RI Philharmonic Orchestra Celebrates Leonard Bernstein

PPAC’s J.L. “Lynn” Singleton receives John Hazen White, Sr. Leadership in the Arts Award at post-concert celebration and dinner

PROVIDENCE, RI–To salute music legend Leonard Bernstein's 100th birthday, Conductor Teddy Abrams and Broadway’s Morgan James join the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra on stage for an orchestral program featuring Bernstein’s famous Broadway compositions—West Side Story, On the Town, Wonderful Town, Candide and more. The concert is at 3:00pm on Sunday, June 3, at The VETS, One Avenue of the Arts, Providence.

“We are looking forward to honoring Bernstein’s irresistible American classics with a rare performance featuring Teddy and Morgan, who are two inspiring and versatile artists. Teddy is a noted music director and musician, and Morgan is a highly regarded Broadway singer and songwriter,” said David Beauchesne, Executive Director of the RI Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School. “What promises to be a spectacular concert at The VETS is our largest fundraiser of the year. The money raised goes to music and music education throughout the region. Join us as Teddy and Morgan team up with the RI Philharmonic Orchestra for a memorable exploration of Bernstein.”

The concert will be immediately followed by Bernstein on Broadway: Glitter and Be GALA celebration and dinner at the Renaissance Providence Hotel, which is adjacent to The VETS. During the post-concert Gala, J.L. “Lynn” Singleton, President of the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) and a leader of Providence’s artistic renaissance, will be honored with the prestigious John Hazen White, Sr. Leadership in the Arts Award. “Lynn is a visionary who embodies the meaning of this special award,” added Beauchesne. “We are pleased to be saluting—among many of his outstanding accomplishments—his unwavering commitment to important artistic partnerships, his philanthropy, and his invaluable guidance in reviving The VETS.”

This year, the funds raised from the concert and the Bernstein on Broadway: Glitter and Be Gala will go toward scholarships, and education and community outreach programs. The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School is committed to ensuring access to the Gala concert to musicians, students and music lovers. A block of tickets will be reserved for lottery distribution to students and faculty of the Music School, elementary teachers participating in the Philharmonic’s FLEX/Link Up, and students and faculty of Community Music Works and the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for Performing and Visual Arts.

The Gala is made possible through the generous support of Taco/The White Family Foundation, Amica Insurance, The Washington Trust Co., University Orthopedics, Murray Family Charitable Foundation, Capital Properties Inc., E.W. Burman Inc. and (add)ventures.

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Best of Bernstein’s Broadway

Teddy Abrams, Guest Conductor

Morgan James, Guest Artist

Sunday, June 3

3:00pm Concert

The VETS

One Avenue of the Arts, Providence

$25-$65 for tickets

Bernstein on Broadway: Glitter and Be GALA

Immediately following the concert is the Gala honoring PPAC’s J.L. “Lynn” Singleton

Renaissance Providence Hotel

Adjacent to The VETS

$750 for Gala tickets, which include premium concert seating, cocktail reception and dinner

Concert tickets ($25-$65, including all fees) can be purchased online at tickets.riphil.org, in person from the RI Philharmonic Orchestra Box Office in East Providence, or by calling 401.248.7000 (M-F 9am-4:30pm, closed President’s Day and Memorial Day). Day of the concert, tickets may be available at The VETS Box Office (2:00pm-showtime). Gala tickets ($750###a name="_Hlk503449953">) include premium concert seating, cocktail reception and dinner, and are available by calling Laurie Johnson-Carvalho at 401.248.7034, or by emailing .

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About Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990)

Bernstein on Broadway: Glitter and Be GALA on June 3 at 3:00pm at The VETS raises funds for music and music education.

Composer, conductor, pianist, teacher, thinker and adventurous spirit, Leonard Bernstein transformed the way Americans and people everywhere hear and appreciate music. Bernstein's successes as a composer ranged from the Broadway stage—West Side Story, On the Town, Wonderful Town, and Candide—to concert halls throughout the world, where his orchestral and choral music continues to thrive. Few composers capture their time and become the iconic voice of their age. Leonard Bernstein found his “voice” in the early 1940s and projected the sound of urban and urbane America from the period of World War II to the anti-war movements of the 1970s and the fall of the Berlin Wall and Soviet communism.

TEDDY ABRAMS

About Teddy Abrams, conductor

Known as a versatile musician, Teddy Abrams, the Music Director of the Louisville Orchestra and Music Director and Conductor of the Britt Orchestra, is an established pianist, clarinetist, and composer. He was the youngest conducting student ever accepted at Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied with Michael Tilson Thomas, Otto-Werner Mueller and Ford Lallerstedt, and at the Aspen Music Festival, where he studied with David Zinman. His work this season includes debuts with the Los Angeles and Malaysian philharmonics; the Milwaukee, Fort Worth, Princeton, and Omaha symphonies; and The St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Recent highlights include engagements with the San Francisco, Houston, Vancouver, Colorado and Phoenix symphonies; Florida Orchestra; the Louisiana and New Mexico philharmonics; and the Kennedy Center.

About Morgan James

“A phenomenal talent whose feel for classic soul music is bone deep....This woman is on fire.”—The New York Times

MORGAN JAMES

A graduate of The Juilliard School, James’ Broadway credits include Motown: The Musical, The Addams Family, Godspell and Wonderland. She has released several albums with Epic Records, and she is well known for her collaborations with the jazz collective Postmodern Jukebox.

About J. L. “LYNN” SINGLETON

In 1983, Lynn Singleton arrived at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) as President and successfully reversed the theatre’s financial situation from near bankruptcy. Since 1984, PPAC is considered one of the most successful, not-for-profit theatres in North America. Under his direction, attendance at PPAC has increased from 57,000 in 1983 to nearly 500,000 this year, and the number of events has tripled, resulting in PPAC being voted by Performance Magazine the top 3,000-seat theatre in the nation in 1985 and 1987. Recently, PPAC has received Tony Awards as producers of Once, Kinky Boots, and Dear Evan Hansen, winners of Best Broadway Musical.

In 2012, Lynn successfully sought passage of legislation to expand Rhode Island’s existing film tax credit to include opening of pre- and post-Broadway national tours in the state. As a result, since 2012, PPAC has opened nine national tours, opening three in 2013—Evita, Once, and The Phantom of the Opera. Rhode Island was only the second state to expand their film tax credit to include opening of Broadway shows.

J. L. “LYNN” SINGLETON/Shane Photography

Lynn initiated and completed PPAC’s $8 million stage expansion and $5 million historically-accurate restoration of the Grand Lobby, Arcade, Auditorium, and electronic marquee/vertical sign. These improvements to the facility allowed the presentation of blockbuster shows such as The Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King, Wicked and Jersey Boys. In recognition, Lynn became the first recipient of the City of Providence Renaissance Award for Highest Achievement in the Arts. As Associate Producer of Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby, Lynn was nominated for a 1999 Tony Award in the Best Revival of a Musical category. Most recently, he received the Best Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program Emmy Award for A&E’s cable television version of this production starring Cathy Rigby.

In 1988, Lynn founded Professional Facilities Management, Inc. (PFM, www.pfmcorp.com) and serves as President and CEO. Today, PFM, a wholly owned for-profit subsidiary of PPAC and has national management/booking contracts with eleven facilities in eight states. Last year, PFM presented over 1,300 major national and international cultural and contemporary performances and attractions. Their 2,700-seat theatre in Durham, N.C., was ranked 5th in Pollstar magazine, 4th in Billboard magazine, and 3rd in Venues Today magazine in 2016.

In May of 2012, Lynn received Trinity Repertory Company’s Pell Award for Outstanding Leadership in the Arts. Lynn sits on the Government Relations Committee of the Broadway League and is a voting member for the Tony Awards. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Broadway League’s Samuel J. L’Hommedieu Award for Outstanding Achievement in Presenter Management. In 2011 and again in 2016, Lynn was named as one of the 25 “driving forces” in the Rhode Island business community over the past 25 years by Providence Business News. Lynn will be honored as the recipient of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School’s prestigious John Hazen White Sr. Leadership in the Arts Award at its upcoming fundraiser, Bernstein on Broadway: Glitter and Be GALA, on Sunday, June 3, at The VETS.

About the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School

During the past four seasons, audiences for the Orchestra’s TACO Classical Concerts and Amica Rush Hour series have increased by 42 percent. Throughout the same period, the Philharmonic Music School, which encourages lifelong engagement with music through comprehensive music education and community partnership programs taught by Orchestra members and other faculty, has seen its enrollment grow by 39 percent, and the Music School’s education and engagement programs have doubled, serving more than 20,000 children annually. In addition, the Orchestra and Music School’s combined community impact has grown exponentially, and it has become the largest symphony orchestra in the nation to devote more than 50 percent of its programmatic budget to music education and engagement.

Music School alumni include principal players in the nation’s finest orchestras, skilled music educators, esteemed composers and conductors, CEOs, doctors, lawyers, mathematicians, academicians and a former Miss Universe. As one of the largest community music schools in the nation, it has one of finest music education facilities in the Northeast–the Carter Center for Music Education and Performance in East Providence–in addition to branches in East Greenwich and Westerly.

As the largest fully integrated orchestra and music school in the United States, its mission is to enrich and transform Rhode Island and Southern New England through great music performance and education. The Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra & Music School strives to be the national model for the 21st-century symphony orchestra, providing performances and education programs that are of exceptional quality, and are relevant and accessible. The Philharmonic’s 73rd season offers eight TACO classical concerts and four Amica Rush Hour concerts. A search is in progress for the Philharmonic’s new music director, following Larry Rachleff’s retirement in 2017.