Born in North Carolina, Principal Guest Conductor David Charles Abell grew up in the Mt. Airy neighborhood of Philadelphia, attending Germantown Friends School through the sixth grade. A gifted musician from a young age, his study of trumpet, viola, piano, and composition eventually led to a concentration on conducting. He attended Yale University, the Juilliard School, and the Conservatoire Américain in France, where he studied under Nadia Boulanger. At age 13, David met Leonard Bernstein while singing in the world premiere of Bernstein’s Mass in Washington, D.C. Ten years later, David assisted his teacher John Mauceri in the tenth anniversary production of Mass, leading to a close association with Bernstein—as both a conducting student and as an editor of Bernstein’s music.   

David made his debut with The Philly POPS in 2013’s Christmas Spectacular, returning again in 2014 and 2015. He has since conducted Blockbuster Broadway in 2017, Lenny’s Revolution in 2018, and will lead 2019’s A Philly POPS Christmas and 2020’s Sondheim: A 90th Birthday Celebration. In addition to his work with The Philly POPS, David conducts concerts, opera, and theatre performances around the world. He has performed with such distinguished artists as Dame Judi Dench ,Dame Emma Thompson, Heather Headley, Idina Menzel, Petula Clark, Andrea Bocelli, Josh Groban, and Matthew Morrison. He has conducted many prominent orchestras, including the London Symphony, Royal Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Atlanta and Cincinnati Symphonies, and Boston Pops.

David is widely known to TV audiences for the 10thand 25th anniversary Les Misérables concerts, both of which have become PBS fund-raising perennials. In the UK, he has performed many times on television, most notably as conductor of the immensely successful Sondheim 80th birthday Prom and as the conductor for four years of the Olivier Awards, the UK’s equivalent to the Tony Awards. Recently, he made his Zurich Opera debut with Sweeney Todd, starring Sir Bryn Terfel.

David currently lives in London.

Alli Mauzey last appeared on Broadway as Glinda in the 10th Anniversary company of Wicked, a role she also performed to critical acclaim on the First National Tour and the San Francisco company. Other Broadway credits include Lenora in the musical Cry-Baby, for which she won a Theatre World Award and was nominated for a Drama League Award, and Brenda in Hairspray (both on Broadway and in the original company of the First National Tour). Alli also originated the role of Lenora in the Pre-Broadway production of Cry-Baby at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego (Theatre Critics Circle Award). Alli made her New York City Center Encores! debut in the role of Sydney in It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman and recently starred in the Off-Broadway production of Red Eye of Love. Regionally, she has appeared as Mallory in City of Angels for Reprise!, Snookie in 110 in the Shade at the Pasadena Playhouse, and Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors at The Muny for which she was nominated for a Kevin Kline Award.

Among many voiceover credits, her voice can be heard as a series regular on the animated television series Alpha Teens on Machines. She has a BFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in drama and a minor in music.

The Philly POPS Festival Chorus is a 180-voice ensemble that performs with the Philly POPS under the direction of Jeff Kern, Head of the Vocal Division for University of the Arts.

The Philly POPS Festival Chorus began performing in 2002 and performs with the POPS orchestra during the annual Christmas concert series and Broadway series. The chorus has performed with many professional artists including Faith Prince, Capathia Jenkins, Ashley Brown, Lisa Howard, Lauren Kennedy, Rachel York, Alice Ripley, Ann Hampton Callaway, and The von Trapp Family Children.

The Festival Chorus is an auditioned, volunteer organization composed of singers ranging from high school students to retired professionals.