FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 20, 2012
Contact: Katherine E. Johnson
(212) 875-5718; [email protected]
NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC ANNOUNCES 2012 HOLIDAY CONCERTS
HOLIDAY BRASS CONCERT
with the New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet and
Lee Musiker Jazz Trio
December 16, 2012
HANDEL’S MESSIAH LED BY EMMANUELLE HAЇM
in Her Philharmonic Conducting Debut,
December 18–22, 2012
ONE SINGULAR SENSATION: CELEBRATING MARVIN HAMLISCH New York Philharmonic To Salute Late Composer-Conductor with
New Year’s Eve Concert Conducted by Paul Gemignani
Directed by Lonny Price and Featuring All-Star Line-Up of Artists
Nationally Telecast on Live From Lincoln Center
December 31, 2012
The New York Philharmonic will celebrate the 2012 holiday season with timeless
classics and family favorites: the annual Holiday Brass Concert with the Philharmonic
Principal Brass Quintet, joined for the second consecutive year by Grammy and Emmy
Award–winning pianist/arranger Lee Musiker and his Jazz Trio; Handel’s Messiah, led
by Emmanuelle Haïm in her Philharmonic conducting debut; and the nationally telecast
New Year’s Eve concert, One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch, a
concert to salute the late composer-conductor. Conducted by Paul Gemignani and
directed by Lonny Price, the New Year’s Eve program features the Orchestra and artists
who collaborated with Marvin Hamlisch, including Joshua Bell, Raúl Esparza, Michael
Feinstein, Maria Friedman, Josh Groban, Megan Hilty, Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara,
and Frederica von Stade.
December 16, 2012, at 3:00 p.m. — Holiday Brass Concert
The New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet shares the stage with
Grammy and Emmy Award–winning pianist, composer, and arranger Lee
Musiker along with jazz bassist Jay Leonhart and percussionist/drummer Rick
Cutler for the 18th-annual Holiday Brass Concert. The program — which includes
new arrangements by Mr. Musiker — will feature a genre-crossing mix of
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traditional and contemporary holiday classics with a jazzy twist including “Jingle
Bells,” a Nutcracker Suite, “Charlie Brown Christmas Medley,” “Sleigh Ride,”
and “Winter Wonderland,” with featured solos by each performer and sing-a-
longs to “Silent Night” and “White Christmas.”
December 18–22, 2012, all at 7:30 p.m. — Handel’s Messiah
Presented by the Robert Hekemian Family Foundation
Handel’s celebrated and celebratory oratorio returns conducted by Baroque
specialist Emmanuelle Haïm, in her New York Philharmonic conducting debut,
and sung by soprano Camilla Tilling (debut), countertenor Tim Mead (debut),
tenor Kenneth Tarver, and bass Alastair Miles, with the New York Choral Artists,
directed by Joseph Flummerfelt.
In a Pre-Concert Talk, composer Joelle Wallach will introduce the program one
hour before the start of each performance.
December 31, 2012, 7:30 p.m. — One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin
Hamlisch, Conducted by Paul Gemignani and Directed by Lonny Price
The New York Philharmonic’s New Year’s Eve concert is a salute to the late
composer-conductor Marvin Hamlisch with One Singular Sensation: Celebrating
Marvin Hamlisch, a program featuring the Orchestra and artists who collaborated
with Marvin Hamlisch, including Joshua Bell, Raúl Esparza, Michael Feinstein,
Maria Friedman, Josh Groban, Megan Hilty, Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, and
Frederica von Stade. Paul Gemignani will conduct and Lonny Price will direct the
performance, which will include repertoire from Marvin Hamlisch’s works for
stage and film, including A Chorus Line and Sweet Smell of Success. The concert
will be nationally broadcast on Live From Lincoln Center on PBS stations at
8:00 p.m. [Check local listings]
Artists
HOLIDAY BRASS CONCERT (December 16, 2012)
Lee Musiker — pianist, conductor, music director, arranger, and orchestrator — is well
known for his wealth of experience working with the premiere artists in the jazz,
classical, Broadway, and pop genres. These include Tony Bennett, Mel Tormé, Barbara
Cook, Maureen McGovern, Audra McDonald, Kristin Chenoweth, Brian Stokes Mitchell,
Joel Grey, James Taylor, Renée Fleming, Marilyn Horne, Dawn Upshaw, Deborah Voigt,
Kathleen Battle, Denyce Graves, Nathan Gunn, Sylvia McNair, Julia Migenes, Joshua
Bell, Buddy Rich, Doc Severinson, Wynton Marsalis, Chris Botti, and John Pizzarelli.
Since 2001 Mr. Musiker has been touring with Tony Bennett, and he served as music
director and pianist for the Grammy Award–winning album Tony Bennett: Duets — An
American Classic and the recent Duets 2.
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A Steinway Artist, Mr. Musiker has performed with the New York Philharmonic, New
York City Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, New York
Pops, Boston Pops, and the London Symphony Orchestra, and has conducted the New
York Philharmonic and the Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, and
Pittsburgh symphony orchestras. He has also conducted the Jerry Lewis Muscular
Dystrophy Labor Day Telethon, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and Jazz at Lincoln Center
orchestras and the Henry Mancini Institute. As an arranger and orchestrator, Mr. Musiker
has written for symphony orchestras, recordings, movies, and television and has shared
Grammy and Emmy Awards.
A native New Yorker and fourth-generation musician, Lee Musiker received degrees
from the Manhattan and Eastman Schools of Music, with further studies at The Juilliard
School. He has served on the faculties of Mannes College of Music, New School, and
New York University (as part of the distinguished Piano Faculty Master Class Series).
After a two-year tour as pianist with the Buddy Rich Band, he returned to New York and
began playing in the orchestra pits of many hit Broadway shows. He was a guest on
Marian McPartland’s Piano Jazz and has been featured in Steinway and Keyboard
magazines. He last appeared with the New York Philharmonic with his Jazz Trio for
Holiday Brass in December 2011.
The New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet, a quintet of principal brass
players from the Orchestra, enjoys worldwide exposure and an international reputation.
The group made its debut in 1983 when they joined with The Canadian Brass for a
concert in Ottawa, Canada. This was the beginning of a regular musical collaboration
between these two brass quintets, with subsequent joint performances at the summer
festivals of Tanglewood, Wolf Trap, Great Woods, and Mostly Mozart; concerts in cities
throughout Canada and the United States; and on four recordings. The Principal Brass
Quintet have also joined their brass colleagues from the Boston Symphony Orchestra and
The Philadelphia Orchestra.
The Principal Brass Quintet has hosted an annual Christmas Holiday Concert at Avery
Fisher Hall since 1995. Joining as guests on this extravaganza have been Lee Musiker
and his jazz trio; the Canadian Brass; the German Brass; the West Point Brass,
Percussion, and Vocalists; Sesame Street’s Bob McGrath; and the Salvation Army’s New
York Staff Band. The Principal Brass Quintet and the New York Staff Band have also
joined forces in two Gala Festivals at Alice Tully Hall in New York. In addition, the
group performed with the Empire Brass at the Carnegie Hall Centennial Gala in May
1991.
The Principal Brass Quintet has been a regular encore feature on the Philharmonic’s tours
of Europe, South America, Asia, and the United States, as well as the Orchestra’s
residencies in Cagliari, Italy, and in Vail, Colorado. In addition to performing at the 2009
International Trumpet Guild Conference, the ensemble has performed solo concerts in
major universities and cities throughout the United States. International visits have
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included Germany (in Berlin and Munich), Luxembourg, Mexico (Monterey), China
(Shanghai), and Brazil (Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo). Having toured Japan in 1999,
2003, and 2007 the Principal Brass Quintet will return there again in 2012.
HANDEL’S MESSIAH (December 18–22, 2012) Emmanuelle Haïm is artistic director of the orchestra and chorus of Le Concert
d’Astrée, which she formed in 2000. She and the ensemble have achieved worldwide
success as interpreters of the French Baroque and the works of Monterverdi, Purcell,
Handel, and Mozart. She has led the ensemble in works including Lully’s Thésée,
Rameau’s Hippolyte et Aricie, Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro,
and Handel’s Giulio Cesare at the Paris Opéra.
After studying harpsichord and winning numerous awards at the Conservatoire National
Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, Ms. Haïm’s love for the voice led her to
concentrate on conducting vocal music, first at the Centre de Musique Baroque de
Versailles, then at the Paris Conservatoire, where she taught from 1990 to 2002. In 2001
she conducted Handel’s Rodelinda for Glyndebourne Touring Opera; in 2003 she led the
same ensemble in Handel’s Theodora.
Ms. Haïm was the first woman to be invited to conduct at Chicago Lyric Opera, where
she led Giulio Cesare in 2007. She has appeared regularly at the Glyndebourne Festival,
conducting Giulio Cesare in 2006 and Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea in 2008.
She has also led the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra, Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Berlin Philharmonic. She has collaborated with stage
directors such as Robert Carsen, Peter Sellars, Jean-François Sivadier, Jean-Louis
Martinoty, Jean-Marie Villégier, Robert Wilson, and David McVicar.
In the 2012–13 season Ms. Haïm conducts new productions of Charpentier’s Médée at
the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Lille Opera, Charpentier’s Actéon in Dijon and
Lille, and a revival of Laurent Pelly’s production of Giulio Cesare at the Palais Garnier in
Paris. She will also conduct a series of concerts of Monteverdi’s Vespers of 1610.
Born in France, Emmanuelle Haïm was named Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur in 2009
and is Officier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. She is an honorary member of
London’s Royal Academy of Music. She has recorded exclusively for Virgin Classics
since 2001.
Swedish soprano Camilla Tilling’s international career was launched at New York City
Opera, where she appeared as Corinna in Rossini’s Il viaggio a Reims. She has since
appeared at the world’s major opera houses, including the Royal Opera House, Covent
Garden, The Metropolitan Opera, Bavarian Staatsoper, Teatro alla Scala, Lyric Opera of
Chicago, and Teatro Real Madrid, as well as the Aix-en-Provence, Glyndebourne, and
Drottningholm festivals.
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In the 2012–13 season Ms. Tilling returns to the Opéra National de Paris and Teatro Real
Madrid (conducted by Simon Rattle). She sings with the Budapest Festival Orchestra in
Budapest, Berlin, and New York and appears at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre. In concert
she sings with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 with the
Boston Symphony, and Richard Strauss’s Four Last Songs with the Hong Kong
Philharmonic.
Ms. Tilling has appeared at The Metropolitan Opera as Zerlina in Mozart’s Don Giovanni
and Nanetta in Verdi’s Falstaff and, at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as Sophie (Der
Rosenkavalier). In concert, she has sung Bach’s St. Matthew Passion in Dallas (Jaap van
Zweden); Haydn’s The Creation with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (Esa-Pekka
Salonen); Mozart’s Mass in C minor with the San Francisco and Chicago Symphony
Orchestras, and Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection, with the Berlin Philharmonic at
Carnegie Hall (Simon Rattle).
Ms. Tilling is featured on numerous recordings, including Cherubini’s Mass in D minor
with Riccardo Muti; Mahler’s Symphony No. 4; Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas; and as the
Angel in Handel’s The Resurrection with Emmanuelle Haïm. She has also made two solo
recordings on BIS: Rote Rosen, a selection of Lieder by Richard Strauss, and Bei dir
allein!, a selection of Schubert songs, both with accompanist Paul Rivinius.
Countertenor Tim Mead was a choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and studied
singing at London’s Royal College of Music. His opera engagements include Handel’s
Giulio Cesare and Rinaldo for Glyndebourne Festival Opera; Admeto for Händel-
Festspiele Göttingen and the Edinburgh Festival; Orlando for Scottish Opera and
Chicago Opera Theatre; Rinaldo with Bach Collegium Japan; Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice
with Akademie für Alte Musik; Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea for English
National Opera, Opéra de Lyon, and Den Norske Opera, Oslo; Cavalli’s La calisto for
Bayerische Staatsoper; Steffani’s Niobe at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden;
Handel’s Giulio Cesare for Deutsche Oper am Rhein; Cavalli’s Ercole amante for De
Nederlandse Opera; and Handel’s Agrippina and Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di
Poppea in Dijon and Lille.
In concert, Mr. Mead has collaborated with Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,
Academy of Ancient Music, Les Arts Florissants, Le Concert d’Astrée, Akademie für
Alte Musik, Accademia Bizantina, Bach Collegium Japan, Nederlandse Bachvereniging,
Combattimento Consort Amsterdam, and Kammerorchester Basel under the direction of
conductors including Ivor Bolton, William Christie, Laurence Cummings, Christian
Curnyn, Alan Curtis, Ottavio Dantone, Paul Goodwin, Emmanuelle Haïm, Thomas
Hengelbrock, Vladimir Jurowski, Alessandro de Marchi, Nicholas McGegan, Masaaki
Suzuki, and Mark Minkowski.
Mr. Mead’s recordings include Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the Handel oratorios Saul,
Solomon, and Israel in Egypt; the Handel operas Admeto, Flavio, Riccardo Primo, and
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Rinaldo; and Monteverdi’s L’incoronazione di Poppea. He has recorded for a variety of
labels, including EMI Classics, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, Chandos, Carus, Channel
Classics, Linn, Opus Arte, Arthaus Musik, Unitel Classica, and EuroArts.
Tim Mead’s current and future engagements include: George Benjamin’s Written on Skin
at the Théâtre du Capitole, La Calisto at Bavarian Staatsoper, Julius Caesar and Death in
Venice for English National Opera, Messiah with Orchestra of the Age of
Enlightenment, Rodelinda for Mercury Baroque (Houston), Rinaldo for Glyndebourne,
and Theodora with The English Concert.
Tenor Kenneth Tarver has appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, The
Metropolitan Opera, Vienna Staatsoper, Staatsoper Unter den Linden, Bavarian
Staatsoper, Dresden Semperoper, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Opéra Comique
París, and Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. The conductors he has worked with include
Claudio Abbado, Adam Fisher, Jeremie Rhorer, Alessandro De Marchi, and Nikolaus
Harnoncourt.
Recent performances include Terradellas’s Sesostri with Royal Chamber Opera Company
(Barcelona, also released on CD); Berlioz’s Te Deum with the Oslo Philharmonic; the
title role in Rossini’s Aureliano in Palmira with Opera Rara and the London
Philharmonic; Mozart’s Coronation Mass in Rome; Berlioz’s Roméo et Juliette in
Valencia; The Abduction from the Seraglio, and Sessions’s Montezuma in
Berlin; Rossini’s La Cenerentola in Buenos Aires; and Rameau’s Les Indes Galantes in
Toulouse. Future engagements include a gala concert at Winterthur; Rossini’s The Barber
of Seville in Santiago, Chile; Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri in Paris; and The Abduction
from the Seraglio in Berlin.
In concert, Mr. Tarver has performed with conductors including Alberto Zedda, Ricardo
Chailly, and Bobby McFerrin. Highlights of the tenor’s recording catalog include
Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été and Roméo et Juliette with Pierre Boulez and The Cleveland
Orchestra (Deutsche Grammophon) and Berlioz’s Les Troyens with Sir Colin Davis and
the London Symphony Orchestra (LSO Live), which won Grammy Awards for Best
Opera Recording and Best Classical Recording. Mr. Tarver is a graduate of Interlochen
Arts Academy, Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, and Yale School of Music.
Alastair Miles was born in Harrow, England, and he studied flute at the Guildhall School
of Music before embarking on his vocal career. He has performed at renowned opera
houses including The Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Vienna Staatsoper,
Bavarian Staatsoper, Netherlands Opera, and Teatro alla Scala. He has a stylistically wide
repertoire and has made more than 70 recordings.
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In the U.K. Mr. Miles appears regularly at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. and
English National Opera, as well as Welsh National Opera, Opera North, and
Glyndebourne. His recent roles include Narbal in Berlioz’s Les Troyens for Netherlands
Opera; Creonte in Mayr’s Medea in Corinto for Bavarian Staatsoper; Zaccaria in Verdi’s
Nabucco for Vienna Staatsoper; Commendatore in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Pogner in
Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg for Glyndebourne Festival; Poliferno in
Steffani's Niobe, Regina di Tebe at Covent Garden; Osmin in Mozart’s Die Entführung
aus dem Serail with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment; Duke Alfonso in
Donizetti’s Lucrezia Borgia for English National Opera; Claudio in Handel’s Agrippina
for Opéra de Dijon and Opéra de Lille with Emmanuelle Haïm; Daland in Wagner’s The
Flying Dutchman for Opéra Royal de Wallonie, Liège; and Philip II in Verdi’s Don
Carlo for Deutsche Oper Berlin.
In concert, Alastair Miles has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras and
conductors. Recent highlights include Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius and Handel’s
Messiah with Sir Colin Davis and London Symphony Orchestra; Schumann’s
Faustszenen with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Amsterdam’s Royal Concertgebouw
Orchestra; Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Michael Tilson Thomas and the San
Francisco Symphony; Sarastro in Mozart’s The Magic Flute with Daniel Harding at the
Lucerne Festival; and Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
Mr. Miles’s future engagements include Pogner in Wagner’s Die Meistersinger for
Netherlands Opera; Enrico in Donizetti’s Anna Bolena for Welsh National Opera; and
Raimondo in Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor at The Metropolitan Opera.
New York Choral Artists, a professional chorus founded and directed by Joseph
Flummerfelt, has been heard with the New York Philharmonic in recent seasons
performing repertoire ranging from Michael Tippett’s A Child of Our Time to Mozart’s
Requiem. Memorable collaborations with the New York Philharmonic include the
concert on September 20, 2001, of Brahms’s A German Requiem, commemorating the
events of September 11, which was broadcast nationally. The chorus opened the
Philharmonic’s 2002–03 subscription season performing the World Premiere of John
Adams’s On the Transmigration of Souls, commissioned by the New York Philharmonic
with Lincoln Center’s Great Performers. Other highlights of the group’s history include
participation in the 1995 New York Philharmonic concert celebrating the 50th
anniversary of the United Nations, and a televised performance of the 1986 Statue of
Liberty Concert in Central Park. The chorus performed Britten’s War Requiem and
Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 in June 2009 during Lorin Maazel’s final weeks as the New
York Philharmonic’s Music Director; in May 2010 in the Philharmonic’s staged
presentation of Ligeti’s Le Grand Macabre; in June 2010 for Beethoven’s Missa
solemnis; and in June 2012 for Mozart’s Mass in C minor, Great, on the final program of
the season.
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ONE SINGULAR SENSATION: CELEBRATING MARVIN HAMLISCH
(December 31, 2012)
As composer, Marvin Hamlisch won virtually every major award that exists: three
Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards. For
Broadway he wrote the music for his groundbreaking show A Chorus Line, which
received the Pulitzer Prize, as well as They’re Playing Our Song, The Goodbye Girl, and
Sweet Smell of Success. He was the composer of more than forty motion picture scores
including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of
Scott Joplin’s music for The Sting, for which he received a third Oscar. His prolific
output of scores for films includes original compositions and/or musical adaptations for
Sophie’s Choice, Ordinary People, The Swimmer, Three Men and a Baby, Ice Castles,
Take the Money and Run, Bananas, Save the Tiger, and The Informant!, starring Matt
Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Mr. Hamlisch was Musical Director and
arranger of Barbra Streisand’s 1994 concert tour of the U.S. and England as well as of the
television special Barbra Streisand: The Concert (for which he received two of his
Emmys). Marvin Hamlisch held the position of principal pops conductor for the
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Symphony
Orchestra, Pasadena Symphony and Pops, Seattle Symphony, San Diego Symphony, The
Buffalo Philharmonic, and The National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C. At
the time of his passing he was working on a film project about Liberace, starring Michael
Douglas and Matt Damon and directed by Steven Soderbergh. Hamlisch was a graduate
of The Juilliard School and Queens College (where he earned a bachelor’s of arts
degree). He believed in the power of music to bring people together.
Paul Gemignani has been the music director for more than 40 Broadway and West End
shows, including Follies, Pacific Overtures, Candide, A Little Night Music, Sweeney
Todd, Evita, Dreamgirls, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park
with George, Crazy For You, Passion, High Society, and Kiss Me Kate. Mr. Gemignani
has made recordings with the American Theatre Orchestra in addition to many cast
albums; appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras; and is a regular guest
conductor at the New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera Company,
and the New York City Ballet. His film work has included Sweeney Todd starring Johnny
Depp, Kramer vs. Kramer, Reds, and Eyewitness. Mr. Gemignani received the 2001 Tony
Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award
(1994), and a special Drama Desk Award (1989) for “consistently outstanding musical
direction and commitment to the theater.” In 2003 he was awarded an honorary doctorate
of musical arts from the Manhattan School of Music; in 2006 he received a Prime Time
Emmy Award for Best Musical Direction for a Great Performances presentation of South
Pacific; and the Drama League of New York honored him for Distinguished
Achievement in Musical Theatre in 2008. Mr. Gemignani served as the music director of
the New York Philharmonic’s concert performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies in
September 1985; in May 2008 he was the conductor and music supervisor of the
Orchestra’s semi-staged performances of Camelot; and in March 2010 he conducted the
Philharmonic’s production of SONDHEIM: The Birthday Concert, which aired on PBS
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and was released on DVD in November 2010. On January 24, 2011, he was inducted into
the American Theatre Hall of Fame.
Lonny Price most recently directed the stage and film version of the New York
Philharmonic’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, which played in more than
700 movie theaters across the country. Mr. Price also directed the stage and film versions
of Sondheim: The Birthday Concert! in March 2010, for which he received a 2011 Emmy
Award. Mr. Price’s other Philharmonic collaborations include the Live From Lincoln
Center broadcast of Camelot; Candide (broadcast on Great Performances); and Sweeney
Todd, for which he won an Emmy. Mr. Price directed the Emmy Award–winning
production of Sondheim’s Passion, starring Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, and Michael
Cerveris. On Broadway, he directed Audra McDonald in 110 in the Shade, Danny Glover
in Athol Fugard’s “Master Harold” ... and the Boys; Joan Rivers in Sally Marr and Her
Escorts (which he co-wrote with Ms. Rivers and Erin Sanders); Jenn Colella in Urban
Cowboy; and himself in A Class Act, for which he earned a Tony nomination and the
book of which he co-wrote with Linda Kline. Lonny Price’s Off-Broadway directorial
work includes Visiting Mr. Green, Grown Ups, and Stopping Traffic. He made his opera
directing debut at the Houston Grand Opera directing Audra McDonald in Poulenc’s La
Voix Humaine and Michael John LaChiusa’s Send. He recently finished shooting his first
feature film, “Master Harold” ... and the Boys and has directed several episodes of
ABC’s Desperate Housewives. As an actor, he appeared on and Off-Broadway in a
variety of plays and musicals, including Athol Fugard’s “Master Harold” ... and the
Boys, Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along, and Lanford Wilson’s Burn This. On
film he is best remembered for playing Neil Kellerman, the hotel owner’s grandson in
Dirty Dancing. For his acting work, he has received Obie, Theatre World, Drama League,
and Drama-Logue awards.
Violinist Joshua Bell’s stunning virtuosity, beautiful tone, musical intelligence, and
charismatic stage presence have brought him universal acclaim. Mr. Bell is an Avery
Fisher Prize recipient, Musical America’s 2010 Instrumentalist of the Year, and was
recently named Music Director of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. In summer
2012, Mr. Bell and Edgar Meyer premiered a new concerto for violin and double bass by
Mr. Meyer at Tanglewood, Aspen, and the Hollywood Bowl. Mr. Bell launched the San
Francisco Symphony’s 2012–13 season, followed by appearances with the Philadelphia
Orchestra and Boston, Seattle, Cincinnati, and Detroit symphonies. Additional fall
highlights include a South-African tour, a European tour with the Academy of St. Martin
in the Fields, and a recital tour with pianist Sam Haywood. In 2013 Mr. Bell tours Europe
with the New York Philharmonic and the U.S. with The Cleveland Orchestra, and he
performs with the Tucson, Pittsburgh, San Diego, and Nashville symphony orchestras.
An exclusive Sony Classical artist, Joshua Bell has recorded more than 40 CDs,
garnering Mercury, Grammy, Gramophone, and Echo Klassic Awards. His discography
encompasses critically acclaimed performances of most of the major violin concerto and
solo repertoire, including the Oscar-winning soundtrack to The Red Violin. Recent
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releases include French Impressions with pianist Jeremy Denk, At Home With Friends,
the Defiance soundtrack, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, and Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto
with the Berlin Philharmonic. Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Bell received his first violin
at age four, and at age 12 he began serious study with Josef Gingold at Indiana
University. Two years later Bell came to national attention in his debut with Riccardo
Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra, followed by his Carnegie Hall debut at age 17. Mr.
Bell is senior lecturer at the Jacobs School of Music at his alma mater, Indiana
University. He performs on the 1713 Huberman Stradivarius and uses an 18th-century
Francoise Tourte bow.
Raúl Esparza recently starred in the Broadway production of Leap of Faith. He made his
New York debut in the Broadway revival of The Rocky Horror Show. Other Broadway
credits include Arcadia, Speed-the-Plow (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), The
Homecoming (Tony nomination, Drama Desk Award - Ensemble), Company (Tony
nomination, Drama Desk Award), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Taboo (Tony nomination,
Drama Desk Award) and Cabaret. He appeared in Shakespeare in the Park’s Twelfth
Night and Off-Broadway in The Normal Heart, Comedians, and tick, tick... BOOM!,
which earned him an Obie Award. In 2005, he received the HOLA José Ferrer Acting
Award. Outside New York, Mr. Esparza portrayed Che in the national tour of Evita and
starred in the 2002 Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration: Sunday in the Park with
George and Merrily We Roll Along. Regional credits include work at Steppenwolf,
Goodman in Chicago, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Coconut Grove Playhouse,
and the Ahmanson in Los Angeles. Raúl Esparza made his film debut in Sidney Lumet’s
2006 Find Me Guilty. Other films include Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take and GWB. Mr.
Esparza’s television series credits include recurring roles on A Gifted Man, Pushing
Daisies, and Law & Order: SVU in addition to numerous guest-star appearances.
Michael Feinstein, the multi-platinum-selling, two-time Emmy and five-time Grammy
Award-nominated entertainer dubbed “The Ambassador of the Great American
Songbook,” is considered one of the premier interpreters of American standards. His 200-
plus shows a year have included performances at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House
and the Hollywood Bowl as well as the White House and Buckingham Palace. Feinstein
has received national recognition for his commitment to celebrating America’s popular
song and preserving its legacy. In 2007, he founded the Michael Feinstein Great
American Songbook Initiative, dedicated to celebrating the art form and preserving it
through educational programs, Master Classes, and the annual High School Vocal
Academy and Competition. Michael serves on the Library of Congress’ National
Recording Preservation Board, dedicated to the survival and availability of America’s
sound recording heritage. Feinstein’s earned his fifth Grammy Award nomination in 2009
for The Sinatra Project from Concord Records. The Sinatra Project, Volume II: The
Good Life was released last year. The first two seasons of his PBS TV series “Michael
Feinstein’s American Songbook” are now available on DVD; the third season will air in
2013. For his nationally-syndicated public radio program “Song Travels,” Michael
interviews and performs alongside luminaries like Bette Midler, Moby and Rickie Lee
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Jones. His new book The Gershwins and Me, featuring a new CD of Gershwin standards,
was published by Simon & Schuster. Feinstein serves as Artistic Director of the
Palladium Center for the Performing Arts, a $170 million, three-theatre venue in Carmel,
Indiana, home to an annual international Great American Arts festival, live programming
and a museum for his rare memorabilia. In 2010, he became the director of the Jazz and
Popular Song Series at New York’s Jazz at Lincoln Center. In 2013, he will replace the
late Marvin Hamlisch as the conductor of the Pasadena Pops.
A three-time Olivier Award–winner, Maria Friedman is best known as an interpreter of
the works of Stephen Sondheim, starring in Sunday in the Park with George (National
Theatre), Passion, Sweeney Todd (with Bryn Terfel), and Merrily We Roll Along. In
concert, she has starred in Follies and A Little Night Music and sang at Sondheim’s 80th
birthday celebrations in New York, Washington, D.C., and London. Other musicals
include The King and I (Albert Hall), Ragtime, Lady In The Dark (National), The Witches
of Eastwick, Chicago, The Woman In White (London and Broadway, Theatre World
Award), Blues In The Night, and Ghetto. In 1994 the Donmar Warehouse presented the
Olivier Award–winning Maria Friedman: By Special Arrangement, transferring to the
Whitehall Theatre. In 2008 a new version of the show Maria Friedman: Re-arranged
transferred from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the Trafalgar Studios. On screen, Maria
played the Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Donny
Osmond as well as the role of Trish Baynes in Casualty. Concerts include three sell-out
seasons at New York’s Cafe Carlyle and appearances with Michel Legrand and Marvin
Hamlisch. Recordings include Maria Friedman Sings the Great British Songbook.
Internationally renowned singer, songwriter, and actor Josh Groban has entertained fans
across the globe with his multi-platinum albums and DVDs, electrifying live
performances, and comedic film and television appearances. Over the last year and a half
alone, the 30-year-old Los Angeles native has released his fifth studio album, the
platinum-selling Illuminations; completed a sold-out world tour; and appeared in the
feature film Crazy, Stupid, Love and on NBC’s The Office. Mr. Groban first broke
through in 2001 with his self-titled double-platinum debut album, followed by the multi-
platinum Closer, featuring the smash hit “You Raise Me Up,” and the double-platinum
Awake. In 2007 he became the best-selling recording artist of the year thanks to sales of
Awake and his Grammy-nominated Christmas album, Noel — the best-selling album of
2007. According to Billboard, Mr. Groban is the only artist to have two albums appear on
the Top 20 best-selling albums list of the past decade. In November 2010 Groban
released the Rick Rubin-produced Illuminations, which debuted at No. 4 on Billboard’s
Top 200 chart (Groban’s fourth consecutive Top 5 chart bow) and reached platinum
status two months later. In May 2011 Groban launched the “Straight to You” World Tour
to the U.S., Europe, and South Africa. During the tour, Mr. Groban partnered with
Americans for the Arts to launch a joint text-to-give campaign to raise money for his
newly created Find Your Light Foundation, dedicated to enriching the lives of young
people through arts education. Mr. Groban has been featured on The Simpsons, Tim and
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Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, and Glee; co-hosted Live With Regis and Kelly; and
paid tribute to Oprah Winfrey during Finale Week of her long-running series. Mr. Groban
shot the big-screen workplace comedy Coffee Town. Mr. Groban is currently recording
songs for his next record, due early 2013.
Megan Hilty stars in NBC’s musical drama Smash as Ivy Lynn. Ms. Hilty recently
signed to Sony Music in a partnership between Sony Masterworks and Columbia
Records, and her new album will be released next spring. Ms. Hilty most recently
appeared as Lorelei Lee in the Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at New
York City Center. A native of Seattle, Ms. Hilty moved to New York City after
graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and quickly made her Broadway debut as
Glinda in Wicked. She went on to perform the role in both the national tour and in Los
Angeles. After receiving rave reviews for her portrayal of Doralee Rhodes in Broadway’s
9 to 5: The Musical, Ms. Hilty was honored with nominations for Lead Actress in a
Musical at the Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Drama League
Awards, and L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Awards. She starred in Two by Two as part of
the reprise series in Los Angeles opposite Jason Alexander, Steve Weber, and Faith
Prince. Megan Hilty has also performed with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and at
Feinstein’s in New York City. Her voice has been featured on Disney’s The Secret Life of
Magic Gourd, Phineas & Ferb, Glenn Martin DDS, American Dad, Tinker Bell and the
Pixie Hollow Games, Robot & Monster, and as Snow White in Shrek the Third. Her voice
will also be heard as Rosetta in Disney’s Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings. Ms. Hilty is
currently in production on Summertime Entertainment’s animated film Dorothy of Oz
with Kelsey Grammer, Hugh Dancy, and Lea Michele. Her television credits include
guest-starring roles in Melissa & Joey, Bones, The Closer, Desperate Housewives, CSI,
Shark, Ugly Betty, Eli Stone, and The Suite Life of Zach & Cody.
Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a
singer and actress. With a record-tying five Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and a
long list of other accolades to her name, she is among today’s most highly regarded
performers. Blessed with a luminous soprano and an incomparable gift for dramatic truth-
telling, she is equally at home on Broadway, opera stages, film, and television. In
addition to her theatrical work, she maintains a major career as a concert and recording
artist, regularly appearing with leading international orchestras. After four seasons
playing Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s hit television series Private Practice, Ms.
McDonald returned to Broadway in 2012, winning her fifth Tony and her first in the
leading actress category for her role in The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess. The honor places
her in the illustrious company of Broadway legends Julie Harris and Angela Lansbury as
the only people in Tony history to win five performance awards. Born into a musical
family, Audra McDonald grew up in Fresno, California, and received her classical vocal
training at The Juilliard School. An ardent proponent of marriage equality, Ms.
McDonald sits on the advisory board of the advocacy organization Broadway Impact and
has been featured in campaigns for Freedom to Marry and NOH8. Of all her many roles,
her favorite is that of mother to her daughter, Zoe Madeline.
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Kelli O’Hara has established herself as one of Broadway’s great leading ladies. She
currently stars in the ten-time Tony-nominated Broadway musical Nice Work If You Can
Get It opposite Matthew Broderick, in which she received her fourth Tony nomination for
Lead Actress in a Musical. Ms. O’Hara garnered rave reviews for her recent role as Cathy
Whitaker in the musical adaptation of Far From Heaven at Williamstown Theater
Festival. Ms. O’Hara earned her first Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for her
role in The Light in the Piazza in 2005. In 2006 she joined Harry Connick, Jr. on
Broadway in the Tony-winning production of The Pajama Game and received Tony,
Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Award nominations. Ms. O’Hara starred in the Tony-
winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center, garnering Tony and Drama Desk
nominations. In 2011 Ms. O’Hara made her Public Theater debut in King Lear and in
2010 starred as Ella Peterson in City Center Encore’s production of Bells Are Ringing. In
addition to her critically acclaimed performance as Eliza Doolittle in the New York
Philharmonic production of My Fair Lady, Ms. O’Hara has performed at Carnegie Hall
with the New York Pops, at the Kennedy Center and the National Symphony Orchestra
with Marvin Hamlisch, and with the Boston Pops under Keith Lockhart. She has
performed three times at the Kennedy Center Honors in tributes for Barbara Cook, Jerry
Herman, and Barbra Streisand. Her film and television credits include Sex & the City 2,
Blue Bloods, The Key to Reserva, The Dying Gaul, Alexander Hamilton, NUMB3RS, All
My Children, and the animated series Car Talk. Ms. O’Hara’s voice can be heard on
numerous cast recordings, and her two solo albums, Always and Wonder in the World, are
currently available on Ghostlight Records.
Since her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1970, Frederica von Stade has sung nearly all of
her great roles with that company. Miss von Stade’s artistry has inspired the revival of
neglected works such as Massenet’s Cherubin, Rameau’s Dardanus, and Monteverdi’s Il
ritorno d’Ulisse in patria. Her ability as a singing actress has allowed her to perform
operetta and musical theater, including the title role in The Merry Widow and Desirée
Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. She created the role of Tina in Dallas Opera’s world-
premiere production of Dominick Argento’s The Aspern Papers (a work written for her)
as well as Madame de Merteuil in the Conrad Susa’s Dangerous Liaisons and Mrs.
Patrick De Rocher in Jake Heggie’s Dead Man Walking, both for San Francisco Opera.
She has made over seventy recordings with every major label, garnering her six Grammy
nominations and two Grand Prix du Disc awards. She enjoyed the distinction of
simultaneously holding the first and second places on national sales charts for
Angel/EMI’s Show Boat and Telarc’s The Sound of Music. In 2002 Ms. von Stade
performed at the opening ceremonies of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. She can be
seen in Live from The Met performances and PBS broadcasts celebrating American song
with Thomas Hampson, Marilyn Horne, Dawn Upshaw, and Jerry Hadley. Frederica von
Stade holds honorary doctorates from Yale University, Boston University, San Francisco
Conservatory of Music (which holds a Frederica von Stade Distinguished Chair in
Voice), Georgetown University School of Medicine, and her alma mater, the Mannes
School of Music. In 1998 Miss von Stade was awarded France’s highest honor, an officer
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2012 Holiday Concerts / 14
of L’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 1983 President Reagan honored her with an award
at The White House in recognition of her contributions to the arts.
* * *
Credit Suisse is the Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic.
* * *
The New York Philharmonic gratefully acknowledges support for its activities from the
Gurnee and Marjorie Hart Endowment Fund.
* * *
The performances of Handel’s Messiah are presented by the Robert Hekemian Family
Foundation. Emmanuelle Haïm’s appearance with the New York Philharmonic is made
possible through the Claudette Sorel Performance Endowment Fund.
* * *
Programs of the New York Philharmonic are supported, in part, by public funds from the
New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council,
the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
* * *
Single tickets for the Holiday Brass performance start at $52. Single tickets for Messiah
start at $32. Single tickets for One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch
start at $69 (Limited availability). Tickets for Open Rehearsals are $18. Pre-Concert
Talks for Messiah concerts are $7; discounts are available for multiple concerts, students,
and groups (visit nyphil.org/preconcert for more information). All other tickets may be
purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.,
Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets may also be
purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m.
Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box
Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m.
A limited number of $13.50 tickets for Messiah may be available through the Internet for
students within 10 days of the performance, or in person the day of. Valid identification
is required. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic’s Customer Relations
Department at (212) 875-5656. [Ticket prices subject to change.]
For press tickets, call Lanore Carr in the New York Philharmonic Communications
Department at (212) 875-5714, or e-mail her at [email protected].
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2012 Holiday Concerts / 15
HOLIDAY BRASS
Avery Fisher Hall
Sunday, December 16, 2012, 3:00 p.m.
New York Philharmonic Principal Brass Quintet
Lee Musiker, piano
Lee Musiker Trio
Program to feature traditional and contemporary holiday classics with a jazzy
twist including “Jingle Bells,” a Nutcracker Suite, “Charlie Brown Christmas
Medley,” “Sleigh Ride,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Silent Night,” and “White
Christmas,” with new arrangements by Lee Musiker.
HANDEL’S MESSIAH
Avery Fisher Hall
Tuesday, December 18, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, December 20, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, December 21, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 22, 2012, 7:30 p.m.
Emmanuelle Haïm, conductor*
Camilla Tilling, soprano*
Tim Mead, countertenor*
Kenneth Tarver, tenor
Alastair Miles, bass
New York Choral Artists,
Joseph Flummerfelt, director
HANDEL Messiah
Pre-Concert Talk (one hour before each concert) with composer Joelle Wallach
*denotes New York Philharmonic debut
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2012 Holiday Concerts / 16
ONE SINGULAR SENSATION: CELEBRATING MARVIN HAMLISCH
Avery Fisher Hall
Monday, December 31, 2011, 7:30 p.m.
Live From Lincoln Center telecast on PBS stations, 8:00 p.m. [check local listings]
Paul Gemignani, conductor
Lonny Price, director
Joshua Bell, violin
Raúl Esparza, vocalist
Michael Feinstein, piano and vocalist
Maria Friedman, vocalist
Josh Groban, vocalist*
Megan Hilty, vocalist*
Audra McDonald, vocalist
Kelli O’Hara, vocalist
Frederica von Stade, vocalist
Program to feature Marvin Hamlisch’s music for stage and film, including selections
from A Chorus Line and Sweet Smell of Success.
*denotes New York Philharmonic debut
# # #
Tumblr — Your Backstage Pass
Photography is available by contacting the Communications Department at
(212) 875-5700; [email protected].
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