Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’®
2007-08 season opens with an annual hit,
“Broadway Showstoppers”09/10/2007“Best of the Tonys®” features selections from
Tony Award-winning or nominated Broadway shows
Broadway stars Lisa Vroman, Rachel York, and
Doug LaBrecque are special guests
All 2007-08 concert series open with a Sunday matinee performance,
part of a new subscription series added due to popular demand!
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops’® 2007-08 season opens with a winner – Tony Award® winners, that is!
“Broadway Showstoppers – Best of the Tonys®” features selections from shows that have received or been nominated for Tony Awards – the ultimate honor of the Great White Way. Three of Broadway’s top talents join Peter Nero and the Philly Pops for this annual favorite. They are
Lisa Vroman (
The Phantom of the Opera and
Les Misérables),
Rachel York (
Camelot, Kiss Me, Kate, and
Victor/Victoria), and
Doug LaBrecque (
Phantom and
Showboat).
Performances take place on
September 30 and October 3 and 5-7, 2007, in Verizon Hall at The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts (see calendar below for concert times). The season opens with a matinee performance, part of a
new Sunday series added to accommodate the growing demand for tickets to Peter Nero and the Philly Pops concerts.
Peter Nero
On January 27, 2007,
Peter Nero performed at the Academy of Music 150th Anniversary Concert, joining rock icon Rod Stewart from the piano on “They Can’t Take That Away from Me.” Maestro Nero was a guest soloist on Mr. Stewart’s second of four recordings,
As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. 2.
A two-time Grammy® Award-winner and 10 time nominee, Mr. Nero has built an impressive career as a conductor, arranger, composer, and master pianist. “If he weren’t such a superb musician, Peter Nero might be easy to dismiss as a mere great entertainer,” notes Peter Dobrin, music critic for the
Philadelphia Inquirer. For his ability to pick just the right material, Mr. Nero most recently was dubbed “Dr. Feelgood.” Named “the epitome of the Pops Conductor/Performer” by the
Washington Post, Mr. Nero won the Grammy® Award for “Best New Artist” in 1961, another in 1962, and since that time has garnered 10 additional nominations and released 67 albums. Mr. Nero’s recent guest performances include engagements with the Toledo Symphony, the National Arts Centre Symphony in Ottawa, the Charlotte Symphony, the Buffalo Philharmonic, and the Baltimore Symphony, among others. He has made numerous television appearances on national networks as well as PBS. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and in 1999 received the Pennsylvania Distinguished Arts Award.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
One of America’s premier pops orchestras,
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops was founded in 1979 under the musical leadership of Mr. Nero, whose unique talents and innovative programming blending all musical genres have made their concerts widely popular in the pops world. POPS concerts run the gamut from great classics to jazz improvisation, big band to Broadway hits, ragtime to rock ‘n’ roll. Mr. Nero’s participation as piano soloist has been received with boundless enthusiasm and acclaim. Guest artists—both established stars as well as outstanding new vocalists from Broadway and the concert stage—join The POPS each season. The Voices of The POPS, the resident vocal group, has become a member of the Philly Pops family as well.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops is the Official Pops Orchestra of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a significant part of Philadelphia’s cultural scene. The POPS has produced continuously growing and loyal audiences and performs to regularly sold-out crowds as a resident company of The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops has played a role in the City of Philadelphia’s Fourth of July celebration for over 20 years. On July 3, 2007, for the fourth consecutive year, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert in front of Independence Hall. This immensely popular annual event, which includes a musical tribute to all branches of the armed forces, draws thousands of attendees. On July 4, 2006, Peter Nero and the Philly Pops performed a free outdoor concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Their concert on the Parkway the previous Independence Day, featuring Sir Elton John, Patti LaBelle, and Bryan Adams, reached over a half million people. Other notables who have joined them for past city celebrations include James Earl Jones, Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, Ray Charles, Boyz II Men, and Dionne Warwick.
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops celebrated its 25th anniversary during the 2003-04 season and is looking forward to celebrating its 30th anniversary during the 2008-09 season.
Peter and The POPS had the honor of performing at the opening of the National Constitution Center in 2003, and participating in National Public Radio’s nation-wide radio broadcast on July 4, 2002. Another highlight took place in April 2002, when Astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn made a guest appearance in a special performance of Peter’s original composition
Voyage into Space. Peter and The POPS were featured on ABC-TV’s “Independence Day 2001,” a live, star-studded national broadcast, sharing the stage with such luminaries as Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Whoopi Goldberg, and Garth Brooks.
More information about Peter Nero and the Philly Pops can be found at www.phillypops.org.
Guest Artists
Lisa Vroman starred for several years on Broadway as Christine Daaé in
The Phantom of the Opera. She garnered Theatre Critics’ awards for the role in San Francisco and did a return engagement in Los Angeles. Ms. Vroman’s Broadway debut was in
Aspects of Love, and she was the first to play both Fantine and Cosette in
Les Misérables. She sang the role of Johanna in the San Francisco Symphony’s Emmy® Award-winning
Sweeney Todd in Concert and starred as Laurey in
Oklahoma, filmed live in concert for the BBC Proms in London. Additional roles include Rosabella in
The Most Happy Fella, Mary Turner in
Of Thee I Sing/Let ’Em Eat Cake in concert, Laurie in
The Tender Land, Maria in
The Sound of Music, Josephine in
HMS Pinafore, Yum-Yum in
The Mikado, Maria in
West Side Story, Guenevere in
Camelot, Carrie Pipperidge in
Carousel, and Eliza Doolittle in
My Fair Lady, among others. Her CD, Broadway Classic, is available on the Offplanet Entertainment label. For further details, visit www.lisavroman.com.
Rachel York recently starred as Guenevere in the National Tour of Camelot. She is best known for her Broadway performances in City of Angels, Les Misérables, Victor/Victoria (for which she won the Drama Desk Award), The Scarlet Pimpernel, Kiss Me, Kate (Helen Hayes Nomination), Sly Fox, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. Additionally, Ms. York has starred in Putting It Together (Drama Desk Nomination), Dessa Rose (Drama Desk Nomination) at the Lincoln Center Theater, Anything Goes (Ovation Nomination), Ragtime, Evita, Summer of ’42, Summer and Smoke, and Crucifer of Blood. She has appeared in concert with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the National Symphony, and the Pittsburgh Pops. Her film credits include One Fine Day, Killer Instinct,and as Lucille Ball in the CBS made-for-television movie Lucy. Ms. York has also appeared on several popular TV series, including Frasier, Reba, Numb3rs, and Spin City. Her solo CD is titled Let’s Fall in Love. For more information, visit www.rachelyork.net.
Doug LaBrecque has thrilled theater audiences as the Phantom and Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera and has starred as Ravenal in the Broadway revival of Showboat. An active concert performer, he has soloed with orchestras across the country, including the National Symphony, the Chicago Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Atlanta Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, the New York Pops, and the Cincinnati Pops, among others. Mr. LaBrecque’s international engagements have included appearances with the Israel Philharmonic, the Korean National Symphony, the Shanghai Radio Orchestra, the Brazilian Symphony, the Jerusalem Symphony, and the Vancouver and Calgary symphonies in Canada. For more information about Mr. LaBrecque, including his 2005 solo CD, Opening Doors, visit www.douglabrecque.com.
PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS®
BROADWAY SHOWSTOPPERS – BEST OF THE TONYS®
The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
September 30 at 3:00 p.m. – Sunday afternoon
October 3 at 8:00 p.m. – Wednesday evening
October 5 at 8:00 p.m. – Friday evening
October 6 at 3:00 p.m. – Saturday afternoon
October 7 at 3:00 p.m. – Sunday afternoon
Peter Nero and the Philly Pops
Peter Nero, conductor and pianist
Lisa Vroman, vocalist
Rachel York, vocalist
Doug LaBreque, vocalist
Single tickets: $26-$100, 215.893.1999 or www.phillypops.org
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