All Dawns.

Sierra Boggess is best known world-wide for re-inventing the coveted role of Christine Daae in Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera. She portrayed the role in the Broadway, West End, and televised 25th Anniversary concert productions of Phantom. Ms. Boggess made her Broadway debut as Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid, receiving Drama Desk and Drama League Nominations, as well as the Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Female Breakthrough Performance. Her additional Broadway credits include Master Class, It Shoulda Been You, The Phantom of the Opera, and School of Rock. Boggess' Off-Broadway credits include Love, Loss, and What I Wore, and Music in the Air alongside Kristin Chenoweth, for New York City Center's Encores! Series. In the West End, she has appeared as Fantine in LES MISERABLES and originated the role of Christine Daae in Love Never Dies, the critically acclaimed sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, receiving an Olivier Award Nomination for her performance.

In advance of the Saturday Evening POPS! concert, the PSO once again partners with the Princeton Garden Theatre with a presentation of the film Breakfast at Tiffany's on Thursday, January 26, at 7:30 pm; tickets to the movie can be purchased from the theatre at princetongarden.org. Henry Mancini's "Moon River" will be performed at the February 4 concert by Sierra Boggess.

Saturday Evening POPS! is made possible through the generous support of Mr. and Mrs. Francisco Lorenzo, Edward E. Matthews and Vilma Keri, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen H. Paneyko, Mr. and Mrs. Elwood W. Phares, Mr. and Mrs. John Steffens, and Mr. and Mrs. James Utaski.

Tickets for Saturday Evening POPS! are on sale now for $82, $65, $52, $33 and $25 (students 17 and under). To order, visit www.princetonsymphony.org or call (609) 497-0020.

The Princeton Symphony Orchestra (PSO) is a cultural centerpiece of the Princeton community and one of New Jersey's finest music organizations, a position established through performances of beloved masterworks, innovative music by living composers, and an extensive network of educational programs offered to area students free of charge. Led by Music Director Rossen Milanov, the PSO presents orchestral, pops, and chamber music programs of the highest artistic quality, supported by lectures and related events that supplement the concert experience. Through PSO BRAVO!, the orchestra produces wide-reaching and impactful education programs in partnership with local schools and arts organizations that culminate in students attending their first live orchestral performance. With considerable community support and funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the PSO is also a multiple-year recipient of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts' highest honors. The PSO has been recognized for its commitment to new music with an ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming and a Copland Fund Award. The only independent, professional orchestra to make its home in Princeton, the PSO performs at historic Richardson Auditorium on the campus of Princeton University.