Jones, Arnaz Join Peter Nero & Philly Pops For 30th Anniversary Concert Tonight

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops® has pulled out all the stops for its 30th anniversary concert on Friday, June 5 at 7:00 p.m. Two-time Grammy Award-winning pianist/conductor Peter Nero is joined by special guests Jack Jones, Lucie Arnaz, Ann Hampton Callaway, and Christiane Noll for an unforgettable night of music. Celebrate 30 years of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and toast "the best orchestra of its kind in the entire cosmos!"

Gala and concert-only tickets are now available. For information on the 30th Anniversary Celebration of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops, call 215.875.7699. For concert-only tickets, call 215.893.1999 or visit www.phillypops.org.

The 30th Anniversary Celebration of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops begins with a benefactor cocktail party at 6:00 p.m. in Comcast Circle. Following the concert, Celebration Dinner attendees will be served dinner in the Kimmel Center's Commonwealth Plaza. Catered by Restaurant Associates, the dinner includes Diamond Tables ($5,000 per table of 10), Benefactors ($450 per person), and Patrons ($300 per person). Celebration events surrounding the concert are organized by the 30th Anniversary Celebration Committee, co-chaired by Melba Pearlstein and D. Walter Cohen, D.D.S., and Cheryl A. Finocchiaro and Salvatore M. DeBunda, Esq. The 30th Anniversary Celebration of Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is sponsored in part by Archer and Greiner, P.C.

Since its inception in 1979, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops has become one of America's premier pops orchestras, entertaining regularly sold-out audiences with an eclectic blend of jazz, classical, rock ‘n' roll, big band, Broadway, and movie music with an impressive array of guest artists. The 2008-09 30th anniversary season is no exception, complete with the sounds of Broadway, Frank Sinatra, jazz, Hollywood, and other popular favorites.

"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."

"Nero ... plays with the energy of a 20-year-old rock and roll drummer," noted the Palm Beach Daily News on March 26, 2008. "His Juilliard training shows in the cleanliness of his technique and in his control of the tone of the piano. His technical arsenal includes brilliant passage work, rapid bass lines, arpeggio-like figures ascending and descending, and subtle dynamic variations. His fast playing is thrilling, and his slow playing is marked by a beautiful lyricism."

"Nero's love for the idiom, of course, couldn't be clearer, and it's hard to fault his touch, tone production and technical facility, all bespeaking a high level of achievement," said David Adler of the Philadelphia Inquirer of Nero during a recent solo performance in April 2008.

"At a Pops concert, it's easy to get swept away by the crash of the orchestra or the dazzle of a guest artist, yet when Mr. Nero sits down to do what he does best, we can appreciate that all these things originate from the man on the piano bench," wrote Lindsay Warner of the Bulletin.

A two-time Grammy®-Award winner and 10-time nominee, Mr. Nero has built an impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, and master pianist. For his ability to pick just the right material, he most recently was dubbed "Dr. Feelgood." Named "the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer" by the Washington Post, Mr. Nero won the Grammy® Award for "Best New Artist" in 1961, another in 1962 for Best Performance and Arrangement by an Instrumentalist, and since that time has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 68 albums. He also possesses an Emmy for his participation in the NBC special "S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Gershwin," with Jack Lemmon as host.

Mr. Nero's recent guest performances include engagements with the Indianapolis Symphony, the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. On January 27, 2007, he performed at the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert, joining rock icon Rod Stewart from the piano on "They Can't Take That Away from Me." Maestro Nero was a guest soloist on Mr. Stewart's second of four recordings, As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2. Mr. Nero has made numerous television appearances on national networks as well as PBS. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and in 1999 received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award.

Peter Nero and the Philly Pops

One of America's premier pops orchestras, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was founded in 1979 under the musical leadership of Peter Nero, whose unique talents and innovative programming blending all musical genres have made 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. Mr. Nero's participation as piano soloist has been 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 25 years. On July 3, 2008, for the fifth 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. This year's 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 30th anniversary during the 2008-09 season. Peter and The 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 in a special performance of Peter's original composition Voyage into Space. Peter and The POPS were 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.

More information about Peter Nero and the Philly Pops can be found at www.phillypops.org.

Special Guests

A singer in the tradition of Mel Tormé, Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Vic Damone, Jack Jones has been described by the New York Times as "arguably the most technically accomplished male pop singer of a vanishing ilk." Mr. Jones was born in Hollywood, California, to singer and movie star Allan Jones and actress Irene Hervey. Mr. Jones's professional debut was a brief stint as part of his father's act at the Thunderbird Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. He made his first album for Capitol Records before to Kapp Records. He is also renowned as a leading interpreter of musical theater with acclaimed performances in Guys and Dolls, South Pacific, She Loves Me, Man of La Mancha, and The Pajama Game.

With over 50 recorded albums (17 of them charting Billboard's Top 20) and consistently sold-out tours, Mr. Jones continues to charm audiences around the world. He won two Grammy® awards for "Best Pop Male Vocal Performance" with his singles "Lollipops and Roses" and "Wives and Lovers." His latest release, Jack Jones Paints a Tribute to Tony Bennett, was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Traditional Pop Vocal Performance." His hit singles include "The Race is On," "Lady," "Call Me Irresponsible," and "What I Did for Love." In 1997 Mr. Jones recorded New Jack Swing for Honest Entertainment, which introduced him to a new generation of fans. In addition to a successful recording career, Mr. Jones's impressive credits include film and television roles; an internationally syndicated TV variety show; and guest performances on countless television shows and at Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, and the White House.

Lucie Arnaz, daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, made her professional debut at age 12 as a guest on The Lucy Show and then became a regular on the follow-up series, Here's Lucy, at the age of 15. In 1974 Ms. Arnaz headed for New York City, where she played Gittle Mosca in the musical Seesaw. Other early stage appearances include Vanities at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, the title role in Annie Get Your Gun in New York, and Sonia Wolsk on Broadway in the Neil Simon and Marvin Hamlisch musical They're Playing Our Song. Ms. Arnaz has since starred in Educating Rita (American premiere), Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Social Security, The Guardsman, and Gershwin's My One and Only. Most recently, she returned to Broadway in the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning play Lost in Yonkers by Neil Simon.

In film Ms. Arnaz co-starred in The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond and Laurence Olivier as well as in a number of made-for-TV movies, including Who Killed the Black Dahlia?, Washington Mistress, The Mating Season, and Who Gets the Friends? She has also starred in her own TV series, The Lucie Arnaz Show, and in CBS' Sons and Daughters. In 1988 Ms. Arnaz embarked on a successful nightclub career, taking her act to Las Vegas, Atlantic City, Reno, Lake Tahoe, and New York, and on tours of the U.S. and Europe. In 1990 Ms. Arnaz and her husband, actor and writer Laurence Luckinbill, formed Arluck Entertainment. Their first production, a documentary called Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie, earned an Emmy Award in 1993. Ms. Arnaz's other awards include a Los Angeles Drama Critic's Circle Award, a Theatre World Award, an Outer Critic's Circle Award, and Chicago's Sarah Siddons Award.

As a champion of the great American Songbook, Ann Hampton Callaway has made her mark as a singer, pianist, composer, lyricist, arranger, actress, educator, television host, and producer. She is a mainstay in concert halls, theaters, and jazz clubs, as well as in the recording studio, on television, and in film. Ms. Callaway is best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical Swing! and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit TV series The Nanny. She is a Platinum Award-winning writer whose songs are featured on five of Barbra Streisand's recent CDs. She has also written songs with Cole Porter, Carole King, Rolf Lovland, and Barbara Carroll, among many others.

Ms. Callaway has been a special guest performer with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra, Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, and has also appeared at Carnegie Hall. She has sung with more than 25 of the world's top orchestras and big bands, and she has performed for President Clinton in Washington, D.C. and at President Gorbachev's Youth Peace Summit in Moscow. Ms. Callaway performed with her sister, Broadway star Liz Callaway, in their award-winning show Sibling Revelry at London's Donmar Warehouse, and she has performed twice in Berlin's Philharmonie hall.

Hailed as "one of the most versatile actresses in the American musical theatre," Christiane Noll made her Broadway debut starring in Jekyll & Hyde, creating the role of Emma. She received an Ovation Award for her comedic turn as Hope Cladwell in the National Tour of Urinetown and wowed audiences again as VAnna Vane in the new musical The Mambo Kings. Most recently, she appeared as Jane Smart in the American premiere of The Witches of Eastwick. Ms. Noll has been a frequent guest soloist as part of Bravo Broadway! with symphony orchestras around the world, including the National Symphony, the Cincinnati Pops, the Jerusalem Symphony, and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. She has also performed with the Cleveland Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the San Francisco Symphony, and the Sinfonica Brasileira in Rio. She has released three solo CDs, Christiane Noll-A Broadway Love Story, The Ira Gershwin Album, and Live at the Westbank Café. She supplied the singing-voice of Anna in the Warner Brothers animated feature The King and I, and starred on Broadway in It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues.

Ms. Noll was critically acclaimed for her operetta performances as Marianne in City Center ENCORES! The New Moon and Kathie in The Student Prince. Other favorite roles include The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, Mabel in Mack & Mabel, Lizzie in Lizzie Borden, Genevieve in The Baker's Wife, Carrie in Carousel, and Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance. She starred in the premieres of Frankenstein (37 ARTS), The Piper (NY Music Theatre Festival), Kept (Krieger/Russell), Take Flight (Maltby/Shire), Call the Children Home (Primary Stages), and Little By Little and A Fine and Private Place (York Theater).

She has been a member of the national tours of Grease! as Sandy, Miss Saigon as Ellen, and City of Angels as Mallory/Avril as well as a tour of Australia and Thailand as Nellie in South Pacific. Ms. Noll made her opera debut with Plácido Domingo and the Washington National Opera in The Merry Widow as Valencienne at the Kennedy Center and her Carnegie Hall debut with Skitch Henderson, in his last pops performance, as one of the 3 Broadway Divas with the New York Pops. Ms. Noll has performed her solo show in cabaret at the Plush Room, The Duplex, Arci's Place, the China Club, Peaches, B. Smith's and the West Bank Café, as well as being a featured member of the Broadway Inspirational Voices/Gospel Choir.

 

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