Hailey Kilgore, Derek Klena, Javier Muñoz & Ali Stroker to Join The New York Pops Season Opening Concert at Carnegie Hall

The New York Pops—led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke— will open its 2023-24 season with a brand-new concert program, 21st Century Broadway, on Friday, October 27, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. The orchestra is joined by guest artists Hailey Kilgore (Tony and Grammy Award nominee for her portrayal of Ti Moune in the Broadway revival of Once On This Island), Derek Klena (Tony Award nominee for his portrayal of Nick Healy in Jagged Little Pill), Javier Muñoz (co-creator of the title role in Hamilton), and Ali Stroker (Tony Award winner for her role as Ado Annie in the Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!). The concert features music from some of the most iconic new musical theater classics since 2000, including Hamilton, Wicked, The Last Five Years, Spring Awakening, Waitress, and more. 

"The 21st century has been a thrilling time for musical theater, during which we’ve seen the debut of new and wildly popular classics like Wicked and Hamilton; and the establishment of new composers like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, and Pasek and Paul,” said New York Pops Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke. “I’m excited to kick off our 2023-24 season at Carnegie Hall with this brand-new program highlighting the Broadway shows that have been so transformational to audiences throughout the past 20+ years and collaborate with four brilliant vocalists, each of whom has appeared in some of this century’s most notable Broadway productions.”

Additional upcoming performances for The New York Pops’ 2023-24 season of performances in Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall include One Night Only: An Evening with Sutton Foster and Kelli O’Hara on Friday, November 17, 2023; The Best Christmas of All with Norm Lewis on Friday, December 22 and 23, 2023; Gershwin: A Century of Rhapsody in Blue on Friday, February 9, 2024 featuring Montego Glover and Lee Musiker; and Hitsville: Celebrating Motown on Friday, March 15, 2024 featuring Bryan Terrell Clark and Valisia LeKae, in addition to the annual New York Pops Underground cabaret at 54 Below on Monday, October 2, 2023 featuring Betsy Wolfe.

Program Information

THE NEW YORK POPS
21st Century Broadway
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Hailey Kilgore, Guest Artist
Derek Klena, Guest Artist
Javier Muñoz, Guest Artist
Ali Stroker, Guest Artist

Friday, October 27, 2023 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

Tickets are available for purchase at the Carnegie Hall Box Office, at 57th and Seventh, or can be charged to major credit cards by calling CarnegieCharge at (212) 247-7800 or by visiting the Carnegie Hall website at carnegiehall.org.

This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

The New York Pops’ programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

The New York Pops is the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series at Carnegie Hall, and is among the venue’s most presented ensembles. Now in its 41st season, The New York Pops’ annual birthday gala is celebrated each spring, raising funds for the orchestra and its education programs. The New York Pops performs annually in Queens, NY at Forest Hills Stadium, a 14,000-seat historic concert venue.  

The New York Pops

celebrates the diversity of popular music’s evolving songbook. Every concert is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, with influences ranging from Broadway melodies to film scores, jazz, rock, pop, and everything in between. Under Reineke’s dynamic leadership, The New York Pops continues to re-imagine orchestral pops music. 

Through its PopsEd music education programs, The New York Pops fulfills its dedication to lifelong learning by collaborating with public schools, community organizations, and senior centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City. PopsEd allows thousands of New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to participate in fully customizable music programs that blend traditional education with pure fun. 

The New York Pops is committed to serving all members of the community. Through its Kids in the Balcony and Kids in the Stadium programs, thousands of children and their parents have had an opportunity to see The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and Forest Hills Stadium free of charge.  

The New York Pops was founded by Ruth and Skitch Henderson in 1983 with a mission to create greater public awareness and appreciation of America’s rich musical heritage through presentation of concerts and education programs of the highest quality. The New York Pops is a non-profit organization supported solely through the generosity of individual donations, institutional grants, corporate sponsorships, and concert income.

Steven Reineke

is one of North America's leading conductors of popular music and is in his second decade as Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall.  Additionally, he is Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Principal Pops Conductor of the Houston and Toronto Symphony Orchestras.

Reineke is a frequent guest conductor and can be seen on the podium with the Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco and Detroit Symphony Orchestras.

On stage, Mr. Reineke creates and collaborates with a range of leading artists from the worlds hip-hop, R & B, Broadway, television and rock including: Maxwell, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Ne-Yo, Barry Manilow, Cynthia Erivo, Ben Rector, Cody Fry, Sutton Foster, Amos Lee, Dispatch, Jason Mraz, and Ben Folds, amongst others.  In 2017 he was featured on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" leading the National Symphony Orchestra - in a first for the show's 45-year history - performing live music excerpts in between news segments.  In 2018 Reineke led the National Symphony Orchestra with hip-hop legend Nas performing his seminal album "Illmatic" on PBS's Great Performances.
 

As the creator of hundreds of orchestral arrangements, Reineke’s work is performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, including performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare was used to commemorate the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s pavilion, and his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands perennially.
 

A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio (2020 Alumnus Distinguished Achievement Medal), where he earned bachelor of music degrees with honors in both trumpet performance and music composition. He currently resides in New York City with his husband Eric Gabbard.
 

Hailey Kilgore

is an American singer, dancer and actress. Best known for her Tony and Grammy nominated turn as Ti Moune in the Broadway revival of Once On This Island, Hailey has since gone on to star in multiple films including the critically acclaimed Respect opposite Jennifer Hudson and the feature Cinnamon in which Hailey stars in the lead role. The film made its debut at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. On the TV front, Hailey currently stars as Jukebox in Starz's Power Book III: Raising Kanan and has had multiple memorable arcs on Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories on Apple and NBC's The Village. Hailey's first EP Desire and Devotion was released earlier this year. Hailey is represented by A3 and Circle of Confusion 

Derek Klena

starred on Broadway in Alanis Morissette’s critically acclaimed musical Jagged Little Pill, for which he received a Tony Award Nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He recently concluded his run as Christian in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical Moulin Rouge, directed by Alex Timbers. Earlier this year, Derek also starred as Joe Gillis opposite Stephanie J. Block in the Kennedy Center’s limited run of Sunset Boulevard, which was part of their Broadway Center Stage program. 

Derek first broke onto the NYC theater scene in the 2012 Off-Broadway revival of Carrie, where he quickly garnered attention from Oscar, Grammy, and Tony winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul to originate the lead role of Eddie Birdlace in Dogfight. He received a Clive Barnes Award Nomination for his performance. Derek made his Broadway debut as Fiyer” in the 10th-anniversary company of Wicked. On Broadway, he also originated the roles of Michael Johnson in Jason Robert Brown’s The Bridges of Madison County and Dmitry in Ahrens/Flaherty/McNally’s Anastasia. Other notable theatre credits include Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Unknown Soldier, directed by Trip Cullman; Signature Theatre’s Diner, written by Sheryl Crow & Barry Levinson; and the Hollywood Bowl’s star-studded production of Hairspray, directed by Jerry Mitchell.  

On television, Derek can be seen in the pivotal role of “Wes” in the MAX series, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, and he will soon reprise his role in season 2. Derek is known for his memorable arc as DJ Fingablast on Tina Fey and Robert Carlock’s Netflix hit Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Other TV credits City on a Hill, The Code, and A Holiday Spectacular.

Javier Muñoz

is best known for starring and co-creating the role of Alexander Hamilton in the hit musical Hamilton on Broadway for two years after Lin-Manuel Miranda departed the show (and was his alternate prior to that).  He got his break starring as Usnavi in In the Heights on Broadway, also created by Miranda. Javier recently starred in the pre-Broadway run of the new musical, The Devil Wears Prada, in the role of Nigel Owens (originated by Stanley Tucci in the feature film), with music by Elton John. Javier starred in the dark comedy indie feature, Monuments, opposite David Sullivan & Marguerite Moreau, he just wrapped the indie feature Love Reconsidered and stars in Three Months, opposite Troy Sivan and Judy Greer, which is available on Paramount+.  He voices a lead character in the Disney Jr. animated series, Eureka! Other TV credits include recurring on Shadowhunters, Blindspot, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. Javier is also an outspoken activist for LGBTQ+ rights. 

Ali Stroker  

is a Tony Award winner for her role as Ado Annie in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway in Deaf West’s acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. She's a series regular in the Netflix series, Echoes, and starred in the Lifetime holiday film, Christmas Ever After.  Ali recurred in the final season of Netflix's Ozark and is recurring in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building. She co-wrote the 2021 novel, The Chance to Fly, and she wrote the 2022 children's book,  Ali and the Sea Stars. She played Lady Anne in the Shakespeare in the Park production of Richard III. She’s performed her one woman show all over the country, some of her favorites being the Kennedy Center, Town Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. Her mission to improve the lives of others through the arts is captured in her motto: “Turning Your Limitations Into Your Opportunities.”

Photo of Hailey Kilgore by Tom Lupton; photo of Derek Klena by Jenny Anderson; photo of Ali Stroker by Jenny Anderson

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