John Bolton to Narrate The New York Pops' A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS

On Sunday, December 20 at 3:00PM in Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, Carnegie Hall's Weill Music Institute presents A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS in a special holiday Family Concert with The New York Pops and Music Director Steven Reineke. This staged concert version of the iconic television special brings the whole Peanuts gang to life through original choreography by director/choreographer Liza Gennaro, as performed by dancers from New York Theatre Ballet. Returning to The New York Pops Family Concert this season, Broadway actor John Bolton (Spamalot, Contact, Titanic) will narrate the classic Christmas tale, with additional characters voiced by students from TADA! Youth Theater. Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA will join The New York Pops to perform Vince Guaraldi's memorable score.

The Family Concert is one of three holiday concerts performed at Carnegie Hall this December by The New York Pops. On Friday, December 18 at 8:00PM and Saturday, December 19 at 8:00PM, Mr. Reineke and the orchestra will perform It's Christmas Time in the City. The program will feature traditional holiday songs from two of Broadway's favorite leading performers: Stephanie J. Block (Wicked, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Pirate Queen) and Brian d'Arcy James (Something Rotten!, Shrek the Musical). Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA will also join the festivities.

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. Under the leadership of dynamic Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, The New York Pops continues to re-imagine orchestral pops music. The orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall. The New York Pops is dedicated to lifelong learning, and through its PopsEd programs collaborates with public schools, community organizations, children's hospitals 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. Visit www.newyorkpops.org for more information. Follow The New York Pops on Facebook (facebook.com/newyorkpops) and Twitter (@newyorkpops).

Steven Reineke is the Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Principal Pops Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Reineke is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and has been on the podium with the Boston Pops, The Cleveland Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia. His extensive North American conducting appearances include San Francisco, Houston, Seattle, Edmonton and Pittsburgh. As the creator of more than one hundred orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Mr. Reineke's work has been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands around the world. A native of Ohio, Mr. Reineke is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, 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.