David Baker News

The future is... February 17-18, 2023, with the announcement that Back to the Future standouts Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson and Tom Wilson will attend FAN EXPO Portland. The trio joins Michael J. Fox, announced last week, at Oregon Convention Center, on the growing celebrity guest roster.

Ghosts of Placer County, the world premiere that performs September 30 through October 8 in Roseville, is an historic event for both Placer County and for Placer Repertory Theater.

The Chelsea Symphony (TCS) presents the second series of its 2022-23 season, Near & Far, on October 29 & 30. The weekend program, Movement, dives into the power of movement in both physical form and as a means to change.

Birdland Jazz Club and Birdland Theater are open this September with a full slate of nightly performances!

The Chelsea Symphony's 2022/2023 season, NEAR & FAR, ties together powerful orchestral works by theme, place, and history to highlight the connectivity of the human experience and the journey forward.

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that conductor Everett Lee has died at age 105. Lee became the first African-American conductor to lead a production on Broadway in 1945's On The Town. He was also among the first Black conductors to lead a major opera company, conducting the New York City Opera's production of Verdi's 'La Traviata' in 1955.

Casting has been announced for For The Record and The Wallis' production of LOVE ACTUALLY LIVE, the multimedia concert celebration of the beloved holiday film from Universal Pictures/Working Title, with performances from Saturday, November 27 to Friday, December 31, 2021, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. Broadway and television star Aaron Lazar (Fox's Filthy Rich, Broadway's The Last Ship, A Little Night Music, Les Misérables, and The Light in the Piazza) joins the exciting lineup of talented performers alongside singer/songwriter, musician, producer and engineer, Brian McKnight Jr., who comes from a legendary musically gifted family including famed father Brian McKnight. American Idol 4th place finalist on season 4, Anthony Fedorov, Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist actor Michael Thomas Grant, and RCA recording artist Nina Nelson, member of girl group Citizen Queen (with over 30 million music video views), also join the cast for the first time. Rounding out the group of newcomers is Cheyenne Wells who starred in the recent production of Little Shop of Horrors at Pasadena Playhouse with MJ Rodriguez.

The Harlem Chamber Players, Inc. will present two concerts featuring piano trios by Undine Smith Moore, David Baker, and Maurice Ravel on Friday and Saturday, November 19 and 20, 2021 at 7 PM at Broadway Presbyterian Church, located at 601 West 114th Street (on Broadway), New York, NY 10025.

Fresh from winning its first Grammy Award, Experiential Orchestra, led by Music Director James Blachly, opens its 2021-22 season on Saturday, October 2, 2021 at 8pm with a concert at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music (450 W. 37th St., NYC) highlighting its partnership with the African Diaspora Music Project (ADMP).

A leader in the ongoing re-imagination of classical music structures and stereotypes, Melanated Moments in Classical Music podcast releases its third season spotlighting music composed by, for, and about Black people. The podcast has caught on with a youthful, global audience that is steadily growing in over 80 countries and nearly 1200 cities.

Listen to and learn about the VIVO Original Soundcheck album! It features all-new songs written and performed by the award-winning creator of Hamilton and In The Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda, with Gloria Estefan, Juan de Marcos, Zoe Saldaña, Brian Henry Tyree and more.

pianoSonoma, under the leadership of Co-Founders and Artistic Directors Jessica & Michael Shinn, has announced its return to the concert hall with Vino & Vibrato, a 4-part concert series held at the Green Music Center at Sonoma State University in Rohnert Park, California with performances on July 20, 22, 27, and 29.

Opera Orlando will partner with 26 Health to present As One, a transgender coming-of-age story about identity, authenticity, and compassion: a story representative of the LGBTQ+ community for all audiences.

A new Super Bowl ad for Scotts & Miracle Grow features Grease star John Travolta and his daughter, Ella, busting out some familiar moves from the beloved musical.

The New York Youth Symphony has announced the launch of new educational videos showcasing the history and works of composers from historically underrepresented communities.

When pianists Chris White and Lara Driscoll perform as the Firm Roots Duo, they draw on lines of communication that are almost unknowably deep. They've developed that bond as spouses, of course, but also as fine independent artists with voices of their own.

Following its historic 18 Daytime Emmy Award nominations and win for Outstanding Children's or Family Viewing Programming for 'Ghostwriter,' Apple TV+ today announced that two new kids' series.

Boston Landmarks Orchestra (LO) under the direction of Music Director Christopher Wilkins, and Co-Executive Directors Mary Deissler and Arthur Rishi, has announced the first events in a series of virtual programming this summer.

The York Theatre Company (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director; Evans Haile, Executive Director), dedicated to the development of new musicals and rediscovery of musical gems from the past, as part of its 50th Anniversary season celebration, will present two added special events during the month of March: York Chat: Musicals in Mufti: 118 and Counting, the second in a series of panel discussions, _An Evening with Sheldon Harnick and Friends_ a special concert featuring Sheldon Harnick, Liz Callaway, and Karen Ziemba. Both special events will take place at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's (entrance on East 54th Street, just east of Lexington Avenue).

The 48th season of the popular Highlights In Jazz continues on March 19, 2020, when producer Jack Kleinsinger presents 'Ellington Everlasting.' The concert turns the spotlight on the maestro's timeless compositions and enduring legacy, through the dynamic vision of featured performers like trombonist Art Baron & The Duke's Men, drummer Bernard Purdie, bassist Bill Crow, saxophonists Bill Easley and Mark Hynes, pianist James Weidman and vocalist Ira Hawkins. In keeping with the beloved HIJ tradition, a surprise special guest will be on hand for the concert, to be held at BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center.