The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Friday, December 15, 2017
Saturday, December 16, 2017
8:00 PM
Carnegie Hall, Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage
Steven Reineke, Music Director and Conductor
Megan Hilty, Guest Artist
Essential Voices USA, Judith Clurman, Music Director and Conductor
‘Tis the season for the orchestra’s annual program of holiday classics and festive surprises. Broadway superstar Megan Hilty (Wicked, 9 to 5, Noises Off) joins the full New York Pops orchestra and Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA to ring in the holidays at Carnegie Hall.
About the Artist
Megan Hilty is most recognizable for her portrayal of seasoned triple-threat Ivy Lynn in NBC’s musical drama Smash. She received critical acclaim for her role of Brooke Ashton in the Roundabout Theater Company’s revival of Noises Off. She earned nominations for a Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Drama League Award and won a Broadway.com Audience Award for Favorite Featured Actress in a Play. Earlier this year, she recurred on Bravo’s dramedy Girlfriend’s Guide to Divorce and the final season of CBS’ The Good Wife.
Hilty released a live album comprising of songs from her recent concert tour, entitled Megan Hilty Live at the Café Carlyle and completed a residency at New York’s Café Carlyle, where she previously performed the last two years. Additionally, she released a Christmas album entitled A Merry Little Christmas and made her Australian debut as part of the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
In March 2013, Hilty released her debut solo album, It Happens All The Time, which included fresh interpretations of compositions by contemporary songwriters and producers. Earlier, Hilty starred as Lorelei Lee, the diamond-loving blonde made famous by Carol Channing, in the Encores! production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, to which she earned rave reviews. Additionally, her voice was featured as Rosetta in Disney's Tinker Bell: Secret of the Wings. She has also recorded vocals in Disney's The Secret Life of Magic Gourd, Phineas & Ferb, Glenn Martin DDS, American Dad, Tinker Bell and the Pixie Hollow Games, Robot & Monster, as well as singing as Snow White in the film Shrek the Third. Hilty can be heard in the animated film Dorothy of Oz with Kelsey Grammer, Hugh Dancy, and Lea Michele. She can also be heard alongside Plácido Domingo on the opera star’s duet album.
A native of Seattle, Hilty moved to New York City after graduating from the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University, and quickly made her Broadway debut as Glinda in Wicked. She went on to perform the role in both the national tour and in Los Angeles.
After receiving high praise for her portrayal of Doralee Rhodes in Broadway’s 9 to 5: The Musical, Hilty was honored with nominations for Lead Actress in a Musical at the Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, the Drama League Awards, and L.A. Stage Alliance Ovation Awards. Hilty has previously performed at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops, the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center, the Boston Pops, the Cincinnati Pops, the Houston Symphony, the Phoenix Symphony among many others. She was also featured on TNT’s 2012 Christmas in Washington special and continues to perform at prestigious venues nationwide. Megan is a frequent guest on PBS’ televised Live from Capitol Hill concerts. Her solo concert concerts continue to sell out and receive critical acclaim across the country.
Her television credits include: Sean Saves the World, Difficult People, Braindead, Melissa & Joey, Bones, The Closer, Desperate Housewives, CSI, Shark, Ugly Betty, Eli Stone, and The Suite Life of Zach & Cody. Among Hilty’s film credits are Warren Beatty’s Rules Don’t Apply, The Bitter Feast, and the short film The Happiest Man Alive, opposite Justin Chambers.
Judith Clurman’s Essential Voices USA (EVUSA) is one of New York’s preeminent choral ensembles; it performs at many of the city’s iconic venues and events, and records and premieres works by America’s finest composers and lyricists. Regularly on stage with The New York Pops on its Carnegie Hall subscription series, televised on NBC’s July 4th Macy’s 2014 Spectacular Fireworks, and the Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting in 2011 and 2012, the ensemble comprises a talented roster of seasoned professionals and auditioned volunteers, dynamically fitted to the unique needs of each project. Among other national highlights, EVUSA participated in the 2013 Presidential Inaugural activities and held a month-long residency at National Public Radio. The impressive cohort of musicians that have worked with EVUSA run the gamut from the young opera sensation Jamie Barton to Broadway star Idina Menzel to musical theater luminaries Stephen Schwartz and Sheldon Harnick to composers Milton Babbitt and Jennifer Higdon. EVUSA currently produces The Composer Speaks at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, a series of musical performances complemented by panel discussions with composers and lyricists. EVUSA Youth Workshop provides select high school students the opportunity to participate with the main ensemble in the heart of New York City’s music scene. It has recorded works by Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Shore. EVUSA has recorded several CDs for Sono Luminus. Their latest release, Season of Light: Songs of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah and New Year’s will be released in November 2016.