NEW YORK, NY
– Conductor
Steven Reineke begins his tenure as Music
Director of The New York
Pops when the orchestra opens its
27th season at
Carnegie Hall on
Friday, October 9 at 8:00PM. The opening
night of The New York Pops’ season features
Reineke’s “Celebration Fanfare” and the Emmy-winning
comedian, singer and television personality
Wayne Brady in a tribute to two American
icons: Sammy Davis, Jr. and Sam Cooke.
Wayne Brady
will make his Carnegie Hall debut with selections
from Sammy Davis, Jr.’s repertoire, including “Mr.
Bojangles,” “Love Me or Leave Me” and “Come Back to
Me.” He also pays tribute to Sam Cooke, performing
hits such as “Chain Gang,” “What a Wonderful World”
and “A Change is Gonna Come.”
Best known as a member
of the Rat Pack, singer and dancer Sammy Davis, Jr.
burst onto the scene with a nightclub performance in
1951, the same year that singer and songwriter Sam
Cooke began writing and recording hit songs as the
lead singer of the gospel group The Soul Stirrers.
After crossing over to pop and R&B in 1957, Cooke
had twenty-nine Top 40 hits in the seven years that
followed before his death in 1964. Davis enjoyed four decades
of film, Broadway and recording success before his
death in 1990. Both singers were awarded Grammy
Lifetime Achievement Awards posthumously.
"I'm so incredibly thrilled to be opening my first
season as the new Music Director of The New York
Pops,” said Steven Reineke. “It is a dream come
true! I'm
really excited that Wayne Brady will be joining us
at Carnegie Hall in a show that I created for him. Wayne's amazing voice, personality and rib-splitting
improv humor all combine perfectly in our tribute to
two icons of the music world, Sam Cooke and Sammy
Davis, Jr. It's a perfect way to begin this new and exciting
journey with The New York Pops."
Wayne Brady
is one of the most versatile performers in show
business today. He has been entertaining audiences
with his acting, improv, singing and dancing on
television, film and the stage. On television, he
has been seen on ABC’s
Whose Line Is It
Anyway?,
his own syndicated talk/variety show
The Wayne Brady
Show and Fox’s
Don’t Forget the
Lyrics. In September 2008 Brady’s debut
R&B album A Long
Time Coming was released by Peak Records.
Steven Reineke
begins his tenure as Music Director of The New York
Pops in the 2009-2010 season. Mr. Reineke is also
Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach Symphony
Orchestra and the Modesto Symphony Orchestra. In
addition, he holds the title of Associate Conductor
of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, where for thirteen
years he has served as a composer, arranger and
conducting protégé of the celebrated pops conductor
Erich Kunzel. Steven Reineke’s notable conducting
appearances include his Hollywood Bowl debut in
2007, his Carnegie Hall debut conducting The New
York Pops in 2008 and his Boston Pops and
Philadelphia Orchestra debuts in 2009. Mr. Reineke
is also an established symphonic composer, with the
most recent performances of his works by the New
York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic.
The New York Pops
www.newyorkpops.org 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 was founded in 1983 by former NBC
Music Director Skitch Henderson.
PROGRAM
Friday, October
9, 2009, 8:00PM, Carnegie Hall, Stern
Auditorium/Perelman Stage
The New York Pops, Steven Reineke,
Music Director and Conductor
Wayne Brady,
Guest Artist
Diane Gordon and Cheaza Figueroa,
Back-up Vocals
“CELEBRATION
FANFARE”
Steven Reineke
“Get Happy”
Harold
Arlen (arr. Nelson Riddle/orch. Joseph D.
Price)
“The Lady Is a Tramp”
Richard Rodgers (arr.
Nelson Riddle/orch. Steven
Reineke)
“Nice n’ Easy”
Lew Spence
(arr. Nelson Riddle/orch. Steven Reineke)
“Night and Day”
Cole Porter
(arr. Nelson Riddle/orch. Joseph D. Price)
“Unforgettable”
Irving Gordon
(arr. Nelson Riddle/orch.
Steven Reineke)
“I’ve Got
You Under My Skin” Cole
Porter (arr. Nelson Riddle/orch. Joseph
D. Price)
“Mack the Knife”
Kurt Weill (arr.
Steven Reineke)
– Intermission –
“Wayne Brady’s Sammy and Sam:
A Tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr.
and Sam Cooke”, *Program
to Be Announced From The Stage
TICKETS
Remaining tickets, priced at $33, $37, $46, $74, $94
and $104, are available at the Carnegie Hall Box
Office,
154 West 57th Street.
Tickets may also be charged to major credit cards by
calling CarnegieCharge
at 212-247-7800 or online by visiting