NPR Launches New Series with Carnegie Hall and Nonesuch Records

Creators at Carnegie Begins January 2004

WASHINGTON, DC/NEW YORK, NY-Beginning in January 2004, NPR takes listeners inside Carnegie Hall for concerts by artists from across the musical spectrum, from John Adams to Caetano Veloso, from Kronos Quartet to Emmylou Harris. This new thirteen-part series from NPR, called Creators at Carnegie, is sponsored by Smith Barney, a division of Citigroup Global Markets Inc. The series features performances from this year's inaugural season of Zankel Hall, Carnegie Hall's brand-new “third stage" underground performance space, as well as performances from its renowned Isaac Stern Auditorium. The programs will be drawn from Carnegie Hall's new Nonesuch at Carnegie series-a partnership between Carnegie and Nonesuch Records that features a diverse line-up of the label's acclaimed artists in more than twenty concerts during the 2003-04 season.

Creators at Carnegie will be hosted by NPR's Fred Child, with contributions from music hosts at New York-area NPR member stations WNYC, WFUV, and WBGO. The series is being produced by NPR in cooperation with Carnegie Hall and Nonesuch Records. Creators at Carnegie begins in January 2004 and will continue through January 2005.

“This genre-busting series will present some of today's most adventurous and compelling artists from the world of classical, jazz, country, and world music, as they perform in America's premier concert venue" said NPR's director of music, Benjamin Roe. “Many of these artists have already been featured on NPR's award-winning newsmagazines and music programs. Creators at Carnegie gives us the opportunity to focus on their artistic excellence in a longer form." Creators at Carnegie also will have a major online component at www.npr.org, as well as on Carnegie Hall's site www.carnegiehall.org/creatorsatcarnegie and a new site: www.creatorsatcarnegie.com, featuring material from NPR, Carnegie Hall, and Nonesuch Records.

The January program features John Adams, who holds The Richard and Barbara Debs Composer's Chair at Carnegie Hall, and includes excerpts from the first Zankel Hall concert, curated and conducted by Adams; a selection of this Pulitzer Prize-winning composer's works; an interview with Adams about his creative process; and a preview of the rest of the series.

Subsequent programs in the first season of Creators at Carnegie will include Nonesuch artists Emmylou Harris and Randy Newman, as well as Tony Award-winning singer Audra McDonald, guitarist Bill Frisell, Kronos Quartet, Senegalese singer Youssou N'Dour, soprano Dawn Upshaw, gypsy band Taraf de Haidouks, Brazilian musician Caetano Veloso, and violinist Gidon Kremer. Other artists chosen for inclusion in the series are Steve Earle, Patty Griffin, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Buddy and Julie Miller (schedule follows). The Creators at Carnegie series features performances from Carnegie's Isaac Stern Auditorium and Zankel Hall.