CARNEGIE HALL PRESENTS
The New York Pops

Stern Auditorium / Perelman Stage
Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 8:00 PM

The New York Pops
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Ann Hampton Callaway, Guest Artist
James T. Lane, Guest Artist
N'Kenge, Guest Artist
Camp Broadway Kids

Program is approximately 2 hours, including one intermission

More Information:

The legendary lyricist of “Moon River,” “That Old Black Magic,” and countless other beloved songs, deserves a 100th-anniversary concert all to himself. To celebrate his life and work, The New York Pops presents three striking singers, Ann Hampton Callaway, a top artist in traditional pop-standard style; James T. Lane, star of Broadway’s hit revival A Chorus Line; and the vibrant young newcomer N’Kenge.

The New York Pops
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
THE NEW YORK POPS

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 Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall, enjoying one of the highest subscription renewal rates of any series at Carnegie Hall. The New York Pops was founded by former NBC Music Director 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.

In addition to performing at Carnegie Hall, The New York Pops tours throughout the world and gives free concerts in New York City parks through its Summermusic program. In 2009 the orchestra made its fifth annual appearance in the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC. Past media projects include producing a nationally syndicated radio series and performances on PBS. The orchestra’s extensive discography includes recordings of popular song, film, and theater music, as well as music for the holidays.

The New York Pops’ far-reaching education programs allow public schoolchildren to participate in numerous concert and music-making experiences: Salute to Music offers free instrumental lessons to more than 100 New York City junior high school students each year; Kids in the Balcony provides hundreds of free tickets to children to attend all of The New York Pops concerts at Carnegie Hall; and other education programs—such as Create a Symphony and Rhythm, Rhyme & Rap—teach skills such as composition, instrument building, percussion performance, and literacy.

A recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The New York Pops is a not-for-profit corporation supported solely through the generosity of individual donations, institutional grants, and concert income.

STEVEN REINEKE

Steven Reineke begins his tenure as Music Director of The New York Pops in the 2009–2010 season. Mr. Reineke conducts the orchestra's annual concert series at Carnegie Hall as well as tours, recordings, and nationwide telecasts, including the Macy’s Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular on NBC. Mr. Reineke begins as Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra in 2009–2010 and he retains that title with the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. In addition, he holds the title of Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, where for more than 13 years he has served as a composer, arranger, and conducting protégé of the celebrated pops conductor Erich Kunzel.

Mr. Reineke’s recent guest-conducting engagements include appearances with the orchestras of Los Angeles, Toronto, Houston, Detroit, Indianapolis, Baltimore, Vancouver, and Edmonton. Earlier this year he made his Boston Pops Orchestra debut. In 2008 Mr. Reineke made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting The New York Pops 25th Birthday Gala. Mr. Reineke makes his Asian debut conducting the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra in 2009. He made his Hollywood Bowl debut in 2007, performing with Wayne Brady, and returned in 2008 to conduct the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In addition, Mr. Reineke conducted, arranged, and orchestrated the music for Mr. Brady’s orchestral show, and played the same role in a collaboration with rock legend Peter Frampton.

As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Mr. Reineke’s arrangements have been performed worldwide, and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. Mr. Reineke is also an established symphonic composer. His works Celebration Fanfare, Legend of Sleepy Hollow, and Casey at the Bat are performed frequently in North America, with the most recent performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic in July 2008. In August 2008 his Sun Valley Festival Fanfare debuted with the Sun Valley Summer Symphony to commemorate the opening of the orchestra’s new pavilion. In 2005 his Festival Te Deum and Swan’s Island Sojourn were performed by both 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 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.

Ann Hampton Callaway, Guest Artist
ANN HAMPTON CALLAWAY

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 best known for her Tony-nominated performance in the hit Broadway musical Swing! and for writing and singing the theme song to the hit television series The Nanny. Ann is a Platinum Award–winning writer whose songs are featured on five of Barbra Streisand’s recent CDs. The only composer to have collaborated with Cole Porter, she has also written songs with Carole King, Rolf Lovland, and Barbara Carrol, among other artists.

Ann has been a special guest performer with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra and with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood, and she has been featured at many Carnegie Hall tributes. She has sung with more than 25 of the world’s top orchestras and big bands, and has performed for President Clinton in Washington, DC, and at President Gorbachev’s Youth Peace Summit in Moscow. Ann recently released her most powerful recording to date, At Last, on Telarc Records.

Ann made her feature-film debut in the Robert De Niro film The Good Shepherd, performing the standard “Come Rain or Come Shine.” She recorded “Isn’t It Romantic?” and “The Nearness of You” for Wayne Wong’s Last Holiday. Ann is currently writing songs for the upcoming movie musical State of Affairs, directed by Philip McKinley. As a part of her mission to keep the American Songbook thriving, she has produced and hosted two television specials with guests Liza Minnelli and Christine Ebersole for WTTW National Productions to lead up to her PBS series Singer’s Spotlight with Ann Hampton Callaway.

Ann devotes much of her time to philanthropic causes, both as a singer performing in numerous benefits and as a songwriter composing songs in times of need, including “Let the Saints Come Marching,” written to honor Hurricane Katrina victims, and “Who Can See the Blue the Same Again?,” which paid tribute to tsunami survivors. In the aftermath of September 11, Ann composed the stirring anthem “I Believe in America” and the world-renowned “Let Us Be United.” Ann resides in New York.

James T. Lane, Guest Artist
JAMES T. LANE

A native of Philadelphia, James T. Lane makes his Carnegie Hall debut tonight with The New York Pops. James began performing at a young age while attending an elementary school for the performing arts with a major in dance. At the Girard Academic Music Program he majored in voice while attending dance classes in the evening. In the summers he attended the Ensemble Theatre Community School for acting.

James went on to receive a full scholarship to Carnegie Mellon University, and also attended Penn State University, majoring in music theater. His first professional job out of school was the European tour of Fame—The Musical, in which he eventually took over the leading role of Tyrone Jackson. This led Mr. Lane into a national touring company of Fame in major cities across the US and Canada. He then went on to work with Eartha Kitt in the national tour of Cinderella in the ensemble. James performed the role of Richie Walters in the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, and remained in the role through the entire run of the show. While on Broadway he appeared on many television programs such as Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, The Ellen Degeneres Show, and The View. He also appeared in a guest-starring role on One Life to Live as a James Brown impersonator. James went on to join the cast of Chicago as Aaron, as well as understudying Amos Hart. He has performed with the Indianapolis Pops in an original program entitled Irving Berlin: From Rags to Ritzes. In his spare time James teaches master classes at dance schools and high schools in the styles of Bob Fosse and Michael Bennett.

N'Kenge, Guest Artist
N’KENGE

A native New Yorker and graduate of both The Juilliard School and Manhattan School of Music, N’Kenge has performed worldwide, singing everything from opera to pop. She made her Alice Tully Hall debut performing alongside Wynton Marsalis with The Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center. N’Kenge was last seen on national television performing “God Bless America” for the Los Angeles Dodgers’ 2009 opening game, and also gave a solo performance for the Commander-in-Chief’s Inaugural Ball hosted by President Obama.

N’Kenge makes her Carnegie Hall debut with The New York Pops tonight. Next month she headlines the Cincinnati Pops’ Holiday Concert. This season, N’Kenge will also be a soloist with the Phoenix Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Edmonton Symphony in Canada, and Baltimore Symphony, among others. This past summer, N’Kenge debuted her own one-woman show DivaLicious in New York, starred in The Genius of Ray Charles at the Royal Haymarket Theater in London’s West End, and performed at the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo. She will release a new album in 2010. N’Kenge has performed as a soloist at the White House and the Kennedy Center, as well as at the Library of Congress, where her performance was broadcast worldwide through National Public Radio.

Camp Broadway Kids
CAMP BROADWAY KIDS

Comprised of 100 performers ages 10–17, the Camp Broadway Kids have come to Carnegie Hall from 16 states in celebration of Johnny Mercer’s centennial. Camp Broadway is no stranger to Johnny Mercer’s music and legacy, as it has worked extensively for many years with The Johnny Mercer Foundation’s Accentuate the Positive program, a lyric-writing program conducted in classrooms nationwide. As publisher of StageNOTES: A Field Guide for Teachers, Camp Broadway is a leader in theater arts programming, educational camps, special events, and curricula development. Having worked with more than 250,000 children since 1995, Camp Broadway provides Broadway-themed workshops and theater programs in classroom settings, as well as to students on New York City field trips. At its annual summer camps held in New York City and across America, Camp Broadway has hosted more than 10,000 kids from 50 states and over 40 countries. Camp Broadway was featured on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade telecast from 2001 to 2008. A recipient of the 2002 Standing Ovation Award from the Educational Theatre Association, Camp Broadway is dedicated to presenting programs that promote life-long learning through the performing arts.

CAMP BROADWAY KIDS
Amy Adams
Taryn Agonis
Robert Armstrong
Melanie Arnold
Samantha Beller
Victoria Bensen
Billee Bolling
Taylor Budreau
Madeline Burns
Shannon Campbell
Taylor Leigh Cannon
Jessica Carino
Courtney Carlson
Jane Cassingham
Marina Chiello
Lindsey Clark
Jaclyn Courter
Amanda Crimmins
Sydney DaCosta
Katherine Dalldorf
Daniella DeRobbio
Mary DiCioccio
LU LU Dunkley
Gabrielle Elliott
Danielle Falls
Jonathan Fisher
Sofie Flores
Sara Foley
Melissa Gaglia
Erin Gilmore
Kelsey Gwin
Sam Hays
Sophie Hearn
Emma Hearn
Mollie Hearon
Hope Henderson
Shelby Homiston
Kelly Hooper
John Hutton
Kailey Hyman
Kendra Jain
Lauren Jenkins
Meghan Johnson
Kate Johnston
Lily Keller
Zachary Kelley
Brigid Kennedy
Robyn Kimmel
Kathryn Kirkpatrick
Caroline Kivell
Kelsey Krieger
Leah Lane
Michelle Layton
Amanda Lewis
Libby Liszanckie
Christian Louca
Kerri Mandelbaum
Natalie Manoogian
Anna Manoogian
Stephanie Marson
Emily Matos
Tia McDonald
Kathryn McDonald
Carey McDonald
Kate Mcgovern
Emma Miller
Lizzie Moore
Christopher Murphy
Michela Murray
Victoria Nichols
Natalie Nuckolls
Molly Nuell
Halley Pace
Siera Padilla
Toni-Renee Palma
Maitlyn Pezzo
Madison Pitel
Brooke Powell
Paige Powell
Taylor Purzycki
Holden Rhodes
Marena Richardson
LeighAnn Shaffer
Taylor Smerina
Gisella Snailer
Stephanie Stabile
Hannah Steiner
Francesca Surace
Brian Tank
Faith Trinker
Meaghan Turner
Margaret Valerio
Lauren Veruto
Cara Vieira
Saylor Willauer
Archer Willauer
Caroline Willauer
Katelyn Wilson
Marc Wright