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| February 16, 2011 | Broadway World | Barry Manilow Set for Performance at Reprise Theatre Company, 3/22 |
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| An exclusive Los Angeles engagement featuring Barry Manilow performing some of his timeless songs as well as sharing insights and stories from his incomparable career. Proceeds from this special benefit performance support Reprise Theatre Company’s mission to produce musical theatre of the highest artistic quality, and to provide theatre education and outreach programs for our community. Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased online or by contacting the UCLA Central Ticket Office (Mon - Fri, 10am to 4:30 pm) at 310.825.2101 Barry Manilow is best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." In 1978, five of his albums were on the best-selling charts simultaneously, a feat equalled only by Frank Sinatra,Michael Jackson, Bruce Springsteen and Johnny Mathis. He has recorded a string of Billboard hit singles and multi-platinum albums that have resulted in his being named Radio & Records number one Adult Contemporary artist and winning three straight American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist. Several well-known entertainers have given Manilow their "stamp of approval," including Sinatra, who was quoted in the 1970s regarding Manilow, "He's next." In 1988, Bob Dylan stopped Manilow at a party, hugged him and said, "Don't stop what you're doing, man. We're all inspired by you." |
| January 29, 2011 | WPLG's JustNews.com | Barry Manilow in Concert at Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise |
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| Barry Manilow performed at the Bank Atlantic Center. The January 28th show was the first of two South Florida shows. The second one is at the University of Miami's BankUnited Center in Coral Gables on January 29th. This is the first time Manilow has performed with an orchestral accompaniment in Florida. Manilow was backed by the 60-piece Charlotte Symphony Orchestra of Punta Gorda, and some backup singers (part of the cast from his Las Vegas show). Manilow did not disappoint the packed house last night at the Bank Atlantic Center. He performed some of his greatest hits, including "Mandy" and "Copacabana" ("Copacabana" won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance). Barry Manilow has sold over 80 million records, and also had 25 consecutive Top 40 hits between 1975 and 1983, so he was not short on material when he performed at the Bank Atlantic Center in Sunrise. The South Florida shows come ahead of his return to Las Vegas for his "Paris" shows next month. Last month Manilow performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway. Manilow also has a new CD in the works. |
| January 28, 2011 | Miami Herald | "A symphony of Manilow" by Michael Hamersly |
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His name was Barry/
He wrote some jingles/
He never tried to be a star/
But his talent took him far.
He gave us Mandy/
Could It Be Magic/
And though he didn’t "write the songs"/
He didn’t stay unknown for long.Barry Manilow might be the only guy in show biz who could get away with singing a medley of commercials during his concerts. But that’s because before he became famous for hits such as "Mandy," "This One’s For You," "Even Now," "Weekend In New England," "Copacabana (At the Copa)" and "I Write the Songs" (one of his hits he didn’t actually write), he was a commercial jingle writer. An epic jingle writer: Manilow came up with the standards "Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there" and "I am stuck on Band-Aids, 'cause Band-Aids stick on me," among many others. But when Manilow takes the stage in South Florida – Friday night at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and Saturday night at the University of Miami’s BankUnited Center in Coral Gables – you’re not likely to hear what he fondly calls his "Very Strange Medley" of jingles. "I dumped that years ago because the audiences were growing up and believe it or not, they didn’t remember these songs," says Manilow. "They do remember 'I am stuck on Band-Aids,' because they still play that, and they remember 'State Farm is there,' but when I proudly burst into 'You deserve a break today,' there was dead silence in the audience, so I went, 'Oops – uhhhh, I don’t think that’s working anymore.' It was interesting, because the generation had suddenly changed, overnight. I mean, I can say the week before, everybody laughed and applauded with 'Get a bucket of chicken' and all those songs, and then one weekend they stopped. They just stopped reacting. So I had to take them out, except for those two, now and again I throw them in. And I can see them going, 'Wow, he wrote those songs?' You’d think they were Beethoven's Fifth the way they respond to my commercials." What you will hear, of course, are all the beloved and yet sometimes maligned Manilow classics, but with a new twist. "The difference between all the other shows I’ve ever done in Florida and this one is that I’m being accompanied by a beautiful orchestra, which I’ve never done," he says. "I’ve always been a guy in front of a band, but this time, we’re accompanied by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra of Punta Gorda, Florida. I’ve done this before at the Hollywood Bowl and in Atlantic City, and it’s just a thrill to hear all of these gorgeous arrangements done, finally, by 75 musicians – 'Weekend in New England,' 'I Write the Songs' even 'Copacabana,' done by a big orchestra instead of just my 10-piece synthesizer band. It’s just an amazing experience." Surprisingly, your favorite Manilow songs are probably not the ones he most loves to sing. "Let’s see: 'One Voice' – I always get a choir when I do that one, and it’s very moving," he says. "Also, 'When October Goes,' a little song I wrote with a lyric by Johnny Mercer. I know you’re looking for the hits, but they’re not my favorites. They’re great, and I love to watch the audience get excited about them, but for me personally, it’s usually the songs that I don’t get a chance to do very often." You might also hear a few new Manilow compositions from his upcoming album 15 Minutes, which he calls "the edgiest album I’ve ever made." "After all of these beautiful, violin-laden, classic songwriting albums – from Gershwin to Berlin – this next original album is the edgiest thing, and it’s got a little story to it," he says. "It’s about anybody who wants fame and gets it, and usually what happens – as you see on American Idol and all the other places, from Britney Spears to Marilyn Monroe – they blow it and they’re unhappy, and they go downhill. And in my little story, they start all over again at the end, and they say, 'No, this is not gonna get me – I’m gonna do this right this time.' There’s a song on [the 1975 album] Tryin’ to Get the Feeling called 'She’s a Star,' and I redid the song to make it 'He’s a Star.' 'She’s a Star' was very feminine-sounding orchestration, a lot of piano work and violins – a wonderful song. But on this album, 'He’s a Star' is filled with guitars and drums and very masculine arrangements." Another punchy Manilow song is "Bandstand Boogie," which was the jazzy theme song from 1977-’87 to the music show hosted by Dick Clark. "Dick had invited me to do 'Mandy' on the show and 'It’s a Miracle' and 'Could It Be Magic' and whatever the hits were," Manilow says. "So during the making of Tryin’ to Get the Feeling I came up with the idea of [using] this melody: 'Da-da-da-DAT, da-da-da-da-DAT' – it was so famous, and [Clark] had been using it ever since the ’50s when American Bandstand started, even way before my time. But no one had ever written a lyric to the American Bandstand theme." Manilow’s success story could serve as a message of hope for all those with musical aspirations. "I didn’t know where I was gonna go, but I quit my day job," he says. "I was working at CBS delivering mail, and I just knew I was gonna wind up doing something in music. I went on the road with a girl singer, and I never looked back. I was always playing piano for somebody, and one thing led to another, led to another and led to my own record deal." If you go... What: Barry Manilow. When: 8 p.m. Friday at the BankAtlantic Center, 1 Panther Pkwy., Sunrise; 8 p.m. Saturday at the BankUnited Center, 1245 Dauer Dr., Coral Gables. Info: Ticketmaster; $15-$180. |
| January 28, 2011 | Palm Beach Post | "Barry Manilow at BankAtlantic Center, BankUnited Center" by Michael Hamersly |
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| Everyone knows what to expect when Barry Manilow takes the stage Friday, Jan. 28 at the BankAtlantic Center (1 Panther Pkwy, Sunrise) and again Saturday, Jan. 29 at UM’s BankUnited Center (1245 Dauer Dr., Coral Gables) – guilty-pleasure hits including "I Write the Songs," "Mandy," "This One’s For You" and "Copacabana (At the Copa)." And everyone might expect Manilow to take himself seriously. Not so. Manilow loosened up a bit in an interview for Miami.com: Miami.com: In 2006, officials in Australia thought blasting your music late weekend nights would discourage youths to hang out in a residential area. How did that play out, and what was your reaction to it?
Barry Manilow: I was crossing my fingers that what eventually happened, would happen. Which is, that they didn’t run away. They sat and listened to it and danced to "Copacabana" [laughs].
MC: If you were in a nightclub and they played “Copacabana,” would you bust a move?
BM: Well, it all depends on what rendition they played – I’ve done so many. But the one that I hear in these dance clubs is usually the absolute original, with my Brooklyn accent, and believe it or not, the song and the record still sounds good. I’ve always believed that if you write a good song, it will last forever. It’s a very smart lyric. How many songs do you know that tell a story like that in three verses and a repeated chorus three times? That is a smart batch of words that [collaborator] Bruce [Sussman] wrote, and I think the melody I wrote is a real catchy one – including that cowbell!
MC: Let’s talk about your hair back in the ’70s... What’s the secret to the styling – what kind of products did you use?
BM: I just have to tell you – go look at everybody else’s hair back in the ’70s. We all looked like that. Look at Rod Stewart. We all looked like that. It’s a matter of generations – we all looked like morons.
MC: How often do you get to Miami, and what do you think of the city?
BM: I used to get there much more often because I used to live in New York, but I don’t live on the East Coast anymore, and it’s a verrrry long plane ride. I very rarely get there. The last time I was there, I don’t even know when – four years, five years. And when I do, I get off the plane, go into the arena, do what I have to do, get back in the car, get back onto the plane…I really haven’t spent much time in Miami or that area in a long time. But I can tell you that when I did, I loved it. I nearly bought a house there. It was gonna be where I was gonna retire and live the rest of my life. But I moved out to California and everything changed.
Event listings: The Bank Atlantic Center: 8 p.m., Friday, Jan. 28 | BankUnited Center: 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 29. |
| January 22, 2011 | Tampa Bay Online | "Manilow sprinkles some Vegas magic in Forum show" by MacKenzie Mount |
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| TAMPA - Barry Manilow graced Tampa with a bit of Vegas. The legendary performer came to the St. Pete Times Forum on Friday night flanked by Punta Gorda's Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and four singer-dancers from his show at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. Manilow set nearly 9,000 glow sticks atwitter when he appeared onstage just an hour past show time, dapper in his white sport coat and trademark grin. Blowing kisses and bounding across the stage, Manilow opened with "Could It Be Magic," a song reprised when transitioning between subsequent numbers. After teasing he could sing all night, Manilow winked and said, "So leave your troubles outside, and come with me. I'm gonna make you feel good!" Manilow peppered his hit-laden performance with self-deprecating chatter and reflections, frequently thanking the audience and encouraging them to support music programs for youngsters. "I wasn't very good at sports, and I wasn't going to join a gang," he said of taking the high school orchestra class that spurred his career. "Can you imagine me in a gang?" Manilow's performance of "Mandy" spurred hushed sing-a-longs, and "I Write the Songs" sent the glow sticks into a frenzy. "Weekend in New England" inspired Beatles-worthy shrieks from a few fans and compelled Manilow to cry, "I still got it!" Most of the crowd contained their enthusiasm in their seats, popping up for "Copacabana (At the Copa)" and settling back down for the encore, "Forever and a Day." |
| January 18, 2011 | Playbill.com | "Barry Manilow Will Perform Concert for Reprise Theatre Company" by Andrew Gans |
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| Reprise Theatre Company will present Grammy winner Barry Manilow in concert March 22 at 8 PM at UCLA’s Royce Hall. The company's Annual Gala Performance will help support its mission to "produce musical theatre of the highest artistic quality and to make this art form accessible to new audiences through education and outreach programs," according to press notes. Tickets go on sale to the public Jan. 24. With worldwide record sales exceeding 80 million, Barry Manilow is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio & Records), with no less than 25 consecutive top 40 hits to his credit between 1975 and 1983, on the Billboard Hot 100. Tickets range from $40 to $300; the $300 tickets include a post-show party where Reprise will honor Manilow with a special award for his contributions to the field of musical theatre. For tickets call (310) 825-2101 or visit www.reprise.org. |
| January 18, 2011 | TheaterMania | "Barry Manilow to Play March 22 Benefit Concert for Reprise Theatre Company" by Dan Bacalzo |
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| Reprise Theatre Company will present Barry Manilow in Concert as its annual gala performance, to be held at UCLA's Royce Hall on Tuesday, March 22 at 8pm. Reprise will also honor Manilow with a special award for his contributions to the field of musical theatre. Manilow's Broadway credits include his Tony Award-winning Barry Manilow on Broadway and Barry Manilow at the Gershwin. He also contributed songs to Bette Midler's Clams on the Half Shell Revue and The Madwoman of Central Park West. In the West End, his music was featured in Barry Manilow's Copacabana - The Musical, which went on to tour the U.S., Australia and Asia. He currently performs a regular gig at Paris Las Vegas.
Manilow has worked on over 40 albums over the course of his career as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer. His worldwide record sales exceed 80 million, with no less than 25 consecutive top 40 hits to his credit between 1975 and 1983, on the Billboard Hot 100. His most recent release is the Grammy-nominated The Greatest Love Songs of All Time. Ticket sales from the gala event will support Reprise's musical productions, as well as its education and outreach programs. Tickets range from $40-$300, and will go on sale to the public January 24. For tickets and more information, call 310-825-2101 or visit www.reprise.org. |
| January 17, 2011 | Broadway World (Los Angeles) | Reprise Theatre Company Features Barry Manilow in Concert, 3/22 |
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| Reprise Theatre Company presents Barry Manilow in Concert for one performance only on Tuesday, March 22 at 8:00 pm, at UCLA's Royce Hall. This special event is presented by Reprise Theatre Company as its Annual Gala Performance. Ticket sales from Barry Manilow in Concert support Reprise's mission to produce musical theatre of the highest artistic quality and to make this art form accessible to new audiences through education and outreach programs. Tickets go on sale to the public January 24. Tickets range from $40 to $300. The $300 tickets include a post-show party where Reprise will honor Barry Manilow with a special award for his contributions to the field of musical theatre! For tickets please call the UCLA Central Ticket Office at 310/825-2101 or visit www.reprise.org. Reprise Theatre Company is headed by Artistic Director Jason Alexander. Christine Bernardi Weil is Managing Director and Gilles Chiasson is Producing Director of Reprise Theatre Company. With worldwide record sales exceeding 80 million, Barry Manilow is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio & Records); with no less than 25 consecutive top 40 hits to his credit between 1975 and 1983, on the Billboard Hot 100. Manilow has worked on over 40 albums over the course of his career as a singer, songwriter, arranger and producer. His recently released Grammy nominated "The Greatest Love Songs of All Time," album chronicles the most touching love songs ever written. Manilow is currently performing more than 78 shows a year for two years at the Paris Théâtre at Paris Las Vegas, having added even more dates to this residency due to incredibly high demand. Those shows are produced by STILETTO Entertainment in conjunction with AEG Live and Paris Las Vegas. About Reprise Theatre Company Since its inception in 1997, Reprise Theatre Company has been a focus of the Los Angeles musical theatre community, producing productions of great American musicals, and a wide variety of concerts, staged-readings, special events and outreach programs. In May 2007, Jason Alexander became Artistic Director. Christine Bernardi Weil is Managing Director and Gilles Chiasson is Producing Director of Reprise. Since its inaugural production of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Promises, Promises," which starred Mr. Alexander, Reprise has brought to the stage vibrant productions from all eras of American musical theatre including the Gershwins' "Of Thee I Sing" and "Strike Up the Band," Cole Porter's "Anything Goes," and Rodgers and Hart's "The Boys from Syracuse" and "Babes in Arms," Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel," as well as Richard Rodgers' later "No Strings." The "Golden Era" has been well represented - Burton Lane and E.Y. Harburg with "Finian's Rainbow," Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe with "Brigadoon," Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green with "On the Town" and "Wonderful Town," Irving Berlin with "Call Me Madam," Robert Wright and George Forrest with "Kismet," both of the Richard Adler and Jerry Ross musicals "The Pajama Game" and "Damn Yankees," Johnny Mercer and Gene dePaul with "Li'l Abner," Jule Styne with "Bells are Ringing," and Frank Loesser with "The Most Happy Fella" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying." |
| January 13, 2011 | Orlando Sentinel | "Manilow still does it the old-fashioned way" by Jim Abbott |
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| If anyone has a right to say that they don't write songs the way they used to, it's Barry Manilow. And, yes, the man who wrote the songs that make the "whole world sing" -- enough of them to sell more than 80 million records worldwide over a career that has spawned 29 platinum albums over almost 40 years -- will tell you that. But it's no nostalgic rant from a star who scored his first chart-topping hit, "Mandy," in 1975. Instead, Manilow -- who performs Thursday with the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra of Punta Gorda at Amway Center -- dissects the songwriting process in almost theoretical terms. "In the beginning, certainly before my time, all they had was piano or guitar and they had to write something based on a melody, chord changes and lyrics," says Manilow, 67, in a phone interview from Palm Springs, Calif. "Now, nobody cares about that. What they care about is these great rhythm things they've found - and the lyrics come last. It has gotten more into the rhythm, the brilliant machinery that allows us to create loops and great sounds," he says. "It's irresistible. But that also means that the melodies and the lyrics take a back seat. So people don't really write songs the way they used to." Manilow, however, remains reliably old-school. On his current swing through Florida -- a five-city stretch that also includes Tampa, Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Miami -- he will revisit his hits with the help of an orchestra, but few other bells and whistles. "This is Barry in front of a band — only the band, there's a lot of 'em. If the public likes what I've done for 35 years -- good Lord, has it been 35 years? -- or if they are young and want to check me out, it's a beautiful music show. It's the music stripped down to nothing but some pretty lighting and the songs." The touring production isn't, Manilow emphasizes, a traveling version of his Las Vegas shows that have made him a fixture in Sin City for the past five years, first at the Las Vegas Hilton and currently at the Paris Las Vegas. "That's a big production and it's beautiful to look at, but we can't take that on the road," he says. "There's no way to do that." Nor would he want to. After decades of touring, the Vegas residency, in which audiences come to him, is really the only way that Manilow would want to perform now. "I was going to give the whole thing up," Manilow says. "It was just one too many hotel rooms. One too many waiting for a commercial flight. The planes were late. The hotel rooms were just the same old hotel rooms. It just got to me. It was 30 years of it and it was too much. Now, I've got the best of both worlds. I come home. I play Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and fly back home. I live my life and then I go back to work." For Manilow, that life has always been consumed by work. Ask him about the romantic notion of being a touring musician and he'll tell you he doesn't know much about it. "It's like going to work. When we go somewhere, the last thing I would ever think of is to go to a museum. Even when we went to Italy or to Sweden, I tried to get out, but my head was not into a museum. My head was into 'What am I doing tonight? What will I say tonight?' I think about this all day long, from the moment I get up to the moment I hit that stage. I've been on the road, but I never see anything!" When he does tour, Manilow likes to leave more than memories of his performance. Through his Manilow Music Project, he has helped bolster music education programs in school districts nationwide. In Central Florida, he donated 10 keyboards to Orange County Public Schools to launch a local instrument drive. The effort is important to him because high-school music classes in his native Brooklyn launched his career. "Even though I went to a dump of a high school, they had an orchestra class. I wound up in that orchestra class and it changed my life," Manilow says. "My grades went up; my personality came out; and certainly, I learned how to read music. I was one of the musicians." He is disheartened by the notion that music classes are extras that are often the first casualties in budget cuts. "They don't think it's that important, but it really is," he says. "It changes these children's lives. It makes them better human beings." Although Manilow's musical education began in high school, he credits his stint as a composer of commercial jingles as the best training for his job as a pop songwriter. He worked his way into that business after attending New York College of Music and the Julliard School of Music. In 2009, he won an honorary Clio Award for a body of advertising work that includes iconic ditties for Pepsi, McDonald's and State Farm Insurance. Like modern pop songwriting, the jingle business isn't what it once was, he says. "They don't write 'em anymore," Manilow says. "They either take them from old songs of the 1960s or it's a couple of synthesizers banging up against each other. I learned how to make pop records and write pop songs in my years in the jingle business." Manilow will exhibit the fruits of that education again this spring with a new album, "15 Minutes," that is all about the rewards and costs of fame. His latest album, "The Greatest Love Songs of All Time," is a Grammy nominee for best traditional pop vocal album. Manilow's previous Grammy win is for "Copacabana," which earned him the trophy for best male pop vocal performance in 1979. Despite his critical ear, he remains optimistic about the future of pop music, offering praise for acts such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani. "I always am encouraging young people to try what they believe in," says the singer, who encouraged "American Idol" contestants to approach songs in their own ways in a stint on that show. "Forget about my opinion. If you believe in it, go do it. Maybe you'll hit a nerve and it will make somebody feel good. It's not about what you do, it's about how you make people feel. When it's all over for me, people won't remember what I did. People are going to remember how I made them feel." When: 8 p.m. Thursday. Where: Amway Center, 400 W. Church St., Orlando. Cost: $16.24-$143.19. Call: 800-745-3000. Online: amwaycenter.com |
| January 6, 2011 | Orlando Sentinel | "Manilow's gift to musicians" by Jim Abbott |
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| Whatever one thinks of Barry Manilow's music, the guy does more than write the songs that "make the whole world sing." Barry Manilow, through his nonprofit Manilow Music Project, donated 10 Yamaha keyboards to the Orange County Public School District. It's the kick-off of a major instrument donation drive that will run through Jan. 17. The Amway Center will be the drop-off point for new or gently used musical instruments that can be used by area students. Instruments can be taken to the center's northeast entrance (adjacent to the Magic Team Store at Hughey Avenue and Church Street) from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. And here's an incentive: Those who bring an instrument to the Amway Center will receive $20 off select seats for Manilow's Jan. 20 show in Orlando. Each person donating an instrument also will be entered into a sweepstakes for an opportunity to meet Manilow... |
| January 4, 2011 | Miami's Community Newspapers - Coral Gables | Barry Manilow bringing hits to UM’s BankUnited Center" by Marika Lynch |
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| Legendary musician and performer Barry Manilow has announced a series of first-ever Florida symphony concerts backed by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra of Punta Gorda in January. Stretching across five major Florida cities, Manilow will be bringing his greatest hits to the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. The Florida concert series is an entirely exclusive and distinct experience from Manilow’s current critically acclaimed Paris Las Vegas residency shows, and features the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra plus Manilow’s band and cast from his Las Vegas Show. The concerts, produced in partnership with Stiletto Entertainment and BRE Presents, will mark the first time Manilow has performed with an orchestral accompaniment in Florida. Recently, Manilow wowed fans in Atlantic City with a one-night-only show backed by the esteemed New York Pops to a sold-out crowd at Caesars Boardwalk Hall. Prior to that, he lit up the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, to rave response. “I am thrilled to share the stage with such an impressive collection of musicians and bring some of my greatest hits to Florida fans for this exclusive series,” Manilow said. Tickets are available at ticketmaster.com, the BankUnited Center Box Office, or by calling 1-800-745-3000. The BankUnited Center, an 8,000-seat multipurpose entertainment facility located on the University of Miami’s Coral Gables campus, hosts concerts, family shows, trade shows, lecture series, sporting events and the University of Miami men’s and women’s basketball teams. For information call 305-284-8686 or visit online at www.BankUnitedCenter.com. The BankUnited Center is located at 1245 Dauer Dr. in Coral Gables. |
| January 4, 2011 | Orlando Sentinel | "Manilow keyboards on the way to Orange County schools" by Lauren Roth |
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| Singer/songwriter Barry Manilow is giving ten of his Yamaha keyboards to Orange County schools while spearheading a drive for more instrument donations over the next two weeks. Schools spokeswoman Kathy Marsh said it hasn’t been decided which schools will get the Manilow keyboards, which have not arrived yet. Manilow will be playing in the area later in the month. Manilow’s nonprofit organization, the Manilow Music Project, is helping organize a drive to gather more instruments for the schools from today through Jan. 17 at the Amway Center. Instruments can be dropped off at the northeast entrance of the center, next to the Magic Team Store at the intersection of Hughey Avenue and Church Street. |
| January 3, 2011 | Orlando Sentinel | "Barry Manilow donates keyboards to Orange County schools" by Jim Abbott |
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| The singer who writes the songs that "make the whole world sing" will be helping music students in Central Florida make music, too. Barry Manilow, through his nonprofit Manilow Music Project, will donate 10 Yamaha keyboards to the Orange County Public School District. The donation is aimed to be the start of a major instrument donation drive that will run from Jan. 3-17. The Amway Center will be the drop-off point for new or gently used musical instruments that can be used by area students. Instruments may be taken to the center’s northeast entrance (adjacent to the Magic Team Store at Hughey Avenue and Church Street) from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. (The program is a partnership between 27 Community Connection, the Amway Center and the Manilow Music Project (MMP). Information about the program can be found on the www.TV27.com website.) Those who bring an instrument to the Amway Center will receive a $20 discount off select ticket price seating for Manilow’s January 20 show in Orlando. Additionally, each person donating an instrument will be entered into a sweepstakes for the opportunity to meet Barry Manilow in person. "It is an incredible gift to be able to put instruments into these kids hands so that they can experience the world that opens to them with music," says Manilow. The January 20th Orlando concert is part of a series of symphony concerts that manilow will perform in Florida accompanied by The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra of Punta Gorda. Tickets are available online at www.Manilow.com, www.ManilowFlorida.com, or Ticketmaster.com, in person at select venues, or by calling 1.800.745.3000. |
| January 3, 2011 | The Desert Sun | "Barry Manilow expands instrument giveaway program" by Bruce Fessier |
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| Manilow’s nonprofit organization, the Manilow Music Project, in conjunction with WFTV/WRDQ 27 of Orlando, Fla., have joined forces to put musical instruments into the hands of students at Orange County Public School District in Florida. The Orlando instrument drive will run from Jan. 3-17. The program is a partnership between 27 Community Connection, the Amway Center and the Manilow Music Project. Information about it can be found on the TV27.com website. The Manilow Music Project is part of The Manilow Fund for Health and Hope and was formed in Palm Springs in response to the needs of public schools and their severely depleted music programs. MMP aids these programs hrough donations of instruments and materials to further music education around the country, most recently in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Los Angeles. "It is an incredible gift to be able to put instruments into these kids hands so that they can experience the world that opens to them with music," Manilow said in a statement. Manilow will perform a series of first-ever Florida symphony concerts backed by The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra of Punta Gorda, Fla. It will begin Jan. 20 and stretch across five major Florida cities. The concerts, produced in partnership with Stiletto Entertainment and BRE Presents, will mark the first time Manilow has performed with an orchestral accompaniment in Florida. Manilow is currently performing more than 78 shows a year for two years at the Paris Théâtre at Paris Las Vegas. |
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