Opening Night Concert: Audra McDonald

Audra McDonald is unparalleled in the breadth and versatility of her artistry as both a singer and an actor. The winner of a record-breaking six Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Emmy, in 2015 she was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people and received a National Medal of Arts — America’s highest honor for achievement in the field — from President Barack Obama. In addition to her Tony-winning performances in Carousel, Master Class, Ragtime, A Raisin in the Sun, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill — the role that also served as the vehicle for her Olivier Award-nominated 2017 debut in London’s West End — she has appeared on Broadway in The Secret Garden; Marie Christine (Tony nomination); Henry IV; 110 in the Shade (Tony nomination); Shuffle Along, or, The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed; and Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Tony nomination). She currently stars as Suzanne Alexander in Adrienne Kennedy’s Ohio State Murders at the James Earl Jones Theatre. 

On television, she was seen by millions as the Mother Abbess in NBC’s The Sound of Music Live! and played Dr. Naomi Bennett on ABC’s Private Practice. She won an Emmy Award for her role as host of PBS’s Live From Lincoln Center and has received nominations for Wit, A Raisin in the Sun, and Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill. Having first appeared on CBS’s The Good Wife, she plays Liz Reddick in The Good Fight on Paramount+ and Dorothy Scott in Julian Fellowes’ historical drama The Gilded Age on HBO and HBO Max. On film, she has appeared in Seven Servants, The Object of My Affection, Cradle Will Rock, Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, the movie-musical Hello Again, and MGM’s Aretha Franklin biopic, Respect.

A Juilliard-trained soprano, her opera credits include La voix humaine and Send at Houston Grand Opera, and Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at Los Angeles Opera, where the resulting recording earned her two Grammy Awards. McDonald has issued five solo albums on the Nonesuch label as well as Sing Happy with the New York Philharmonic on Decca Gold. A founding member of Black Theatre United, board member of Covenant House International, and prominent advocate for LGBTQAI+ rights, her favorite roles are those performed offstage, as an activist, wife to actor Will Swenson, and mother. 

To learn more about Audra McDonald, please visit her website (audramcdonald.com). 

Leading Broadway music director and conductor Andy Einhorn most recently served as the music supervisor and musical director for the Broadway productions of Hello, Dolly! starring Bette Midler, and Carousel starring Renée Fleming, both of which were nominated for a Grammy for Original Broadway Cast Recording, Einhorn’s previous Broadway music directing and conducting credits include Holiday Inn, Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Brief Encounter, and Sondheim on Sondheim. Other Broadway work includes Evita and The Light in the Piazza.  

Since 2011, Einhorn has served as music director and pianist for six-time Tony Award winner, Audra McDonald, performing with her at such prestigious orchestras and venues including The New York Philharmonic, Boston Pops at Tanglewood, Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a series of recorded concerts with Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. He most recently made his debut at New York City Center. They have recorded two albums together: Sing Happy: Live with the New York Philharmonic and Go Back Home.  

He served as the music director for HBO’s Peabody Award-winning documentary Six by Sondheim and music supervisor for Great Performances Peabody Award-winning special Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy on PBS. In 2019, Einhorn conducted Bette Midler and Marc Shaiman at the 2019 Academy Awards. He also music supervised and appeared on camera for the Emmy award-winning performance of Eat Sh*t Bob for HBO’s Last Week Tonight starring John Oliver.  

Einhorn’s upcoming film and television projects include Apple Plus’ Extrapolations and Cabrini, produced by Jonathan Sanger. He is a guest faculty member at the Aspen Music Festival and is a regular music director and pianist for the 92nd St Y’s Lyrics and Lyricists series.  

Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL), Caramoor’s orchestra-in-residence, grew from a group of virtuoso musicians performing chamber music concerts at Greenwich Village’s Church of St. Luke in the Fields in 1974. Regular seasons see OSL perform in diverse musical genres at New York’s major concert venues, drawing on an expanded roster for large-scale works, and collaborating with artists ranging from Joshua Bell and Renée Fleming to Bono and Metallica. The orchestra has commissioned more than 50 new works and has given more than 175 world, U.S., and New York City premieres, while also participating in 118 recordings, four of which have been recognized with Grammy Awards.  

Internationally celebrated for his expertise in 18th-century music, Bernard Labadie was appointed as OSL’s Principal Conductor in 2018, continuing the orchestra’s long tradition of working with proponents of historical performance practice. Built and operated by OSL, The DiMenna Center for Classical Music opened in 2011. New York City’s only rehearsal, recording, education and performance space expressly dedicated to classical music, it serves more than 500 ensembles and 30,000 musicians each year.