THE PERFORMERS

After winning the Seventeen Magazine/General Motors Competition at age 14, Joshua Bell, a native of Bloomington, Indiana, made his debut as a violinist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. more...

Tony Award-winning singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth, a native of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, made her solo recording debut with the release of Let Yourself Go for Sony Classical. more...

A native of Smithton, Pennsylvania, Shirley Jones auditioned at age 19 for Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, who fell in love with her girl-next door looks and marvelous voice... more...

Born in Gillespie, Illinois, Howard Keel grew up during the Great Depression. In 1937, he was parking cars for such Paramount glitterati as Cary Grant and Fred MacMurray. He took singing lessons, sang in operas at the American Music Theatre in Pasadena... more...

A graduate of The Juilliard School, Audra McDonald made her Broadway debut in The Secret Garden. Her many Broadway roles have included Carrie in Carousel, for which she earned 1994 Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics’ Circle and Theater Works Awards... more...

Soprano Sylvia McNair, born in Mansfield, Ohio, has appeared with leading U.S. orchestras including those of Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. more...

Born Rosa Delores Alverio in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Rita Moreno is the first actress to have won all four of the most prestigious show business awards: the Oscar, the Emmy, the Grammy and the Tony. more...

In 1945 when baritone John Raitt made his Broadway debut playing Billy Bigelow in the Rodgers and Hammerstein masterpiece Carousel, he also made musical history, introducing such songs as the immortal "If I Loved You" and the ground breaking "Soliloquy,"... more...

Now in the third decade of his career, Samuel Ramey continues to reign as one of the world’s foremost interpreters of bass and bass-baritone operatic, concert and recital repertoire. more...

Now in his seventh season as National Symphony Orchestra Music Director, Leonard Slatkin's tenure with the Orchestra has been distinguished by highly praised European, Asian, and U.S. tours. more...

"Overture" from South Pacific and "Victory at Sea: Symphonic Scenario" from Victory at Sea were performed by the Washington Chorus and the National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Leonard Slatkin. more...