Gala2023: The Philadelphia Orchestra with Guest Conductor Keith Lockhart featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell

 

About THE PHILADELPHIA ORCHESTRA: The Philadelphia Orchestra is one of the world’s preeminent orchestras. Founded in 1900, it strives to share the transformative power of music with the widest possible audience, and to create joy, connection, and excitement through music in the Philadelphia region, across the country, and around the world. Through innovative programming, robust educational initiatives, and commitment to the community, the ensemble is on a path to create an expansive future for classical music, and to further the place of the arts in an open and democratic society. The Philadelphia Orchestra has long pushed the boundaries of convention in the classical music realm. Signature to such a reputation are world or American premieres of such important works as Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 (“Symphony of a Thousand”), Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, and Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. The Philadelphia Orchestra also made movie history by playing the soundtrack to Walt Disney’s innovative animated film Fantasia.

 

About Guest Conductor KEITH LOCKHART:  Keith Lockhart is Conductor of the Boston Pops and Artistic Director of the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina (USA). Now in his 27th season, Lockhart has served as Conductor of the Boston Pops since 1995, a tenure that includes nearly two thousand performances, forty-five national tours to more than 150 cities, and four international tours. He and the Pops have made eighty television shows and participated in such high-profile sporting events as Super Bowl XXXVI, the 2008 NBA finals, the 2013 Boston Red Sox Ring Ceremony, and, most recently, Game 2 of the 2018 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers. The annual July 4 Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular draws a live audience of over half a million with millions more who watch on television or live webcast. Lockhart performed at Zoellner with The Boston Pops for Gala2007.

 

About BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL: Dubbed “the last leading man” by The New York Times, the two-time Tony Award winner has enjoyed a career that spans Broadway, television, film, and concert appearances with the country’s finest conductors and orchestras. Stokes has received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards for his star turn in Kiss Me, Kate. He also gave Tony-nominated performances in Man of La Mancha, August Wilson’s King Hedley II, and Ragtime. Other notable Broadway shows include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jelly’s Last Jam, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown and Shuffle Along. In 2016 he was awarded his second Tony Award, the prestigious Isabelle Stevenson Tony for his Charitable work with The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly known as The Actors’ Fund) where he currently serves as the board chair. He is also a founding member of the Black Theatre United, a coalition of Black members of the theatre community launched early in the pandemic to inspire industry-wide reform and to combat industry-wide systemic racism.

 

About GALA2023: Each year, we support and present more than 180 distinctive and diverse events to enrich the life of Lehigh University and the greater Lehigh Valley. Our family, education, and community outreach programs engage thousands of students, school children, community groups and others through:

—   Free public performances

—   Workshops for all ages

—   Master classes with renowned artists

—   Educational programs for all students

—   Inclusive arts programs for the entire community

Your support of Gala2023 will help fund these important programs and is a key ingredient in creating an arts-rich community.