In the News: Tony Winner Audra McDonald In Concert at Symphony Center!

TONY WINNER AUDRA McDONALD IN CONCERT AT SYMPHONY CENTER ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 12

[caption id="attachment_1447" align="aligncenter" width="450"] Photo by Eddie Malluk[/caption]

The incomparable Audra McDonald, winner of five Tony Awards and two Grammys, makes her first appearance at Symphony Center since 2001 for an intimate evening with her trio on Saturday, October 12 at 8 p.m.

The concert features selections from her new album, Go Back Home, which was released by Nonesuch Records on May 21. Go Back Home is McDonald’s first solo recording in seven years and her most personal album to date. The disc features songs by composers with whom she has long been associated, including Stephen Sondheim, Adam Guettel, Michael John LaChiusa, and Rodgers & Hammerstein, as well as selections that are relatively new to her repertoire, including the title track by Kander and Ebb. She also continues her long-standing tradition of championing new works by up-and-coming musical theater composers, represented on this album by Adam Gwon, Heisler and Goldrich, and Will Reynolds.

McDonald received the 2013 Artist-of-the-Year Award by the Chicago-based Sarah Siddons Society on June 17, which has also been given to such acclaimed actresses as Helen Hayes, Lauren Bacall, Liza Minnelli, Julie Andrews, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and Barbara Cook. She also had the privilege of performing the closing number at the 2013 Tony Awards with host Neil Patrick Harris on June 9. PBS's Live from Lincoln Center aired Audra McDonald in Concert: Go Back Home on May 24, 2013; in November 2012, McDonald was named the first host of the series since Beverly Sills.

Audra McDonald is known to audiences for her work on stage and screen as a singer and actress who is universally acclaimed for the breadth and depth of her artistry. She’s a versatile stage presence, equally at home in musicals and plays, having won Tony Awards for her performances in Carousel (1994), Master Class (1996), Ragtime (1998) and A Raisin in the Sun (2004). Her fifth Tony came in 2011 for her starring role in The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which tied her with Angela Lansbury and Julie Harris for the most performance awards. In addition to her two Grammy Awards—for the cast recording of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny—she has been nominated for two Emmy Awards for her performances in the HBO production of Wit and the television adaptation of A Raisin in the Sun. She starred as Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s hit television series Private Practice for four seasons. In addition to her work as an actress, she has a busy career as a concert and recording artist, regularly performing at the world’s top venues.

Complete program details follow:

Symphony Center Presents Special Concert

Saturday, October 12, 2013, 8 p.m.
An Evening with Audra McDonald
Audra McDonald, vocals
Andy Einhorn, musical director and piano
Mark Vanderpoel, bass
Gene Lewin, drums

Tickets: $40–$80

About the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association

The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) is consistently hailed as one of the greatest orchestras in the world. Its music director since 2010 is Riccardo Muti, one of the preeminent conductors of our day. The venerable Pierre Boulez is the CSO’s Helen Regenstein Conductor Emeritus. The renowned musicians of the CSO annually perform more than 150 concerts, most at Symphony Center in downtown Chicago and, in the summer, at the suburban Ravinia Festival. The CSO also appears in other U.S. cities, and each year tours internationally. Since its founding in 1891, the Orchestra has made 56 international tours, visiting 28 countries on five continents. At home and on tour, tickets are always in high demand and frequently sold out; occasional performances and rehearsals are free.

The CSO is part of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA), which also includes the acclaimed Chicago Symphony Chorus; the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, a unique training orchestra; CSO Radio broadcasts and webcasts worldwide; and CSO Resound, a best-selling record label. Recordings by the CSO have won 62 Grammy Awards^®. Through its Symphony Center Presents series, the CSOA offers dozens of performances each year by famous guest artists of jazz, pop, contemporary, world, and classical music. Through its Institute for Learning, Access, and Training, the CSOA offers a variety of youth, community and education programs, all of which are based on the concept of Citizen Musicianship, using and promoting the power of music to contribute to our culture, our communities, and the lives of others. Celebrated cellist Yo-Yo Ma is the CSOA’s Judson and Joyce Green Creative Consultant; Deborah F. Rutter, a highly regarded arts executive, is the CSOA’s president.

Tickets for all CSOA concerts be purchased by phone at 800‑223‑7114 or 312-294‑3000; online at cso.org, or at the Symphony Center box office: 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604.

Discounted student tickets for select concerts can be purchased, subject to availability, online in advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-294-3040.

Artists, programs and prices are subject to change.