Entertainment Executive and Author Anastasia Brown to Serve as Emcee
Nashville, Tenn. (April 15, 2015) – The Nashville Symphony has proudly announced that singer, songwriter and stage actress Mandy Barnett will be the featured entertainer for the 2015 Nashville Symphony Fashion Show , taking place on Tuesday, May 5, at Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
One of Music City’s leading runway shows, the 2015 edition of the annual event will feature the designs of Brunello Cucinelli, through a partnership with Jamie Inc. Nashville-based entertainment executive and author Anastasia Brown will serve as emcee.
A singer since the age of 5, Mandy Barnett’s style is deeply rooted in the classic country and pop crooning of the all-time great singers. The Crossville, Tenn., native first garnered national attention as a teenager, earning rave reviews for her portrayal of the legendary Patsy Cline in the stage show Always…Patsy Cline at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium, and appearing on the original cast album.
Barnett has since built on that success considerably, carving out a prolific recording career with six critically acclaimed albums and showcasing her one-of-a-kind vocal talent on stages across the country and around the globe – from international music festivals to the Grand Ole Opry. She released her debut album Mandy Barnett following the successful first run of Always…Patsy Cline, and the follow-up record, I’ve Got a Right to Cry, was produced in part by Nashville Sound pioneer Owen Bradley, his final contribution to the music community before his death. I’ve Got a Right to Cry was named the top country album of 1999 by Rolling Stone, and similar stellar reviews appeared in People, Newsweek and several national newspapers. Barnett’s subsequent albums have likewise garnered substantial critical notice.
Barnett has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS Sunday Morning, PBS’s Sessions at West 54th and numerous other television programs throughout her career. Additionally, she has been a featured artist on a host of movie soundtracks and even sang on the SpongeBob SquarePants album, sharing the spotlight with the likes of Brian Wilson, Tommy Ramone and others. Equally comfortable onstage with symphonies or at historic theaters and performing arts centers, Barnett has been called “a torch singer in the grandest sense of the word” by the Chicago Tribune, while the Los Angeles Times lauded her “pipes of steel” and “glorious echo” while reviewing Mandy’s “Winter Wonderland” Christmas album (2010). People magazine has praised her “natural musicality.”
An author, columnist, television producer and entertainment consultant, Anastasia Brown stole the spotlight on national television as a challenging judge on Nashville Star (USA). As a music supervisor, she has worked on projects that have earned multiple Academy Award, GRAMMY®, Emmy and Dove wins and nominations. Brown was also the recipient of the 2014 Trailblazer Award for changing the landscape of the entertainment industry in Nashville.
Proceeds from the Symphony Fashion Show will help support the Nashville Symphony’s music education and community engagement programs, which annually serve more than 100,000 children and adults in Middle Tennessee. Through concerts, classroom curriculum guides, instrument instruction and scholarships, Symphony education programs help prepare the next generation to learn, think, grow and contribute to their community.
The 2015 Symphony Fashion Show is sponsored by the Nashville Symphony Orchestra League. Tickets start at $150, and the evening will include a cocktail reception, silent auction and elegant Italian cuisine. Past designers for the Symphony Fashion Show have included Christian Siriano, Oscar de la Renta, MARCHESA, Monique Lhuillier and Isaac Mizrahi. More information is available online at: https://www.nashvillesymphony.org/support/fashionshow.
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