Tony Award winner Ted Sperling, McDonald's longtime music director, will conduct the New York Philharmonic. PBS stations will broadcast the event live at 8 p.m. US Eastern time (check local listings).
Audra McDonald is a four-time Tony Award winner, for her work in A Raisin in the Sun, Master Class, Carousel and Ragtime. The acclaimed actress also co-starred in the NBC series Mister Sterling and was recently seen in the WB series Bedford Diaries. She made her Houston Grand Opera debut earlier this year with a double bill of Michael John LaChiusa's Send (who are you? I love you) and Poulenc's La Voix humaine.
McDonald will return to Broadway later this season in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of 110 in the Shade.
Beverly Sills hosts Live From Lincoln Center, which is now in its 31st broadcast season.