The New York Pops
Concert at Carnegie Hall
The New York Pops kicked off its 2016/17 season last night along with special guests Laura Osnes, Nathan Gunn, Colin Donnell, and Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA chorus. It’s not a privilege but an honor to attend The New York Pops, so when your esteemed friend calls you up with an invite, you do a little happy dance and say yes, yes, yes! You don’t ask, who’s singing? It never matters. There is never a question that the artists will be of top quality, and with Steven Reineke at the helm you know that you are in for a musical evening that will be unmatched. Seeing The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall is one of those magical kind of New Yorker things we get to do. The Hall itself is not ostentatious. It’s a clean palette designed to deliver and enhance all of the wonderful sounds that bounce around. The seats are filled with the serious music lover. They are well dressed and well mannered and it’s a real hometown crowd. You will find that most of the seats are not occupied by tourists, and while we love our tourists it’s okay to have our own special place.
On this night of my accidental attendance I was treated to the delightful music of Lerner and Loewe. Selections were chosen from Camelot, Paint Your Wagon, Gigi, Brigadoon and My Fair Lady, which happens to be celebrating its 60th anniversary.
Steven Reineke brings enormous passion to the Pops and you can see the love and dedication that he has for this tremendous group of musicians, as well as the guest talent. It's like he is up there saying 'no one has a better job than me', and perhaps that's true.
The musical selections seem to be hand picked for the vocalists. Laura Osnes, a real life Cinderella has sung with the Pops on many occasions and the reasons for that are evident when you hear the perfectly sculpted notes emanating from her. Laura is truly one of the most beautiful voices of the stage today. In addition, she is taking on the role of spokesperson for the Pops “Kids in The Balcony” initiative, which brings thousands of students to see the Pops each year for free. Famed Baritone Nathan Gunn and Colin Donnell also delivered mellifluous melodies and the Essential Voices choir rounded out this sensational musical program. Yes, it was almost like being in love, and I could have dance all the way over to the Red Eye Grill for the reception afterwards, but I chose to walk instead and bask in the magic of the evening. The next New York Pops concert will be on December 16th, 2016 and will be featuring another all star lineup including Anne Hampton Calloway,Liz Calloway, Anthony Nunziata and Will Nunziata. For tickets and more information visit http://www.newyorkpops.org/ -Thisbroadsway 10/15/16