Program Notes: Ben Rector & Cody Fry & Thorgy Thor

ALTERNATIVE 2023/24

BEN RECTOR AND CODY FRY WITH THE COLORADO SYMPHONY WILBUR LIN, conductor Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 7:30pm Friday, February 2, 2024 at 7:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall

Program to be announced from stage.

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 2 HOURS WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 19 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 3/ 24

PROGRAM I

ALTERNATIVE BIOGRAPHIES

PHOTO: LAI YUEH-CHUNG

WILBUR LIN, conductor Known for his creative programming and inviting stage presence, Wilbur Lin’s career has taken him to symphony halls and opera theaters across the United States, Europe, Latin America, and Taiwan. Recently appointed Music Director of the Missouri Symphony, Lin also joins the conducting staff of the Colorado Symphony as assistant conductor in 2023.

Lin’s 2022/23 season saw his debuts with the Rochester Philharmonic, Oak Ridge, Ann Arbor, and Elgin symphonies, and a return to Indiana’s Richmond Symphony. His other recent highlights include his debut with the Taipei Symphony Orchestra, opening its 2021/22 season, a new studio recording with pianist Eric Zuber and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra, and conducting and covering the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops where he recently finished his tenure as assistant conductor (2019-2022).

In addition to his positions with the Colorado, Cincinnati, and Missouri symphonies, in recent years, Lin has conducted the Chamber Philharmonic Taipei, Manchester Camerata, Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil (El Salvador), Taipei Philharmonic, Taipei Symphony, Liverpool Mozart, Academy Orchestra of Taiwan Symphony, Richmond Symphony (IN), and LaPorte Symphony orchestras. As a cover conductor, Lin has worked with, notably, the Taiwan Symphony, Cincinnati Ballet, and Minnesota orchestras. In his role as the assistant conductor of the Colorado Symphony, Lin also serves as the Music Director of the Denver Young Artists Orchestra.

A graduate of Riccardo Muti‘s Italian Opera Academy, Lin’s operatic endeavors include conducting Verdi’s Macbeth at Teatro Alighieri (Ravenna, Italy), Die Zauberflöte and Barber of Seville with the Winter Harbor Music Festival (Winter Harbor, Maine), Menotti’s The Medium and Amelia Goes to the Ball as the conductor of Northern Illinois University (Dekalb, IL), and has coached and performed as a pianist with the Indianapolis Opera, Indiana University Opera Theater, Reimagining Opera for Kids, and the Cincinnati Ballet. In 2022, Lin led a new workshop production of Robeson by Scott Davenport Richards at the Cincinnati Opera.

Lin held the position of Taiwan Symphony Orchestra International Talent Fellow (2019-2021), Weiwuyin Opera (Taiwan) Conducting Fellow (2019-2020), Lord Rhodes Scholar (2013-2014), was a two-time recipient of Mortimer Furber Prize for Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), and holds a doctoral degree in orchestral conducting from Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Lin has studied with Arthur Fagen and David Effron at Jacobs, Clark Rundell and Mark Heron at the RNCM, and Apo Hsu at the National Taiwan Normal University.

He has also received conducting coaching with, notably, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Riccardo Muti, Sir Mark Elder, Helmuth Rilling, and has assisted Louis Langrée, James Gaffigan, and John Morris Russell, among others.

PROGRAM II

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ALTERNATIVE BIOGRAPHIES BEN RECTOR Fifteen years after starting his career writing songs and touring in his Honda Accord on the weekends, Ben Rector found himself at home and at the piano in March 2020. The alchemy of life’s big questions, more downtime than he’d had in a decade, and those now all-too-familiar “unprecedented times” resulted in his career album: The Joy of Music. The project includes a breathtaking short film (featuring seven songs brought to life with stunning Ben Rector and Cody Fry cinematography), inviting listeners and viewers to visit a dream world that communicates Rector’s creative process and his reckoning with his job as an artist.

He is led through the film’s chapters by his new friend Joy, a muppet monster he created with Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. In this fantastic and dream-like landscape we see and hear Rector overcome a deep-seated fear of failure, dancing and singing his way through the journey of rediscovering the joy of music.

Ben Rector has amassed over a billion streams across all platforms, has performed on numerous late night and morning TV shows including Conan, The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel, Live With Kelly And Ryan, The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, and as a celebrity mentor on American Idol alongside Ryan Tedder, Jewel, Brian McKnight, Jason Aldean and more. His records have topped numerous Billboard charts, with his last two records landing at #1 on Billboard's US Folk and #2 on Billboard's US Rock and US Indie charts. Rector has built a dedicated touring base, regularly selling out theaters and amphitheaters across the country, including three consecutive nights at the legendary Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

CODY FRY Cody Fry’s music sounds like the moment in your favorite old flick when the film changes from black-and-white to technicolor in a rush of emotion. As his orchestration booms, you practically expect a Golden Age romance to unfold to the narration of his vocals. It’s warm enough to make you nostalgic, but Cody always looks forward as a singer, songwriter, composer, producer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist. It’s why he’s quietly emerged as a phenomenon with hundreds of millions of streams, hundreds of thousands of TikTok creations, and widespread acclaim. It’s why he’s picked up a GRAMMY® Award nomination and sold out countless shows. It’s also why you might just fall in love with him on his 2023 debut album for Decca Records US, The End. After graduating from Belmont University, gigs with the likes of Ben Rector and Hunter Hayes, and countless compositions for film, television, technology, video games, and fashion, Cody attracted a devout audience. During 2021, his song “I Hear A Symphony” soared to the forefront of popular culture, surging to unprecedented virality on TikTok. It eventually eclipsed 200 million global streams and counting, hitting #1 on the Billboard Classical Tracks chart and becoming a Certified Gold Single in the U.S. and Canada. On its heels, he reimagined The Beatles classic “Eleanor Rigby,” garnering a GRAMMY® Award nomination in the category of “Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals” with over 50M streams and becoming the #1 classical track in the U.S. Now, The End represents the culmination of not only his creative evolution, but also his personal journey so far and exploring themes such as mental health and change as told through the likes of “What If” and “Waltz For Sweatpants.”

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SPOTLIGHT 2023/24 THORGY THOR AND THE THORCHESTRA WITH YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY LEE MILLS, conductor THORGY THOR, drag performer GILA MOONSTAR, drag performer Saturday, February 3, 2024 at 7:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall

BERNSTEIN

Candide Overture

GADE

Jalousie Tango

BRAHMS

Hungarian Dance No. 1 in G minor

KHACHATURIAN

Gayane: Sabre Dance

RODGERS & HAMMERSTEIN

“I Enjoy Being A Girl” from Flower Drum Song

BERLIN

“Anything You Can Do” from Annie Get Your Gun

STRAUSS/ LADY GAGA

Blue Danube/Born This Way — INTERMISSION —

PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

PROGRAM IV

C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G

SPOTLIGHT 2023/24 BIZET

Toreadors March from Carmen: Suite No. 1

SAINT-SAËNS

Danse Macabre

COPLAND

Hoedown

GLIERE

The Red Poppy: Russian Sailors’ Dance

MOZART

II. Romanze from Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

GLINKA

Ruslan and Ludmilla: Overture

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 40 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 19 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 3/ 24

PROGRAM V

SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES LEE MILLS, conductor Five-time winner of the Solti Foundation U.S. Career Assistance Award, Lee Mills is internationally recognized as a passionate, multifaceted and energetic conductor. In naming Mills as the ‘New Artist of the Month’ for March 2022, Musical America praised Mills’ “omnivorous musical temperament eager to try out highly contrasting musical styles and approaches.”

During the pandemic, Mills was an invaluable asset to the Seattle Symphony, giving dozens of performances, including the 2020 Season Opening Gala on Seattle Symphony Live, and recording multiple albums with the orchestra. Mills also was the “hero of the hour” (Seattle Times) when he stepped in at the last minute to replace Thomas Dausgaard for a performance of Hanna Lash’s world premiere double-harp concerto The Peril of Dreams and Amy Beach’s epic Gaelic Symphony in November 2021, about which Thomas May wrote in Musical America, “Mills emerged in his element here, showing an obvious fondness for this epic, unjustifiably neglected score. Along with a compelling dramatic arc, he elicited characterful playing for the many solos that enrich it.”

In the fall of 2022, Mills was the Solti Foundation U.S. Resident at Lyric Opera of Chicago, where he worked with maestro Enrique Mazzola on the Lyric’s production of Verdi’s Don Carlos. The League of American Orchestras selected Mills for the 2018 Bruno Walter National Conductors Preview where he conducted the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, and in 2017 Mills was selected as a semi-finalist in both the Sir Georg Solti International Conducting Competition and the Opera Royal de Wallonie-Liege International Opera Conducting Competition. In addition, he conducted alongside David Robertson in the highly acclaimed U.S. Premiere of John Cage’s Thirty Pieces for Five Orchestras with the Saint Louis Symphony.

In addition to his work with the Brazilian Symphony Orchestra and the Seattle Symphony, he has also led concerts with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Naples Philharmonic, National Symphony Orchestra (USA), the Rochester Philharmonic, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the San Antonio Symphony and the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. In 2014, Mills was the Assistant Conductor to David Robertson for Carnegie Hall’s National Youth Orchestra of the USA. Through his project Vibe Sinfônica, initiated in 2018 in partnership with nightlife producer The Week Group in São Paulo, he has brought classical music to thousands of new listeners through performances in unusual settings. In their inaugural performance, Vibe Sinfônica performed music of Vivaldi at The Week Group’s 14th anniversary in São Paulo, playing to a crowd of over 10,000 EDM fans and opening for DJ Offer Nissim. This project was also featured in a video clip of Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, created to commemorate the 15th anniversary of The Week. ​ t the invitation of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Music Director Marin Alsop, he received A the prestigious BSO-Peabody Institute Conducting Fellowship in 2011. Under the tutelage of Gustav Meier and Marin Alsop, Mills received his Graduate Performance Diploma and Artist’s PROGRAM VI

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SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES Diploma in Orchestral Conducting at the Peabody Institute. He was a conducting fellow at the American Academy of Conducting at Aspen during the summers of 2012 and 2013, working closely with Larry Rachleff, Robert Spano and Hugh Wolff. Mr Mills graduated cum laude from Whitman College, where he studied with Robert Bode.

THORGY THOR, drag performer Thorgy Thor is a New York City based drag performance artist, entertainer, musician, and event host. Since appearing on season 8 of RuPaul’s Drag Race and All Stars season 3, Thorgy has been traveling the world, bringing to audiences her trademark wit, sense of humor, and musical charm.

Thorgy uses unconventional recording materials and music to create unique performances for theater, film, cabaret, and nightlife entertainment. An explosive performer who loves to lip-sync just as much as create collaborative performance art that combines drag, music and comedy.

In 2018, the show Thorgy and the Thorchestra was created in collaboration with Canadian conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, making its debut with Symphony Nova Scotia in Halifax in conjunction with Halifax Pride, with two nights of sold-out performances to rave reviews.

The show blends orchestral performances of traditional and modern classical repertoire and contemporary pop songs. The creation and debut of Thorgy and the Thorchestra was featured as part of Disruptor Conductor, Sharon Lewis’s 2019 documentary film about conductor Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, which highlighted his creative collaboration with Thorgy.

Since then, Thorgy has taken the Thorchestra program to audiences around the globe. She has performed in the US with Cincinnati Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Charlotte Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and Oregon Symphony and in Canada with Toronto, Vancouver, Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Saskatoon, Regina symphonies and Calgary Philharmonic. Additionally, she has had the pleasure of playing violin with many recording artists including New York legend Joey Arias, as well as having appeared in performance at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Le Poisson Rouge.

Thorgy Thor is the stage name for Shane Galligan. He began his classical violin studies at a young age. Galligan studied music at the University of Hartford, Hartt School, in Connecticut before graduating from the State University of New York, Purchase, with a Bachelor of Music in both viola and violin performance in 2006. While undertaking studies at the Hart School and Purchase Conservatory, Thorgy also earned an honorary degree in Drag Ridiculousness, performing her original works of art entitled Maitri and Pocket to Pocket. Thorgy also starred in theater productions such as Bad Splices and Psycho Beach Party.

Thorgy has appeared on Amazon’s “Mozart in the Jungle,” where she showcased her violin skills in drag. Thorgy has also been a repeat guest on Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live, appearing

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SPOTLIGHT BIOGRAPHIES alongside Goldie Hawn, Amy Schumer, Lily Tomlin, and Jane Fonda. She was also a special guest performer as part of Eliot Glazer’s Haunting Renditions in 2017. Further television credits include Dragnificent! on TLC and Hulu.

As a part of multiple “Haters Roast” and other comedy tours, Thorgy established herself as a comedic powerhouse in the world of drag. Thorgy’s comedic prowess also secured her role in a new musical, “Oh My God Broadway,” which debuted 2018, alongside Sally Struthers and Bonnie Milligan.

Moving to Brooklyn in 2006, Thorgy featured in nightclubs, theater projects, street performances and photo series throughout Brooklyn and New York City. She has since been nominated for numerous awards including the Glam Awards, Get Out Awards, Odyssey Magazine Awards, and the Brooklyn Nightlife Awards, winning the LEGEND award and taking home Best Group Show of the Year.

GILA MOONSTAR, drag performer HELLO UNIVERSE, IT’S GILA MOONSTAR! The glittery and gorgeous GLAMPSTRONAUT is finally here baby. This cosmically creative queen is always serving you some sickening singing vocals, fabulous fun looks, and viciously versatile lipsync experiences! Gila is an internationally renowned Indonesian-American Denver based drag queen that strives to serve top notch entertainment and excellence. Classically trained in music and theatre, Gila has been professionally performing on live stages all across the globe land and sea. Gila was also featured as a contestant on the 2023 Pride month all drag queen episode of NBC’s Weakest Link. She has just most recently finished a contract as the resident drag queen diva on the Virgin Voyages ship the Valiant Lady cruising through the Mediterranean Sea spreading queer campy excellence this past summer! You may walk away from a Gila Moonstar performance saying “I don’t know what hell that was, but it sure was fun”!

PROGRAM VIII C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G