Jazz headliner and star vocalist/pianist/composer Tony DeSare returns to the Jones Hall stage by popular demand to join Principal POPS Conductor Steven Reineke and the Houston Symphony for a dazzling evening of American songwriting legend Cole Porter’s biggest hits. Joined by guests Bria Skonberg (trumpet/vocals) and John Manzari (tap dance/vocals), Reineke, DeSare and the Houston Symphony perform debonair, fun-filled renditions of timeless classics like “Night and Day,” “I Get a Kick Out of You,” “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” “It’s De-Lovely,” “You’re the Top” and many, many more. “Let’s Misbehave: the Songs of Cole Porter” takes the stage at Jones Hall for the Performing Arts for three performances: March 17, 18, and 19. Fans will have the opportunity to livestream the performance on Saturday, March 18 at 8 p.m.
Named Downbeat Magazine’s 2009 Rising Young Male Vocalist, Tony DeSare has four top ten Billboard jazz albums to his credit. In addition to performing throughout North America and abroad to critical and public acclaim, he has appeared on CBS Early Show, NPR, A Prairie Home Companion, and the Today Show. He joined Steven Reineke to headline the Houston Symphony’s immensely popular “Sinatra and Beyond,” the orchestra’s first concert of 2020. In its review of that concert, the Houston Chronicle noted that “his relative youth allowed him to feed off the orchestra’s swell vibe…his voice brimming with vintage swagger.”
Having worked with the likes of Jon Batiste, Wycliffe Gordon, Stephane Wrembel, and Steven Bernstein, Canadian trumpeter, vocalist, songwriter and bandleader Bria Skonberg was described by the Wall Street Journal as “one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation,” and by the New York Times as “the shining hope of hot jazz.” John Manzari is an Ovation Award and Helen Hayes Award nominated dancer, singer, actor, choreographer, and teacher. His stage credits include the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, Bessie Award winning production Ayodele Casel: Chasing Magic, 42nd Street, Maurice Hines: Tappin’ Thru Life, The Wiz is 40: A Celebration in Dance and Music, and Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies. And he’s appeared on television in Law & Order SVU, the PBS specials Black Broadway and The Kennedy Center at 50, and So You Think You Can Dance.
Rising to fame in the 1920s, Porter was a prolific songwriter for Broadway, penning scores for numerous productions such as “Jubilee” and “Fifty Million Frenchmen.” He became popular after writing the score for a musical comedy “Paris,” which featured the song “Let’s Do It, Let’s Fall in Love,” an instant hit. He would go on to write and compose more than 300 songs featured in musicals for live theater and the silver screen, with shows like “Kiss Me, Kate!,” “Can-Can,” and “Anything Goes” still enjoying frequent revivals today. Known for his sophisticated sense of humor and lyrical ingenuity, the Indiana native’s influence remains undiminished.
From March 17 to 19, guests can enjoy a Cole Porter-themed whiskey sour, the Let’s Misbehave Cocktail, in the Jones Hall lobby. For tickets and more information, call 713.224.7575 or visit houstonsymphony.org/coleporter.
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- Tony DeSare
HOUSTON SYMPHONY PRESENTS LET’S MISBEHAVE: THE SONGS OF COLE PORTER
Friday & Saturday, March 17 & 18 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 19 at 2:30 p.m.
Jones Hall for the Performing Arts
Steven Reineke, conductor
Tony DeSare, vocalist
Bria Skonberg, trumpetist and vocalist
John Manzari, tap dancer and vocalist
About Steven Reineke
Steven Reineke is 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 10th anniversary as music director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall. Additionally, Reineke is principal pops conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
Reineke is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his extensive North American conducting appearances include Atlanta, Cincinnati, Edmonton, San Francisco, and Sarasota.
On stage, he has created programs and collaborated with a range of leading artists from the worlds of hip hop, Broadway, television, and rock including Common, Kendrick Lamar, Nas, Sutton Foster, Megan Hilty, Cheyenne Jackson, Wayne Brady, Peter Frampton, and Ben Folds among others. In 2017, he was featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” leading the National Symphony Orchestra performing live music excerpts between news segments, which was a first in the show’s 45-year history. In 2018, Reineke led the same orchestra and hip hop legend Nas performing his seminal album, “Illmatic,” on PBS’s “Great Performances.”
As the creator of more than 100 orchestral arrangements for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, his work has been performed worldwide and can be heard on numerous Cincinnati Pops Orchestra recordings on the Telarc label. His symphonic works “Celebration Fanfare,” “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Casey at the Bat” are performed frequently in North America including performances by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic. His Sun Valley Festival Fanfare commemorated the Sun Valley Summer Symphony’s pavilion, and his Festival “Te Deum” and ‘Swan’s Island Sojourn” were debuted by the Cincinnati Symphony and Cincinnati Pops Orchestras. His numerous wind ensemble compositions are published by the C.L. Barnhouse Company and are performed by concert bands worldwide.
An Ohio native, Reineke graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a Bachelor of Music degree with honors in trumpet performance and music composition. He lives in New York City with his husband, Eric Gabbard.
About Tony DeSare
Named a Rising Star Male Vocalist in “Downbeat” Magazine, Tony DeSare has lived up to this distinction by winning critical and popular acclaim for his concert performances throughout North America and abroad. From jazz clubs to Carnegie Hall to Las Vegas, headlining with Don Rickles and major symphony orchestras, DeSare brings his fresh take on old school class around the globe.
Tony has four top ten Billboard jazz albums under his belt and was featured on the “CBS Early Show,” NPR, “A Prairie Home Companion,” and NBC;s “Today Show.” His music was also posted by social media celebrity juggernaut, George Takei. DeSare also collaborated with YouTube icons Postmodern Jukebox. His Lush Life recording debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Chart, and he released “Song Diaries Vol. 2” in early 2022, now streaming on all platforms.
An accomplished award-winning composer, DeSare won first place in the USA Songwriting Contest and wrote the theme song for the motion picture “My Date with Drew” along with and several broadcast commercials. He composed the full soundtracks for the Hallmark Channel’s “Love Always, Santa” and Lifetime’s new “A Welcome Home Christmas.”
In addition to these concerts, DeSare’s appearances this season include the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and The Florida Orchestra.
He releases new recordings and videos of standards and new originals regularly on his YouTube channel, iTunes, and Spotify. Follow Tony on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and subscribe on YouTube to stay connected.
Tony DeSare is a Yamaha Artist.
About Bria Skonberg
Triple threat trumpeter, vocalist, and songwriter, Bria Skonberg, who was born in British Columbia, Canada, and now lives in New York City, has been a featured bandleader and guest artist at hundreds of festivals and stages worldwide. Described as “one of the most versatile and imposing musicians of her generation” (Wall Street Journal), she has created a signature sound of fiery trumpet playing and smoky vocals blending jazz, blues, and beyond with storytelling and adventurous concoctions of classic and new.
Her debut LP “Bria” on Sony Masterworks won a Canadian JUNO award and made the Top 5 on Billboard jazz charts. Heard on more than 25 albums, she recently released her sixth studio solo album, “Nothing Never Happens,” consisting of mostly original compositions. Her music has garnered more than 13 million streams for 85,000 social media followers. A six-time Downbeat Rising Star, she received the Jazz at Lincoln Center Swing Award, Best Vocal and Best Trumpet (Hot House Jazz Magazine), and Outstanding Jazz Artist at the Bistro Awards.
Skonberg serves on faculty at the Teagarden Jazz Camp (2008- present) and has previously served as faculty at Geri Allen Jazz Camp (2020-21) and Centrum Jazz Camp. She also performs outreach on behalf of Jazz at Lincoln Center; develops educational activities for the Louis Armstrong House Museum; and co-directs the New York Hot Jazz Camp she co-founded in 2015. She is an active member of the International Trumpet Guild, Women in Jazz Organization, Jazz Education Network, and a Bach Conn-Selmer artist.
Skonberg studied jazz and performance at Capilano University in Vancouver while balancing a full road schedule with two bands. After graduating, she traveled extensively, performing in China, Japan, and Europe as a featured artist. When she wasn’t traveling, Skonberg was honing her chops with Dal Richards, Vancouver’s King of Swing. Skonberg capped off this exciting period by playing at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, with Bria featured at the Paralympics opening ceremony. Upon moving to New York in 2010, Bria jammed with friends in Washington Square Park. An hour into playing, world-renowned trumpeter Wynton Marsalis stopped to listen. He gave her a thumbs up, and she never looked back.
About John Manzari
John Manzari is an Ovation Award and Helen Hayes Award-nominated performer, teacher, and choreographer. A multifaceted artist, he is best known for tap dancing. Stage performances include Ayodele Casel’s “Chasing Magic,” “NY Pops Up,” “42nd Street,” “Maurice Hines: Tappin’ Thru Life,” “The Wiz is 40,” and “Sophisticated Ladies.” On television, he has been featured on “The View,” PBS special “Michael Feinstein at the Rainbow Room,” “The Jerry Lewis Telethon,” and the season seven finale of ABC’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” Manzari can be seen in the documentary about his mentor, “Maurice Hines: Bring Them Back,” and the short film, “Slip.”
About Houston Symphony
For Juraj Valčuha’s inaugural season as Music Director, the Houston Symphony continues its second century as one of America’s leading orchestras with a full complement of concert, community, education, touring, and recording activities. One of the oldest performing arts organizations in Texas, the Symphony held its inaugural performance at The Majestic Theater in downtown Houston on June 21, 1913. Today, with an operating budget of $34.325 million (FY23), the full-time ensemble of professional musicians presents more than 130 concerts annually, making it the largest performing arts organization in Houston. Traditionally, musicians of the orchestra and the Symphony’s two Community-Embedded Musicians also offer over 1,000 community-based performances each year at various schools, community centers, hospitals, and churches reaching more than 200,000 people in Greater Houston annually.
After suspending concert activities in March 2020 and cancelling the remainder of 2019–20 events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Symphony resumed activities in May 2020, opening the 2020–21 Season on schedule in September 2020. The Symphony successfully completed a full 2020–21 season with in-person audiences and weekly livestreams of each performance, making it one of the only orchestras in the world to do so, while the Symphony’s Education and Community Engagement team continued to fulfill its mission through creative and virtual means throughout the COVID pandemic.
The Grammy Award-winning Houston Symphony has recorded under various prestigious labels, including Koch International Classics, Naxos, RCA Red Seal, Telarc, Virgin Classics, and, most recently, Dutch recording label Pentatone. In 2017, the Houston Symphony was awarded an ECHO Klassik award for the live recording of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck under the direction of former Music Director Hans Graf. The orchestra earned its first Grammy nomination and Grammy Award at the 60th annual ceremony for the same recording in the Best Opera Recording category.