Laura Michelle Kelly and Max von Essen to Join The New York Pops At Carnegie Hall

The New York Pops performs the timeless music of Rodgers and Hammerstein on Friday, January 24, 2020 at 8:00 p.m. in Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein joined by guest artists Laura Michelle Kelly and Max von Essen, as well as Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA. The concert spans all eleven of Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic collaborations, including "People Will Say We're in Love" from Oklahoma!, "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel, "Some Enchanted Evening" from South Pacific, "I Have Dreamed" from The King and I, and "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from The Sound of Music.

Additional concerts in The New York Pops' 2019-20 season at Carnegie Hall include: A Frank and Ella Christmas on December 20 and December 21 with Tony DeSare, Capathia Jenkins, and Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA; I'm Every Woman: Divas On Stage on February 14 with Mandy Gonzalez, Carrie Manolakos, and Alex Newell; and Movie Night: The Scores of John Williams on March 27.

Concert Information

THE NEW YORK POPS
Find Your Dream: The Songs of Rodgers and Hammerstein
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor

Friday, January 24, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall

Laura Michelle Kelly, Guest Artist
Max von Essen, Guest Artist
Essential Voices USA
Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor

Tickets, priced at $22 to $145, 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.

About the Artists

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. 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. Now in its 37th season, 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 is a non-profit organization supported solely through the generosity of individual donations, institutional grants, corporate sponsorships, and concert income.

Follow The New York Pops on Facebook (facebook.com/thenewyorkpops), Instagram (@thenewyorkpops), and Twitter (@thenewyorkpops).

Steven Reineke has established himself as one of North America's leading conductors of popular music. Mr. Reineke is the Music Director/Conductor 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 with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his extensive North American conducting appearances include Atlanta, Cincinnati, Edmonton, San Francisco, and Sarasota.

On stage, Reineke has created programs and collaborated with a range of leading artists from the worlds of hip hop, R&B, Broadway, television, and rock including Maxwell, Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Cynthia Erivo, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Wayne Brady, Peter Frampton, and Ben Folds, among others. In 2017, National Public Radio's "All Things Considered" featured Reineke leading the National Symphony Orchestra performing live music excerpts between news segments - a first in the show's 45-year history. 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 more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, 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. 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. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands worldwide.

Laura Michelle Kelly is an Oliver Award-winning actress for her star-making performance as the title role in the world premiere stage production of Disney's Mary Poppins. Laura's Broadway/New York credits include the Encores! production of Me and My Girl, Finding Neverland (after premiering the show at the American Repertory Theater- 2015 Elliott Award Nominee), reprising her role in Mary Poppins and the 2004 revival of Fiddler on the Roof. Laura's West End credits include My Fair Lady, Speed-the-Plow, Lord of the Rings: The Musical, Beauty and the Beast, Whistle Down the Wind, Peter Pan, Les Misérables, and Mamma Mia!. Laura's US Regional credits include the National Tour of Lincoln Center's revival of The King and I, Austen's Pride, Cabaret, and - for The MUNY - Matilda, The King and I and South Pacific. Laura's film credits include "Sweeney Todd" (Lucy/Beggar Woman; dir. Tim Burton) and "Goddess" (2012 Cannes Film Festival). Laura's album credits include "The Storm Inside" (2006). Laura is the recipient of the Voice of Musical Theatre award. She has held numerous radio, TV, and concert appearances including Albert Hall, Hampton Court Palace, Royal Opera House, Millennium Stadium, Buckingham Palace and has performed for President Obama for the 4th of July celebration and for the nation's televised event "Broadway at the White House." www.Lauramichellekelly.net

Max von Essen is a Tony nominated singer and actor best known for his role as Henri Baurel in the award-winning production of An American in Paris on Broadway. He recently finished a year-long run in the Broadway production of Anastasia as Gleb Vaganov and then toured the United States as Marvin in Lincoln Center Theater's revival of Falsettos. Other Broadway credits include Evita, the revivals of Les Misérables and Jesus Christ Superstar, Dance of the Vampires, and the closing company of the original Les Misérables. Additional New York credits include Yours Unfaithfully for the Mint Theater, Death Takes a Holiday for the Roundabout Theatre Company, Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall, Hello Again (Drama League nomination) for The Transport Group, Finian's Rainbow for the Irish Repertory Theatre, The Fantasticks at the Sullivan Street Playhouse, and many others. Tours include Xanadu, Chicago and West Side Story.

Max's concert work has brought him all across the country and Canada, including The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall and a recent sold-out solo run at the famed Birdland Jazz Club in New York City. Recordings include "An American in Paris" (earning Max a Grammy nomination), "Evita", "Death Takes a Holiday", "Finian's Rainbow", "Love Songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber", "Broadway by the Year: 1928", "Broadway Unplugged" and his debut solo album, "Call Me Old Fashioned: The Broadway Standard", now available on iTunes. @maxizpad.

Judith Clurman's Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) is one of New York's preeminent choral ensembles. EVUSA performs in many of the city's iconic venues and events, and records and premieres works by America's finest composers and lyricists.  Regularly on-stage with The New York Pops in its Carnegie Hall subscription series, and televised on NBC's July 4th Macy's Fireworks Spectacular in 2014 and the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting, the ensemble is comprised of a talented roster of seasoned professionals and auditioned volunteers, dynamically fitted to the unique needs of each project. EVUSA participated in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural activities and held a month-long residency at National Public Radio. EVUSA has performed with a diverse and impressive array of artists from the world of opera and musical theater. The group premiered works by composers such as Milton Babbitt, Jason Robert Brown, Jennifer Higdon, Nico Muhly, and Howard Shore.

EVUSA Youth Workshop provides select high school students the opportunity to participate in anti-bullying workshops with members of the chorus. The ensemble has recorded for Sono Luminus and Broadway Records.

Music Director Judith Clurman is an Emmy and Grammy-nominated conductor and educator. She also is the musical director and conductor for EVUSA, the Symphony Singers, and for the Macy's Singing Christmas Tree float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. She has served as Director of Choral Activities at The Juilliard School and has taught at Curtis and Cambridge, as well as Harvard and Princeton Universities. She is currently a member of the musical theater faculty of the Manhattan School of Music. Her arrangements and compositions have been performed by The New York Pops and the Boston, Houston, and National Symphonies. Her work has been heard for 22 years at Carnegie Hall, with numerous orchestras, including the Orchestra of St. Luke's, The New York Pops, the Juilliard Choral Union, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra.