Peter Nero & Philly Pops Perform Program Featuring Robert Klein

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops® adds a twist of comedy to its unique blend of musical entertainment with Music and Comedy featuring Robert Klein (March 30, April 1-3, 2011). For more than 40 years, Robert Klein has dazzled audiences with his distinguished career in comedy, music, Broadway, and film. Publishers Weekly hails him as an "artist who unfurls an array of captivating anecdotes, performing with wry wit and honesty." Now Philadelphia audiences have the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see two show business legends-Peter Nero and Robert Klein-share the stage of Verizon Hall for four exciting performances. It's sure to be a contagiously funny show!

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is encouraging its audiences to support the American Red Cross's relief efforts in Japan following the devastating March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Peter Nero has a personal connection to northern Japan, having performed in the city of Sendai in 1976. Representatives from the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross will collect monetary donations at The POPS' performances of Music and Comedy at the Kimmel Center. People can also make a $10 donation by texting REDCROSS to 90999. Donations will go to support relief efforts for the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops' season concludes with Big Numbers featuring Peter Nero at the piano and the unmatched virtuosos of the Philly Pops playing your most requested songs (May 15, 18, 20-21, 2011).

Peter Nero

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of Peter Nero's recording career, which eventually produced 69 recordings. In 1960 he was signed to a three-year contract with RCA Victor records, which was then renewed for another five years, producing more than 26 LPs, including Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Piano Concerto in F with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops. The following year, he was honored with his first Grammy Award, as "Best New Artist of the Year."

In October 2009 pianist and conductor Peter Nero was honored with lifetime achievement awards from the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and the Philadelphia Musicians' Union Local 77, AFM. He also received the Mario Lanza Award, in recognition of outstanding achievement in the field of music, in November 2009.

"If the perfect pops conductor could be conjured, ... he might answer to this description," wrote Philadelphia Inquirer music critic Peter Dobrin: "Huge talent with polymath abilities and catholic tastes. Musician who actually enjoys giving audiences what they want. Plays piano like a dream. ... [H]e might look something like Peter Nero."

"Peter Nero is, of course, known for his piano playing, covering a range from classical concert repertoire to straight-ahead jazz. His fingers stretch as far as Art Tatum's, and he practically knows no limits on the Steinway. He is also a fine conductor ... Philadelphia is lucky to have him and his, by now, trademark Philly Pops," said All About Jazz's Victor L. Schermer on May 8, 2009.

A two-time Grammy Award-winning pianist, Peter Nero leads his unrivaled Pops orchestra blending classical, swing, Broadway, blues, and jazz-all performed with virtuosity, authenticity, and an inviting sense of humor. The Washington Post has called him "the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer."

One of his greatest achievements is being the founding Music Director of the world renowned Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. On January 27, 2007, Mr. Nero joined Rod Stewart from the piano for a performance of "They Can't Take That Away from Me" at the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert. Mr. Nero's recent guest performances include engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony, the National Arts Centre Symphony in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Detroit Symphony, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. His complete concert schedule can be found at www.peternero.com.

As a Steinway artist for over 50 years, Mr. Nero returned to New York's Carnegie Hall in 2003 to perform at a gala celebrating the 150th Anniversary of Steinway with many noted pianists, including Dr. Billy Taylor, Herbie Hancock, and Michel Legrand.

Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Nero began his formal music training at the age of seven. By the time he was 14, he was accepted to New York City's prestigious High School of Music and Art and won a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music. Constance Keene, his teacher and mentor, once wrote in an issue of Keyboard Classics that "Vladimir Horowitz was Peter's greatest fan!"

In addition to his two Grammy awards, he has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 69 albums. After his early association with RCA Records, he moved to Columbia Records, which resulted in a million-selling single and album-The Summer of ‘42-now available on CD.

His recordings over the last 14 years include two CDs with the Philly Pops, Holiday POPS! and Broadway Showstoppers, and three CDs with full symphony orchestra: On My Own, Classic Connections, and My Way. He also recorded Peter Nero and Friends, which contains collaborations with Mel Tormé, Maureen McGovern, and Doc Severinsen, among others. His latest CDs are romantic albums titled Love Songs for a Rainy Day and More in Love. By popular demand, four of his earlier vinyl recordings have been re-issued on CD. Music lovers of all generations can now hear him on Rod Stewart's album As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Volume II.

Mr. Nero's first major national success came in 1951 at age 17, when he was chosen to perform Rhapsody in Blue with the ABC Symphony conducted by Paul Whiteman. Four years later Mr. Nero appeared as guest soloist on a nationally-televised 75th birthday tribute to Mr. Whiteman, hosted by Bing Crosby. Mr. Nero subsequently appeared on many television variety and talk shows, including 11 guest appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show and numerous appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Hailed as one of the premier interpreters of Gershwin, Mr. Nero starred in the Emmy Award-winning NBC Special "S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin." Other TV credits include performances on PBS-TV's "Piano Pizzazz" and with the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., on its July 4th special titled "A Capitol Fourth." He served as music director and pianist for the PBS-TV special "The Songs of Johnny Mercer: Too Marvelous for Words" with co-stars Johnny Mathis, Melissa Manchester, and the Philly Pops.

Among Mr. Nero's long list of honors are six honorary doctorates (the most recent from Drexel University in 2004) and the prestigious International Society of Performing Arts Presenters Award for "Excellence in the Arts." He is also included on two historic walks of fame-one in Philadelphia, and one in Miami, Florida. In 1999 he received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award, presented by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge. Previous honorees include Marian Anderson, James Michener, Andrew Wyeth, and Riccardo Muti. In February 2009, the Abraham Lincoln Foundation of the Union League of Philadelphia presented Mr. Nero with its prestigious Lincoln Award as part of its Lincoln Day 2009 celebration. The Award is given to persons of distinction who, through their actions, have significantly contributed to the United States of America.

When not touring the world, Peter Nero makes his home in the Philadelphia area. He has two children-Beverly, a successful film producer residing with her husband in California, and Jedd, a commercial real estate entrepreneur residing with his wife near New York City. Both children have made him a grandfather.

Robert Klein

For more than 40 years, Robert Klein has had an acclaimed career in comedy, on Broadway, on television, and in film. Born in the Bronx, he was a member of the Second City theatrical troupe in Chicago. He was nominated for Grammy awards for Best Comedy Album of the Year for his albums Child of the Fifties and Mind Over Matter. He received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in the Neil Simon musical They're Playing Our Song. In 1993 Mr. Klein won an Obie Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig.

In 1975 Mr. Klein was the first comedian to appear in a live concert on HBO. He has since released a DVD box set, Robert Klein: The HBO Specials 1975-2005. His most recent special for HBO, "Robert Klein: Unfair and Unbalanced," is also available on DVD. He co-starred in the NBC series Sisters and recently had a recurring role on Law and Order. Mr. Klein has also made more than 100 appearances on The Tonight Show and the Late Show with David Letterman. His film credits include Hooper, The Owl and the Pussycat, Primary Colors, People I Know, Two Weeks Notice, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and The Back-Up Plan. His memoir, The Amorous Busboy of Decatur Avenue, is published by Simon & Schuster. A lifelong New Yorker, Mr. Klein makes his home in Westchester and New York City.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops

Recently hailed by allaboutjazz.com as "arguably the best pops ensemble on the planet today," Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was founded in 1979 under the musical leadership of pianist and conductor Peter Nero. Maestro Nero's unique talents and innovative programming ideas blend all musical genres making their concerts widely popular in the pops world. POPS concerts run the gamut from great classics to jazz improvisation, big band to Broadway hits, ragtime to rock ‘n' roll. Peter's participation as piano soloist is always received with boundless enthusiasm and acclaim. Guest artists-both established stars as well as outstanding new vocalists from Broadway and the concert stage-join The POPS each season. The Voices of The POPS, the resident vocal group, has become a member of the Philly Pops family as well.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is the Official Pops Orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a significant part of Philadelphia's cultural scene. The POPS has produced continuously growing and loyal audiences and performs to regularly sold-out crowds as a resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops has played a role in the City of Philadelphia's Fourth of July celebration for over 30 years. On July 2, 2010, for the seventh consecutive year, Peter and The POPS performed a free outdoor concert in front of Independence Hall. This immensely popular annual event, which includes a musical tribute to all branches of the armed forces, draws thousands of attendees. The 2008 concert also featured Peter and The POPS performing music for the wedding of premier historic re-enactors Ralph Archbold and Linda Wilde, better known to Philadelphians as Ben Franklin and Betsy Ross. On July 4, 2006, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Their concert on the Parkway the previous Independence Day, featuring Sir Elton John, Patti LaBelle, and Bryan Adams, reached over a half million people. Other notables who have joined them for past city celebrations include James Earl Jones, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Ray Charles, Boyz II Men, and Dionne Warwick.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is celebrating its 32nd anniversary during the 2010-11 season. Their Holiday POPS! CD featuring vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway is available on DRG Records.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops had the honor of performing at the opening of the National Constitution Center in 2003, and participating in National Public Radio's nation-wide radio broadcast on July 4, 2002. Another highlight took place in April 2002, when Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn made a guest appearance with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, in a special performance of Peter's original composition Voyage into Space at the Kimmel Center. Peter and The POPS was featured on ABC-TV's "Independence Day 2001," a live, star-studded national broadcast, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Garth Brooks.

Other memorable moments through the years include a performance at the Republican National Convention during the summer of 2000; a Washington, D.C., gala performance to commemorate NASA's 40th anniversary in 1998; Philadelphia's "We the People" concert, the 1987 celebration of the signing of the U.S. Constitution, which was broadcast nationally on CBS-TV; and a debut at New York City's Carnegie Hall in 1984, with a return visit in 1997.

For many years Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed in the historic Academy of Music. In December 2001, they became the second largest resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, a state-of-the-art, world-class venue on Philadelphia's Avenue of the Arts.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is presented by Encore Series, Inc., a non-profit organization enriching the cultural life of Philadelphia through the performing arts. For more information, please visit www.phillypops.org.