FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 25, 2011 Contact: Katherine E. Johnson (212) 875-5718; johnsonk@nyphil.org Please Note Change of Artist MICHAEL BARRETT TO PRESENT FUNNY, IT DOESNT SOUND JEWISH, AN INSIGHTS SERIES EVENT BASED ON JACK GOTTLIEBS BOOK OF THE SAME TITLE, WEDNESDAY, MARCH 30, 2011, 6:30 P.M. Mr. Barrett To Present Program in Honor of Dr. Gottlieb, Who Passed Away on February 23, 2011 Conductor and pianist Michael Barrett will preside over Funny, It Doesnt Sound Jewish, an Insights Series event based on Jack Gottliebs book of the same name, Wednesday, March 30, 2011, at 6:30 p.m. at the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, Rose Building, 65th Street at Amsterdam Avenue. The event, which Dr. Gottlieb called a lectureentertainment, was originally scheduled to be presented by Dr. Gottlieb, who was the 201011 Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic and an assistant to Bernstein from 1958 to 1966. Dr. Gottlieb passed away on February 23, 2011, at the age of 80. Mr. Barrett has graciously agreed to present the event as originally planned, in honor of Dr. Gottlieb. The Insights Series event a look at the Jewish influence on American popular music is being presented in conjunction with Michael Tilson Thomass The Thomashevskys: Music and Memories of a Life in Yiddish Theater (April 56, 2011). It will feature Judy Blazer (who stars in The Thomashevskys) performing several songs from the period, and singer Joshua Breitzer illustrating the evolution of specific songs. Artists Michael Barrett is the chief executive and general director at Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, where he is responsible for artistic administration and programming. In 2003, building on a career of more than 25 years of programming and performing experience in the arts, Mr. Barrett assumed the post at Caramoor, where he leads the artistic mission of the festival. A protg of Leonard Bernstein and former director of the Tisch Center for the Arts at the 92th Street Y, Mr. Barrett is also co-founder and associate artistic director of the New York Festival of Song and, with his wife, Leslie Tomkins, cofounder of the Moab Music Festival in Utah. Mr. Barrett has been a guest conductor with (more)
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the Orchestra of St. Lukes, New York Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orchestre National de France among others. Mr. Barrett was born in Guam and raised in California. He attended the University of California at Berkeley, received his bachelor and master of music degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and did post-graduate work at the Hartt School of Music. Judy Blazer began her career as a young singer in opera, oratorio, and recital in New York City and throughout Italy. She moved into Broadway theater with leading roles in Me and My Girl, A Change in the Heir, Titanic, Neil Simons 45 Seconds from Broadway, and most recently, LoveMusik, directed by Harold Prince. Off-Broadway she was featured in Candide and Sweeney Todd with the New York City Opera, The House of Bernarda Alba, The Touch Bearers, Lincoln Centers Hello Again (Drama Desk nomination); Roundabouts Hurrah at Last, and the New York City Center Encores! Production of Connecticut Yankee. Regionally she has played the title roles in Funny Girl at Sundance Theater; The Miracle Worker at George Street Playhouse; My Fair Lady at the Paper Mill Playhouse and the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle; Peter Pan at Artpark; and The Night Governess at McCarter Theatre. She has also been seen as Maria in Shakespeares Twelfth Night at the Long Wharf Theatre, and as Lily Garland in On the 20th Century with the American Musical Theatre of San Jose. She has sung at The Metropolitan Opera, as a soloist in Twyla Tharps Everlast with American Ballet Theatre, and she has performed in concert at Lincoln Center. She has been a featured artist on two PBS specials: Bernsteins New York and In Performance at the White House. Joshua Breitzer is currently the student cantor of Temple Beth Shalom in Arnold, Maryland. He was the first-ever cantorial intern at Congregation Emanu-El of the City of New York and appears on composer Yehudi Wyners latest album. He has performed at synagogues throughout New York and on Israels Kol HaMusica classical radio station. In October 2010 he presented a recital honoring Jack Gottliebs 80th birthday. As a soloist with the Zamir Chorale, Mr. Breitzer has sung at Carnegie Hall and at the North American Jewish Choral Festival. He holds voice degrees from the University of Michigan and the New England Conservatory of Music, and he completed YIVOs Weinreich Program in Yiddish at New York University. He received a masters degree in sacred music from Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, and will be invested there as cantor in May 2011. Jack Gottlieb, the 201011 Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic, was an award-winning composer, author, and assistant to Leonard Bernstein from 1958 to 1966. He received his B.A. from Queens College, an M.F.A. from Brandeis University, and a D.M.A. from the University of Illinois; he also studied with synagogue composer Max Helfman, and with Aaron Copland and Boris Blacher at the Berkshire Music Center. From 1973 to 1977 Dr. Gottlieb was the first full-time professor of music at the School of Sacred Music, Hebrew Union College. In 1977 he joined the Leonard Bernstein Office, Inc., as publications director, and served as a consultant to the Bernstein estate. His works have been performed by Bernstein; (more)

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Members of the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and Vienna Philharmonic; singers Jennie Tourel, Adele Addison, Lee Venora, and John Reardon; choral groups including the Gregg Smith Singers; and actresses Tovah Feldshuh and Felicia Montealegre. His books include Working with Bernstein, a memoir (Amadeus Press, 2010), and Funny, It Doesnt Sound Jewish: How Yiddish Songs and Synagogue Melodies Influenced Tin Pan Alley, Broadway and Hollywood. *** Credit Suisse is the Global Sponsor of the New York Philharmonic. *** MetLife Foundation is the Lead Corporate Underwriter for the New York Philharmonics Education Programs. *** Programs of the New York Philharmonic are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. *** Single tickets for Funny, It Doesnt Sound Jewish, are $20. Tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or the Alice Tully Hall Box Office at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes onehalf hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonics Customer Relations Department at (212) 8755656. [Ticket prices subject to change.] For press tickets, call Lanore Carr in the New York Philharmonic Communications Department at (212) 875-5714, or e-mail her at carrl@nyphil.org. *** Insights Series Lecture-Entertainment Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse Rose Building 65th Street at Amsterdam Avenue Wednesday, March 30, 2011, 6:30 p.m. Funny, It Doesnt Sound Jewish Michael Barrett, speaker Judy Blazer, singer Joshua Breitzer, singer ### Follow the New York Philharmonic at nyphil.tumblr.com and twitter.com/nyphil.