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Live From Lincoln Center Sunday, December 31 at 8 p.m. on WKAR-TV Celebrate New Year's Eve With Audra McDonald and the New York Philharmonic Live From Lincoln Center presents the New York Philharmonic's annual New Year's Eve gala. Broadway and concert star Audra McDonald - who has delighted PBS audiences in the recent Audra McDonald and Friends: Build a Bridge and the Emmy-winning production of Stephen Sondheim's Passion - rings in the New Year with members of the New York Philharmonic conducted by Ted Sperling. Audra McDonald Sings the Movies for New Year's Eve, airing Sunday, December 31, at 8 p.m., features songs from the silver screen, including The Wizard of Oz, A Star Is Born, Cabin in the Sky, A Little Night Music, Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady and others. Acclaimed as a concert performer, recording artist, actress, and for her ability to sing in the classical, Broadway, and pop arenas, Audra McDonald broke barriers early in her career when at just age 24 she was cast as Carrie Pepperidge Snow in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel - the first time ever for an African American performer. A Tony Award came her way for this portrayal. Another followed for Master Class in 1995, a third in 1998 when she sang the role of Sarah in Ragtime, and a fourth for the revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun. She received her classical vocal training at and graduated from Juilliard in 1993, and in 1999 broke into the classical music side of the business by appearing with major symphony orchestras, while still pursuing Broadway roles-including playing Julie Jordan, the lead in Carousel. Audra McDonald has also acted on television and in films, appearing in "Homicide: Life on the Streets" and "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," as well as a television adaptation of "Wit," for which she received an Emmy nomination. In 2005 Audra McDonald appeared with the New York Philharmonic during the Ives Festival, singing the music of John Adams and a group of "Songs of Ragtime and Reminiscence." She made her operatic debut this year at Houston Grand Opera in Poulenc's La voix humaine. Audra McDonald is married to bassist Peter Donovan, and they have a daughter Zoe Madeline, named after Zoe Caldwell and Madeleine Kahn. In addition to her theatrical and concert work, she is a popular recording artist; her latest effort, Build a Bridge, for Nonesuch Records, was released in September 2006. Live From Lincoln Center, hosted by Beverly Sills, is currently in its 31st broadcast season. The series has received 12 Emmy Awards, and was recently honored with two 2006 nominations for its broadcasts of Jazz at Lincoln Center - Higher Ground Hurricane Relief Benefit Concert and A Lincoln Center Special: 30 Years of Live From Lincoln Center." The series has made the world's greatest artists accessible to home viewers in virtually every corner of the United States and remains the only series of live telecast performances on American television today. |
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