Why Kristin Chenoweth feels right at home with the Nashville Symphony

It's hard to put a label on Kristin Chenoweth.

She's a Tony and Emmy Award-winning actress and singer, author and all-around vocal powerhouse. Widely known for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in "Wicked," Chenoweth has performed across the globe in many of the most famous venues in the world.

But Jan. 20 and 21, she is returning to her favorite one, Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center, for her third performance with the Nashville Symphony.

"I'm gonna tell ya, don't tell Carnegie Hall, but the acoustics are better in the Schermerhorn, which is like a home to me," she told The Tennessean from a coffee shop in Los Angeles. "It needs to be said that this is one of the top orchestras in our country and it's not said lightly."

Alan Valentine, president and CEO of the Nashville Symphony, said Chenoweth is part of the family. After all, he's known her since she was in college at Oklahoma State University where he hired her to sing at a Rotary Club meeting.

"I've watched her career explode and I'm kinda like a proud papa," Valentine said. "She's an extraordinary musician and an extraordinary human being all around, which makes for a very special connection with the audience. For us it's always a cool treat to have her perform with us."

Chenoweth and her husband, Nashville-based guitar player Josh Bryant, consider Nashville their home base, although much of their time is spent traveling.

"I bought a condo (in Nashville) with my husband three years ago and it is where I spend my extra time," she said. "I come in and out of Nashville. I sold my place in L.A. I still have a place in New York, but I spend way more time in Nashville and I am loving it."

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Chenoweth has a history with Nashville dating to 1988 when she did a show at Opryland called "Way Out West." In 2011, she came back to Nashville to record a country album and met her now husband who was living here at the time.

"I can live anywhere and just go to my job," she said. "The days of having to live in L.A. are over. Being from Oklahoma, it feels more my speed. I feel like I am at home. I'm making friends and the celebrities I know who live here are like 'come be with us.' It feels very welcoming."

Her performance with the Nashville Symphony will consist of a little bit of everything, Chenoweth said, ranging from Leonard Bernstein to Billie Eilish.

"I like to keep it different," she said. "I have a couple of new pieces just for the Nashville show. I did a song 'Orphans of God' on Ty Herndon's record and we've never done it on an orchestra. I will also do some stuff from the show I did on Broadway called 'For the Girls' which is about all the women in my musical life who have laid their handprints on my heart. I'll do an ode to Dolly Parton, Carole King, Barbara Streisand ... It gives me permission actually to do all kinds of music."

There will also be something from "Wicked" in her repertoire as well, and in true Nashville tradition, Chenoweth promises some surprise guest appearances.

Melonee Hurt covers music and music business at The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY NETWORK — Tennessee. Reach Melonee at mhurt@tennessean.com, on X @HurtMelonee or Instagram at @MelHurtWrites.

If you go

What: Kristin Chenoweth with the Nashville Symphony

Where: Schermerhorn Symphony Center

When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan 21

Tickets: NashvilleSymphony.org

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Kristin Chenoweth feels at right at home with Nashville Symphony