Salonga, Rose, Young Etc. Set for 4/30 NY Pops Gala

Stars from popular music, Broadway, film and television will take the Carnegie Hall stage with The New York Pops in support of the orchestra and its education programs and free Summermusic concerts on Monday, April 30, 2007 at 7:00PM. The 24th Birthday Gala, entitled Musical Fireworks, will honor Macy's and orchestra patrons Paula and Tom McInerney, and feature a tribute to Neil Sedaka on the 50th anniversary of his start in show business.

Hosting the gala concert are nationally syndicated columnist Liz Smith and actor/comedian Denis Leary, who currently stars in the television series Rescue Me. NBC's "Today Show" co-host Meredith Vieira will make her Carnegie Hall conducting debut leading The New York Pops in "The Stars and Stripes Forever" before introducing James E. Gray, President and COO of Macy's East.

The rest of the concert will be conducted by the London-based American conductor David Charles Abell in his Carnegie Hall debut. He will lead the premiere of a new song composed to accompany the 2007 Macy's 4th of July Fireworks telecast on NBC: "In Our Children's Eyes" by Stephen Flaherty and William Schermerhorn.

Guest artists on the gala concert include the Tony-nominated star of Movin' Out, singer and pianist Michael Cavanaugh, in his Carnegie Hall debut. He will open the concert with a new arrangement of Billy Joel's "New York State of Mind." A hit in "American Idol"'s third season and in Broadway's Hairspray, Diana DeGarmo will make her Carnegie Hall bow with the Neil Sedaka hit "Breaking Up is Hard To Do."  Five-time Grammy winner and contemporary Christian music star Sandi Patty will honor our nation with "God Bless America."  

A Tony winner for her role in Caroline, or Change who was most recently seen in the film adaptation of Dreamgirls, Anika Noni Rose will make her Carnegie Hall debut singing "In Our Children's Eyes," which she will also perform with The New York Pops for the 2007 edition of the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks. Another Tony winner, Lea Salonga - who won for Miss Saigon and is currently starring on Broadway as Fantine in Les Miserables - will also join the gala celebration. A third Tony winner rounds out the list of guest artists appearing: John Lloyd Young, star of Broadway's Jersey Boys, will join the Young People's Chorus of New York City under the direction of Francisco Nunez in an new version of "What A Wonderful World," which they will also perform with The New York Pops for the 2007 Macy's 4th of July Fireworks.

The legendary Grammy-winning singer and entertainer Keely Smith has just joined the concert at the invitation of Neil Sedaka to perform his 1980 hit "Should've Never Let You Go."

Another singer making her Carnegie Hall debut is Haley Swindal, currently studying at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and holder of the prestigious Morehead Scholarship. She is not the first person in her family to debut at Carnegie Hall: her grandfather, Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, conducted The New York Pops in 1986.

In addition, Abell will conduct the premiere of an overture for a new musical with songs composed by Michael Feinstein and lyrics by Mr. Schermerhorn called The Night They Saved the Macy's Parade.

Reserve tickets now at www.newyorkpops.org. Purchasing two tickets or more for the black-tie dinner dance at The Pierre places you on the Benefit Committee, which is listed in the evening's program and in the orchestra's Playbill throughout the 2007 season.

Photo of Lea Salonga by Ben Strothmann