The New York Pops Appoints Seven New Musicians

The New York Pops recently added seven musicians to its ensemble — including violinists Monica K. Davis, Keats Dieffenbach, Joshua Henderson, and Ashley Horne, and violists Amadi Azikiwe, Dana Kelley, and Ardith Holmgrain.

Led by Music Director and Conductor Steven Reineke, the orchestra is the largest independent pops orchestra in the country. Comprised of 78 musicians, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series at Carnegie Hall and is currently in its 37th season.

The orchestra was founded by Ruth and Skitch Henderson in 1983 in order to create greater public awareness of America’s rich musical heritage. Since then, the ensemble has presented programs that feature jazz, pop, rock, Broadway melodies, film scores, and more.

Their "PopsEd" educational program sees the organization collaborate with public schools, community organizations, and senior centers throughout New York City.

"We are thrilled to have engaged these exceptionally talented musicians to join our orchestra this season," said Steven Reineke. "We have always been conscious of diversity in the orchestra's programming and casting of guest artists, and now, when the time came to fill some openings among our roster of musicians, we felt it was very important to ask our personnel managers to continue to expand their list of musicians for me to consider. We are welcoming these extraordinary musicians from various cultural backgrounds and who reflect the incredibly diverse and wonderful city that we serve."

The seven new appointments have had impressive careers prior to this new role.

Violinist Monica K. Davis currently plays in the band of the Tony award-winning musical, Hamilton. She has performed in the Tony Awards orchestra since 2015 and founded The Overlook, a string quartet dedicated to performing concert works of Black composers.

Violinist Keats Dieffenbach performs as a member of The Cramer Quartet, Orchestra of St. Luke's, Mark Morris Dance Group Music Ensemble, Juilliard415, and The Serenade Quartet, having frequently appeared with The Knights, A Far Cry chamber orchestra, and Carnegie Hall's Ensemble Connect.

Violinist Joshua Henderson is also a violist, electric bassist, and composer, serving as a member of groups Contemporaneous and Warp Trio, among others.

Violinist Ashley Horne performs regularly with American Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, and Bard Festival Orchestra in addition to playing in the orchestras of Broadway shows like Phantom of the Opera and The Producers. His career has seen him play alongside Whitney Houston, Natalie Cole, Tony Bennett, and Oliver Lake.

Violist Amadi Azikiwe is Music Director of the Harlem Symphony Orchestra and Community Engagement Director of The Harlem Chamber Players — and has as performed with the New York Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, and guest principal violist of Canada's National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Violist Dana Kelley is a member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and the Orchestra of St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and serves on the viola faculty of the Mannes School of Music at The New School. She was previously top prizewinner in the Sphinx Music Competition, the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, the M-Prize Chamber Arts Competition, and the Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition.

Violist Ardith Holmgrain has performed with multiple orchestras such as the American Symphony Orchestra, Bridgeport Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Greenwich Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Memphis Symphony, and many others. She has toured nationally with the Bolshoi Ballet and Andrea Bocelli, and in backup orchestras for Joni Mitchell, Diana Ross, Liza Minnelli, Harry Connick Jr., Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Diana Krall, Mariah Carey, and Meat Loaf.