Experience WHITNEY HOUSTON’s Voice as Never-Before-Heard
With the POPS OF COLOR SYMPHONIC ORCHESTRA,
Conducted by SEAN MAYES
Saturday February 15, 2025, at 8pm
An Immersive Visual Experience on the Town Hall Stage Where
Whitney Debuted in 1978
(New York, NY – November 19, 2024) – On February 15, 1978, Whitney Houston joined her mother, the legendary Cissy Houston to perform at The Town Hall in New York City, where the young vocalist made her debut performance at the historic concert hall singing the popular show tune, “Tomorrow” from the popular Broadway musical, Annie. Next year marks the 47th anniversary of her Town Hall debut performance and the 40th anniversary of the release of her groundbreaking self-titled debut album, Whitney Houston.
On Saturday, February 15, 2025, The Town Hall will celebrate Houston and the premiere of The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration, conducted by internationally renowned conductor and music director Sean Mayes, featuring Pops of Color, who will be making their world premiere. Pops of Color is New York City’s first Pops orchestra composed exclusively of musicians of color, performing the music of musical icons of color. The concert event will take place at The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street (between the Avenue of the Americas and Broadway), New York, NY 10036 at 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 7:00 p.m.). This concert series follows the successful, sold-out premieres at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Philharmonic, conducted by Sean Mayes (August 30th) and The Kennedy Center with the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Steven Reineke (November 8th).
Presented by The Town Hall in collaboration with Park Avenue Artists, The Estate of Whitney E. Houston, and Primary Wave Music, The Voice Of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration features the original master and remastered recordings of Whitney’s vocals set to new arrangements in a unique and one-of-a-kind reinterpretation of her classic hit songs including “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “I Will Always Love You” “Higher Love,” and countless other of her classics and landmark songs, accompanied by never-before-seen video footage and interviews, along with some of her memorable performances and more. This concert event will include two new arrangements commissioned specifically for The Town Hall program.
“The Town Hall is honored to present this innovative and daring concert in celebration of Whitney Houston, one of my heroes,” says Melay Araya, Artistic Director of The Town Hall. “Whitney’s voice is a monument to the glorious traditions of American music that she mastered, transformed, and redefined. It carries the legacy of all the great artists who preceded her, including Billie Holiday, Leontyne Price, Mahalia Jackson, and the many others who performed on The Town Hall stage.”
In 2009, Whitney Houston underscored the importance of her Town Hall debut in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, recorded on The Town Hall stage: “I was thirteen, my mother put a show together, which included my brother, myself, and her act, and we sang background for her. My mother had recorded the version of ‘Tomorrow’ from the Broadway show, ‘Annie.’ [At some point during the song], I had the spotlight where I came out [Whitney sang a few bars of the song during the interview] “My mother was performing [here] at Town Hall, and I will never forget, I walked out to the front, and I began to sing and the whole audience rushed to the stage. It was that moment that my mother said, ‘God has smiled on you, and this is what you’re supposed to do.’ I remember thinking, it was on this stage [here] that it will happen for me, I just remember that feeling. And my Mom said, ‘See, I told you — you’re going to be doing big things.’”
“I was honored to have the unique opportunity to conduct the premiere of this incredible piece, The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration with the Chicago Philharmonic, this summer at the Ravinia Festival,” says Sean Mayes. “Given Whitney’s history at The Town Hall, it’s beyond fitting that the new resident orchestral ensemble of The Town Hall, Pops of Color, will be the musical engine of this unique event. I can’t think of a more appropriate venue with which to celebrate both Whitney’s unparalleled legacy alongside our exciting new artistic partnership.”
“Whitney’s innate musical gift and body of work is perfect for this musical offering at The Town Hall,” says Pat Houston, one of the producers of The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration and the executor of The Estate of Whitney E. Houston. “Her voice, artistry, and virtuosity as a world-class artist goes beyond genres and international borders and we are excited to share this concert event in the New York City Tri-State area and beyond.”
With more than 220 million combined albums, singles, and videos sold worldwide, Whitney Houston, known as “The Voice,” has established a benchmark for superstardom that will quite simply never be eclipsed in the modern era. She is a singer’s singer who has influenced countless other vocalists.
From the 1985 release of Whitney Houston’s self-titled debut album, she is the only artist to date, to chart seven consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hits (“Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know,” “Greatest Love Of All,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” “So Emotional,” and “Where Do Broken Hearts Go”); she’s the first female artist to enter the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 1. She is also the first African American recording artist to receive three RIAA Diamond-certified albums.
Hailing from Toronto and based in New York City, Sean Mayes enjoys a varied career internationally as a conductor, music supervisor, orchestrator and composer between Broadway, theater, opera, classical, and Pops worlds. He is the Incoming Worldwide Music Supervisor of Disney’s THE LION KING and Music Supervisor and Co-Orchestrator for the Broadway bound ALI: The Musical, based on the life of Muhammad Ali, composed by conductor Teddy Abrams and hip-hop music legend Q-Tip. His new opera, Aportia Chryptych: A Black Opera for Portia White made its world premiere with the Canadian Opera Company in June 2024. For more information on Sean Mayes, click here.
Tickets for The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration can be purchased in person at The Town Box Office or by calling 212-997-6661 or by Ticketmaster. For more information on the concert event, click here. Follow The Town Hall on Instagram and Facebook.