HARLEM, N.Y., Dec. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The
Apollo, one of America's cultural treasures,
announced today it received a $5
million gift from Sirius XM Radio Inc., the leading
audio entertainment company in North
America, building on the organization's over a decade
relationship. In recognition of the gift and for the many special
performances held by SiriusXM at the theater since 2010, the Apollo
will name the Orchestra Level of the historic theater the
SiriusXM Orchestra. SiriusXM's exclusive shows at the Apollo
further both the Apollo and SiriusXM's support of artists and help
create access for a wide range of audiences.
The generous donation, which comes at a pivotal moment for the
non-profit as it opens its doors in January for the winter/spring
2022 season, helps support the Apollo's mission to create and
present work that center Black artists and voices from the African
Diaspora. The gift to the Apollo was funded by the company's
charitable arm, SiriusXM Cares.
Over the past 88 years, the Apollo has hosted audiences from all
over the world and launched the careers of incredible artists from
Aretha Franklin and James Brown to Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo and
countless more. And since 2010, SiriusXM has held a series of
critically acclaimed and first-ever performances at the theater
featuring a range of artists including Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, U2, Pitbull, and
Bruce Springsteen.
In recent months, as part of the Apollo and SiriusXM's more than
decade-long relationship, the organizations have presented an array
of invitation-only concerts for SiriusXM subscribers and Pandora
listeners, including Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, who gave a special
performance in her hometown of New York
City last month; the singer-songwriter H.E.R., who
originally debuted on the theater's stage as part of "Showtime at
the Apollo"; and Coldplay, who made their Apollo debut as
part of SiriusXM and Pandora's Small Stage Series in September. At
the time, Coldplay front man Chris
Martin shared with the audience, "We've been dreaming of
playing here for a long, long time."
"I am incredibly grateful to SiriusXM for their continued
commitment to the Apollo and their immense generosity. Bringing
together the country's leading audio entertainment company and the
world's leading home for Black artists is an ideal match, and it's
been an honor to work with them to bring performances from some of
the most iconic performers to the Apollo Stage," said
Apollo President and CEO
Jonelle Procope. "The Apollo has
long been a vibrant platform for artistic innovation, from musical
and comedy performances to timely conversations on topics facing
our communities. I look forward to our continued collaboration with
SiriusXM as we celebrate Black excellence on our stages."
"Ever since we held our first special concert there in 2010 with
Paul McCartney, we have seen why the
Apollo is hallowed ground for artists, their joy and excitement so
visible as they perform on its stage," said Scott Greenstein, President and Chief
Content Officer of SiriusXM. "We are proud to support the Apollo
and its mission, and we look forward to bringing many more great
shows to the world-famous Apollo."
Looking ahead to 2022, the Apollo will offer a dynamic line-up
of free and ticketed programs in person at the Apollo's historic
theater and online on the Apollo Digital Stage. Highlights include
the long-anticipated return of the Amateur Night at the
Apollo competition on Wednesday,
February 16 at 7:30pm EST;
Apollo Master Artist-in-Residence
Ta-Nehisi Coates and The Roots' Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter, in
conversation; the Lyricist Lounge 30th Anniversary
Concert featuring hip-hop trailblazers to be announced; the
premiere of The Gathering: A Collective Ring Shout,
co-presented by the American Composers Orchestra and the Apollo and
co-curated by National Black Theatre; the return of the Africa
Now! Festival featuring East African jazz vocalist and Grammy
nominee Somi; and more. As with all of its programming, the
non-profit Apollo's season centers Black artists and voices from
the African Diaspora with myriad opportunities for artists and
audiences to come back together at the iconic theater. For a
complete line-up and more information about the Apollo, please
visit www.ApolloTheater.org.
About the Apollo
Theater
The legendary Apollo—the soul of American culture—plays a vital
role in cultivating emerging artists and launching legends. Since
its founding, the Apollo has served as a center of innovation and a
creative catalyst for Harlem, the city of New York, and the world.
With music at its core, the Apollo's programming extends to
dance, theater, spoken word, and more. This includes the world
premiere of the theatrical adaptation of Ta-Nehisi Coates's
Between the World and Me and the New York premiere of the opera We Shall Not
Be Moved; special programs such as the blockbuster concert
Bruno Mars Live at the Apollo; 100: The Apollo Celebrates
Ella; and the annual Africa Now! Festival. The
non-profit Apollo Theater is a performing arts presenter,
commissioner, and collaborator that also produces festivals and
large-scale dance and musical works organized around a set of core
initiatives that celebrate and extend the Apollo's legacy through a
contemporary lens, including the Women of the World (WOW)
Festival as well as other multidisciplinary collaborations with
partner organizations.
Since introducing the first Amateur Night contests in
1934, the Apollo has served as a testing ground for new artists
working across a variety of art forms and has ushered in the
emergence of many new musical genres—including jazz, swing, bebop,
R&B, gospel, blues, soul, and hip-hop. Among the countless
legendary performers who launched their careers at the Apollo are
Ella Fitzgerald, Sarah Vaughan, Billie
Holiday, James Brown,
Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, Luther
Vandross, H.E.R., D'Angelo, Lauryn
Hill, Machine Gun Kelly, and Miri Ben Ari; and the Apollo's
forward-looking artistic vision continues to build on this legacy.
For more information about the Apollo, visit
www.ApolloTheater.org.
About SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI)
is the leading audio entertainment company in North America, and the premier programmer and
platform for subscription and digital advertising-supported audio
products. SiriusXM's platforms collectively reach approximately 150
million listeners, the largest digital audio audience across paid
and free tiers in North America,
and deliver music, sports, talk, news, comedy, entertainment, and
podcasts. Pandora, a subsidiary of SiriusXM, is the largest
ad-supported audio entertainment streaming service in the U.S.
SiriusXM's subsidiaries Stitcher, Simplecast, and AdsWizz make it a
leader in podcast hosting, production, distribution, analytics, and
monetization. The Company's advertising sales organization, which
operates as SXM Media, leverages its scale, cross-platform sales
organization, and ad tech capabilities to deliver results for audio
creators and advertisers. SiriusXM, through Sirius XM Canada
Holdings, Inc., also offers satellite radio and audio entertainment
in Canada. In addition to its
audio entertainment businesses, SiriusXM offers connected vehicle
services to automakers. For more about SiriusXM, please go to:
www.siriusxm.com.
For more information, please
contact:
Fatima Jones
Senior Director of Marketing and
Communications
press@apollotheater.org
Josh Balber
Resnicow and Associates
JBalber@resnicow.com
212-671-5175
Patrick Reilly
SiriusXM
Patrick.Reilly@siriusxm.com
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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.