Stepping Out

Linda Eder salutes stage and screen

The actress-cabaret star joins the Nassau Pops for a gala evening

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The Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra brings some Broadway flair to Long Island for its 13th annual gala concert benefiting Cerebral Palsy of Nassau (CP Nassau). Linda Eder, who had a memorable star turn in the musical “Jekyll & Hyde,” joins the accomplished orchestra for a cabaret-style performance.
Maestro Louis Panacciulli and his Nassau Pops are eager to welcome the star of stage and cabaret to this special edition of their annual concert, next Saturday, March 18, at 8 p.m.
“We worked with her three years ago for the first time and she rocked the house at that concert,” Panacciulli recalls. “It was so successful and everyone liked her so much that we knew we would bring her back again. She is a delightfully entertainer, a great singer and so easy [for the orchestra] to work with. Everyone — musicians and audience had a great time.”
Eder has been called one of the greatest contemporary voices of our time with a repertoire that spans Broadway, standards, pop, country and jazz and has performed for sold-out crowds and venues across the country and throughout Europe. As the tragic character “Lucy” in the musical “Jekyll & Hyde,” Eder blew the roof off of the Plymouth Theatre each night for over two years as she belted out signature songs “Someone Like You” and “A New Life.”
Since then she has established herself as a popular and accomplished interpreter of pop standards and theatrical songs, represented by a recording career launched in 1991 with her self-titled debut album. Her acclaimed releases include “And So Much More,” “It’s No Secret Anymore,” “Christmas Stays the Same,” “Gold,” “Storybook,” “Broadway My Way,” “By Myself: The Songs of Judy Garland,” and “Linda Live: The Concert Recording.”

“We are thrilled that she is able to be with us again,” says Panacciulli said. “She’s a tremendous talent and is always a big draw.”
Eder’s hour-long performance includes some Barbra Streisand tunes, “The Boy Next Door” sung by Judy Garland in the musical film “Meet Me in St. Louis”), Marvin Hamlisch’s “Ice Castles,” and “Climb Every Mountain,” a string version of “I’ll be Seeing You,” the Liberace Show’s closing theme, along with such Broadway favorites as “Don’t Cry for Me Argentina,” “Man of La Mancha” and, of course, some songs from “Jekyll & Hyde.”
The orchestra also joins Eder for some swinging tunes, including “Almost Like Being in Love” and “This Can’t be Love.”
“Not a lot of orchestras swing the way we can,” says Panacciulli. “I like to say that we have strings that swing.”
“That’s the kind of music I lean towards,” he notes. ‘It’s a genre I’m particularly fond of and we’ve really gotten into the groove with that over the years. It’s become our specialty. I don’t know of other symphony orchestras on Long Island that do jazz and swing.”
The 60 plus-member Nassau Pops opens the concert in their inimitable style. The orchestra sets the tone with Alfred Reed’s dynamic “Festival Prelude,” “an exciting number that heralds the beginning of something important,” according to Panacciulli. That’s followed by a Broadway medley to get everyone in the mood for what is to come.
As always, Creation, the four-person ensemble of singers who participate in CP Nassau’s Adult Day Treatment Program, appears with the orchestra to close the first half of the concert. NPSO’s benefit concerts are never complete without the involvement of this group, which has been participating annually since 2004. They’ll sing “Seasons of Love” from the musical “Rent” and the Four Seasons’ “Oh What a Night,” among other hits.
“They have grown up with us,” says Panacciuilli, of the ensemble’s members, who are now adults. “When they first performed with us at Tilles Center 13 years ago, it was the first time they had ever appeared in front of an audience. Each year they have grown in confidence have progressed so much musically and socially. They have really come into their own. To see four young people in wheelchairs look like they belong on stage and sing their hearts out is really one of the highlights of our concert. They always get a standing ovation.”
“I was moved to tears the first time I heard them [Creation] sing,” he says. “Singing with a symphony is no simple matter. They do a great job and we all look forward to having them participate.”
And for Panacciulli, a Franklin Square resident, who has been at the helm of the Nassau Pops since 1984 as music director and conductor, that moment defines this concert.
“We always want to leave something behind after the notes have faded away,” he explains. “Creation is a byproduct the wonderful work that CP Nassau does. I’m there (at CP Nassau’s campus in Roosevelt) a number of times during the year and everyone is so friendly and upbeat, even though they are dealing with a difficult affliction. It does my heart good to help them and give back to the community through the gift of music. Our long term relationship with CP Nassau is very important to us.”
Panacciulli is also music director of the Rockaway-Five Towns Symphony Orchestra and serves as band director at Nassau Community College, a post he has held for over 25 years. He also taught music in Valley Stream School District 13 until his retirement two years ago.
As always, all box office receipts are being donated to CP Nassau, a total therapeutic community that meets the needs of individuals from birth to their senior years.
NEFCU continues to partner with the orchestra as the concert’s title sponsor. “NEFCU has been closely aligned with us since 2012. We’ve developed a terrific relationship with them,” says Panacciulli. “They are extremely generous and we are thrilled to have them back with us. They are a great local company and their partnership with the Nassau Pops enables us to donate every dollar of every ticket sold to assist CP Nassau.”

Nassau Pops Symphony Orchestra Gala Benefit
When: Saturday, March 18, 8 p.m. $70, $55 and $45. Tickets are available through TillesCharge at
(516) 299-3100 or www.tillescenter.org.
Where: Tilles Center for the Performing Arts, LIU Post, Rte. 25A, Brookville.