Broadway Stars Stephanie J. Block and Brian d’Arcy James Sing Holiday Favorites with
The New York Pops and Steven Reineke on December 18 and 19
Carnegie Hall Family Holiday Concert of A Charlie Brown Christmas Celebrates the
50th Anniversary of the Beloved Television Special on December 20
Annual Concerts by New York String Orchestra and Jaime Laredo Feature Guest Soloists
Emanuel Ax on December 24 and Jinjoo Cho on December 28
 Carnegie Hall celebrates the holiday season with a variety of special programs this December. On Friday, December 18 at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday, December 19 at 8:00 p.m., Tony Award nominees Stephanie J. Block (Wicked) and Brian d’Arcy James (Shrek The Musical and Something Rotten!) help to make the season bright with a program of holiday favorites performed by The New York Pops and Music Director Steven Reineke with Essential Voices USA.
The following afternoon, Sunday, December 20 at 3:00 p.m., the orchestra and Mr. Reineke return for a Carnegie Hall Family Holiday Concert (recommended for ages 5–10) celebrating the 50th anniversary of the beloved television special A Charlie Brown Christmas. Peanuts characters come to life through special choreography performed by dancers from New York Theatre Ballet and young actors from TADA! Youth Theater. John Bolton narrates the heart-warming story, underscored by the music of Vince Guaraldi, performed by The New York Pops and Essential Voices USA. The New York String Orchestra, an ensemble of remarkable young players from around the world who come together each December for a seminar of rehearsals and performance preparation, is conducted by Jaime Laredo in their annual pair of year-end concerts. On Thursday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m., they celebrate with a program that includes Mozart’s Overture to Così fan tutte and Symphony No. 35, “Haffner,” as well as Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 2 featuring Emanuel Ax. On Monday, December 28, 2015 at 8:00 p.m., the orchestra returns with Barber’s Adagio for Strings, Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto featuring Jinjoo Cho, first-prize winner of the 2014 International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, and Schubert’s String Quartet in D Minor, D. 810, “Death and the Maiden” (arr. for orchestra by Andy Stein). About The New York Pops and Steven Reineke 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. Under the leadership of dynamic Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, The New York Pops continues to re-imagine orchestral pops music. The orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall. The New York Pops is dedicated to lifelong learning and collaborates with public schools, community organizations, children’s hospitals, and senior centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City. PopsEd allows thousands of New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds to participate in fully customizable music programs that blend traditional education with pure fun. About New York String Orchestra and Jaime Laredo Mr. Laredo has recorded close to one hundred discs, including a Grammy Award-winning disc of Brahms Piano Quartets with Emanuel Ax, Isaac Stern, and Yo-Yo Ma. His recordings range from the complete Bach Sonatas with Glenn Gould (CBS/RCA) to recent premiere recordings of double concertos with violinist Jennifer Koh, “2×4” (Cedille Records, 2014) and with cellist Sharon Robinson, “Triple Doubles” (BRIDGE, 2011), as well as many award-winning recordings with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. Mr. Laredo’s stewardships of the annual New York String Orchestra Seminar at Carnegie Hall (2013 marked his 20th Anniversary as conductor) and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis have become beloved educational pillars of the musical community. 2012 marked the beginning of his tenure at The Cleveland Institute of Music. He concurrently holds director posts with the Vermont Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati’s Linton Chamber Music, serves as Principal Conductor for the Westchester Philharmonic and was Artistic Director of the Chamber Music at the Y series in New York for forty years. Born in Bolivia, Jaime Laredo resides in Guilford, VT and Cleveland, OH with his wife, cellist Sharon Robinson. The New York String Orchestra Seminar, founded in 1969 by arts administrator Frank Salomon for the late conductor and violinist Alexander Schneider, is a professional education program that has prepared over 2,000 young musicians for careers as chamber, orchestral, and solo artists Alumni of the New York String Orchestra Seminar can be found in virtually every major orchestra in the United States; in such eminent chamber ensembles as the Tokyo, Emerson, Kronos, Takacs, and Orion string quartets, and Brooklyn Rider; on the faculties of prestigious music schools and conservatories such as Curtis, Cleveland Institute, Juilliard, Eastman, Colburn, Shepherd School, Oberlin, and Yale; enjoying careers as celebrated soloists such as Yo-Yo Ma, and violinists Cho-Liang Lin, Gil Shaham, Shlomo Mintz, and Kyoko Takezawa; and as conductors such as Marin Alsop, Peter Oundjian, and Douglas Boyd. A project of Mannes College The New School for Music; the seminar brings young musicians ages 16 – 23 from around the world to New York City in December for a ten-day seminar of rehearsals and performance preparation led by violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo, along with three hours a day of chamber music study with distinguished chamber artists. In 1993, Mr. Laredo, Mr. Schneider’s personal choice for successor, became artistic director and conductor of the seminar. In the New York String Orchestra Seminar’s 46-year history all those invited to participate have always received full scholarships to this acclaimed national program. This season, 342 students applied, representing 10 different countries in addition to the United States, of which applicants came from 38 states. Auditions were held in six cities across the country, ensuring that as many students as possible could audition without incurring travel costs. The sixty-two students invited to participate in the program come from nineteen states and 3 foreign nations. Six are still in high school and the rest attend colleges and conservatories. Program Information IT’S CHRISTMAS TIME IN THE CITY The concert on December 18 is sponsored by Breguet, Exclusive Timepiece of Carnegie Hall. Tickets: $40–$122 Sunday, December 20 at 3:00 p.m. A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS Carnegie Hall Family Concerts are made possible, in part, by endowment gifts from The Irene Diamond Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Lester S. Morse Jr., and the Henry and Lucy Moses Fund. Thanks to the New York City Administration for Children’s Services and the New York Department of Homeless Services for supporting families at this concerts. Tickets: $10–$25 Thursday, December 24 at 7:00 p.m. WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Overture to Così fan tutte This concert is made possible, in part, by an endowment fund for young artists established by Stella and Robert Jones. Tickets: $30–$65 Monday, December 28 at 8:00 p.m. SAMUEL BARBER Adagio for Strings This concert is made possible, in part, by an endowment fund for young artists established by Stella and Robert Jones. Tickets: $30–$65 Bank of America is the Proud Season Sponsor of Carnegie Hall.
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