FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 22, 2018 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5700; [email protected]

NEW YORK PHILHARMONIC SPRING GALA

AN EVENING WITH AUDRA MCDONALD Conducted by ANDY EINHORN

Standards by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Bernstein, and Sondheim Plus Selections by Other Composers, Both Established and Emerging

May 1, 2018

The New York Philharmonic’s annual Spring Gala will feature Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award– winning singer and actress Audra McDonald performing songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Bernstein, and Sondheim, as well as works by other composers — both established and emerging — whom she continues to champion. The performance will mark both her first reunion with the New York Philharmonic in more than four years and her first major solo concert in New York City since 2015. Andy Einhorn, a Broadway conductor and Ms. McDonald’s long-time music director, will conduct the performance, Tuesday, May 1, 2018, at 7:30 p.m.

Acclaimed by as a “one-of-a-kind musical super-talent,” Audra McDonald has won a record-breaking six , making her the most decorated performer in American theater. She was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people of 2015 and received a 2015 National Medal of Arts — America’s highest honor for achievement in the arts — from President Barack Obama.

Audra McDonald made her New York Philharmonic debut in May 2000 as the Beggar Woman in the Philharmonic’s production of and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. She has since appeared with the Orchestra 20 times, including in Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins (2001), Sondheim: The Birthday Concert (2010), and songs by Ellington at Carnegie Hall’s 120th Anniversary Gala (2011). For her most recent Philharmonic appearance in Sweeney Todd in March 2014, she both hosted the Live From telecast of the performance, which won an Emmy Award, and made a surprise return in the role of the Beggar Woman. The New York Times wrote of this unannounced appearance: “The unexpected presence of this Broadway star certainly sent a thrill of pleasure rippling through the audience.”

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The Spring Gala Co-Chairs are Diane and Paul Guenther, Ann and Charles Johnson, and Sana H. Sabbagh. The Spring Gala honors Board Member Daisy Soros for her generosity and dedication to the Philharmonic. For information about the Gala, which includes a pre-concert reception, concert, and post-concert seated dinner on the Grand Promenade, please call the Office of Special Events at (212) 875-5755, or email [email protected].

Artists This season Broadway music director and conductor Andy Einhorn directs concerts with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He is currently the music supervisor and music director for the Broadway productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel and Jerry Herman’s Hello, Dolly! Mr. Einhorn’s previous Broadway credits include Holiday Inn, Woody Allen and Glen Kelly’s Bullets Over Broadway, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Evita, Brief Encounter, Adam Guettel’s The Light in the Piazza, and Sondheim on Sondheim. He recently served as music director and conductor for the Théâtre du Châtelet’s production of Sondheim’s Passion in Paris. Since 2011 Mr. Einhorn has served as music director and pianist for six-time Tony Award–winner Audra McDonald, performing with her and The Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles , and at Avery Fisher (now David Geffen) Hall, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and Teatro Real, Madrid. They recently recorded performances for an upcoming telecast with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House. He was principal vocal coach and pianist for ’s An Evening with Audra McDonald, a double-bill of Poulenc’s La Voix humaine and Michael LaChiusa’s Send. Mr. Einhorn has also music directed for Barbara Cook at Feinstein’s 54 Below and Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music. His tour work includes Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s Sweeney Todd, The Light in the Piazza, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Anderson’s Mamma Mia!, and Elton John’s The Lion King. Mr. Einhorn’s work can be heard on the current touring production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. He has worked at Goodspeed Opera House, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Paper Mill Playhouse. Recording credits include Bullets Over Broadway, Cinderella, Evita, Sondheim on Sondheim (Grammy Nomination), Stage Door Canteen, and Ms. McDonald’s newest release, Go Back Home. He served as the music director for HBO’s Peabody Award–winning documentary Six by Sondheim, and music supervisor for Great Performances’ Peabody Award–winning special Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy on PBS. Andy Einhorn is an honors graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas. He made his New York Philharmonic debut conducting Chris Botti and the New York Philharmonic in April 2016.

Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actress. In addition to her Tony-winning performances in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel, Terrence McNally’s play Master Class, Stephen Flaherty’s Ragtime, Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, and Lanie Robertson’s Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill — the role that also served as the vehicle for her 2017 debut on London’s West End and first nomination for an Olivier Award — her Broadway appearances include Lucy Simon’s The Secret Garden, Michael John LaChiusa’s (Tony nomination), Shakespeare’s Henry IV, Harvey Schmidt’s 110 in the Shade (Tony nomination), and George C. Wolfe’s Shuffle Along, Or, The

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Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed. The Juilliard-trained soprano’s opera credits include Poulenc’s La Voix humaine and LaChiusa’s Send at Houston Grand Opera, and Weill’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at Los Angeles Opera. On television, she was seen by millions as the Mother Abbess in NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! and played Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s Private Practice. She won an Emmy Award for her role as host of PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center and has received nominations for Wit, A Raisin in the Sun, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. This year, she joined the cast of The Good Fight for the second season of the CBS All Access original drama series. Her film appearances have included Seven Servants, The Object of My Affection, Cradle Will Rock, It Runs in the Family, The Best Thief in the World, She Got Problems, Rampart, Ricki and the Flash, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, and the movie-musical . With five solo albums to her name, Ms. McDonald also maintains a major career as a concert artist, regularly appearing on the great stages of the world and with leading international orchestras. Of all her many roles, her favorites are the ones performed offstage: passionate advocate for equal rights and homeless youth, wife to actor Will Swenson, and mother to her children. Audra McDonald made her New York Philharmonic debut in May 2000 as the Beggar Woman in Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd, led by Andrew Litton; she played the same role for her most recent appearance with the Orchestra in March 2014, conducted by Alan Gilbert.

* * * Citi. Preferred Card of the New York Philharmonic.

* * * Emirates is the Official Airline of the New York Philharmonic.

* * * Programs are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Tickets Single tickets for this performance start at $59. 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 Friday; 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Saturday; and noon to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the David Geffen 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. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic’s Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656. (Ticket prices subject to change.)

For information about the Spring Gala, which includes a pre-concert reception, concert, and post- concert seated dinner on the Grand Promenade, please call the Office of Special Events at (212) 875- 5755, or email [email protected].

For press tickets, call Lanore Carr in the New York Philharmonic Communications Department at (212) 875-5714, or email her at [email protected]. (more) Spring Gala / Audra McDonald / 4

SPRING GALA: AN EVENING WITH AUDRA MCDONALD

David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center

Tuesday, May 1, 2018, 7:30 p.m.

Andy Einhorn, conductor Audra McDonald, vocalist

Tony, Grammy, and Emmy Award–winning singer and actress Audra McDonald will perform songs by Rodgers & Hammerstein, Bernstein, Sondheim, and more, as well as works by other composers — both established and emerging — whom she continues to champion.

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Photography and video are available in the New York Philharmonic’s online newsroom, nyphil.org/newsroom/1718, or by contacting the Communications Department at (212) 875-5700, or at [email protected].