Very Merry Pops

Steven Reineke has established himself as one of North America’s leading conductors of popular music. In addition to his role as Principal POPS Conductor of the Houston Symphony, this season, he celebrates his 10^th anniversary as music director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. Additionally, he is principal pops conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

Betsy Wolfe can be seen in the new hit musical & Juliet as Anne Hathaway where her performance was nominated for the 2023 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Previously, Wolfe starred in the Tony nominated musical Waitress, where she gave a multi-faceted performance as Jenna. Prior to that, she played Cordelia, one of the lovable “lesbians from next door,” in the Broadway revival of Falsettos, which aires frequently on PBS. She is perhaps best known for her critically acclaimed performance as Cathy in the Off-Broadway revival of The Last Five Years.

Wolfe most recently starred in the holiday film Esetella Scrooge: A Christmas Carol With A Twist. She can be seen in the indie feature First One In (on all streaming platforms) and had a guest starring role on the CBS series Instinct. Wolfe performed her one woman cabaret show All Bets Are Off to sold out crowds at Feinstein’s/54 Below in NYC, Las Vegas, San Francisco, New Orleans, and more.

Originally from California, Betsy received her BFA in musical theatre from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. At age 20—she made her Carnegie Hall debut with the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra under Maestro Erich Kunzel. After receiving her BFA, Betsy quickly moved on to star as Rona Lisa Peretti in the San Francisco and Boston companies of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Soon after, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of 110 in the Shade. Betsy gained attention for her next role in both the Off-Broadway and Broadway productions of Sherie Rene Scott’s Everyday Rapture, where she played one of the two Mennonettes.

Betsy’s other Broadway credits include Ellen in the 2014 production of Bullets Over Broadway, directed by Susan Stroman, and Rosa Bud in the revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

Other notable productions include Beth in the City Center Encores! production of Sondheim’s, Merrily We Roll Along, aworld premiere production of Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez’s musical Up Here, and Mary Ann Singleton in ACT’s world premiere of Tales of the City.

Betsy made her Metropolitan Opera debut in Die Fledermaus (Ida). She has been a guest artist for over 50 symphony, pops, and philharmonic orchestras across the U.S. and internationally, including the New York Philharmonic and BBC Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with The New York Pops and played to sold-out crowds at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center with their Broadway Today and Women of Notes concerts.

Recordings include & Juliet, Falsettos, Bullets over Broadway, The Last Five Years, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Everyday Rapture, Stage Door Canteen, 35MM, and Merrily We Roll Along. She can also be seen in the film adaptation of The Last Five Years.

In 2018 Wolfe founded BroadwayEvolved, a groundbreaking musical theatre training program for students which has been named (five years in a row) as one of the best summer programs along with top universities. www.broadwayevolved.com

The Houston Symphony Chorus is the official choral unit of the Houston Symphony and consists of highly skilled and talented volunteer singers. Over the years, members of this historic ensemble have learned and performed the world’s great choral orchestral masterworks under the batons of Juraj Valčuha, Andrés Orozco Estrada, Hans Graf, Christoph Eschenbach, Robert Shaw, and Helmuth Rilling, among many others.

In addition, the Chorus enjoys participating in the Houston Symphony’s popular programming under the batons of conductors such as Steven Reineke and Michael Krajewski. Recently, the ensemble sang the closing subscription concerts with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in the Czech Republic. Singers are selected for specific programs for which they have indicated interest. A singer might choose to perform in all 45 concerts, as was the case in a recent season, or might elect to participate in a single series. The Houston Symphony Chorus holds auditions by appointment and welcomes inquiries from interested singers.