FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 5, 2012 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; [email protected] New Year’s Eve Concert, December 31 ONE SINGULAR SENSATION: CELEBRATING MARVIN HAMLISCH New York Philharmonic To Salute Late Composer-Conductor Starring JOSHUA BELL, RAÚL ESPARZA, MICHAEL FEINSTEIN, MARIA FRIEDMAN, JOSH GROBAN, MEGAN HILTY, AUDRA MCDONALD, KELLI O’HARA, AND FREDERICA VON STADE Paul Gemignani To Conduct and Lonny Price To Direct Concert To Be Nationally Telecast on Live From Lincoln Center Hosted by Audra McDonald The New York Philharmonic will present One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch, a special New Year’s Eve concert saluting the late composer-conductor. The Orchestra will be joined by Marvin Hamlisch’s friends and collaborators, including Joshua Bell, Raúl Esparza, Michael Feinstein, Maria Friedman, Josh Groban, Megan Hilty, Audra McDonald, Kelli O’Hara, and Frederica von Stade performing repertoire from Mr. Hamlisch’s works for stage and film, including A Chorus Line and Sweet Smell of Success. Paul Gemignani will conduct and Lonny Price will direct the performance Monday, December 31, 2012, at 7:30 p.m. The concert will be telecast nationally on Live From Lincoln Center with host Audra McDonald on PBS stations at 8:00 p.m. [check local listings]. More details will be announced at a later date. Before his passing, August 6, 2012, at the age of 68, Marvin Hamlisch was originally scheduled to host and conduct this year’s annual New Year’s Eve concert. A Philharmonic friend and generous supporter, Mr. Hamlisch appeared with the Orchestra four times, conducting a total of 40 songs including selections from A Chorus Line, for which he won a Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award. Anticipating his second appearance with the Philharmonic, Mr. Hamlisch said in 2009: “Any time you get a chance to work with the New York Philharmonic, you say a prayer of thanks. I had a wonderful rapport with the musicians and I’m thrilled to be back.” A portion of the proceeds from sales of all tickets to the New Year’s Eve concert is tax deductible and will go towards supporting the New York Philharmonic’s education activities, in honor of Marvin Hamlisch. (more) One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch / 2 Artists As a 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 40 film 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 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 versions of the New York Philharmonic’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s Company, which played in more than 700 movie theaters (more) One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch / 3 across the country. Mr. Price also directed the stage and film versions of Sondheim: The Birthday Concert!, 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. He won an Emmy for his 2000 semi-staged production of Sweeney Todd with the San Francisco Symphony. Mr. Price directed the Emmy Award–winning production of Sondheim’s Passion, starring Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, and Michael Cerveris broadcast on Live From Lincoln Center. 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 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 Mr. 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. (more) One Singular Sensation: Celebrating Marvin Hamlisch / 4 Raúl Esparza recently starred in the Broadway production of Leap of Faith.