CHRISTOPHER DRAGON , conductor
Saturday, May 10, 2025 at 8:00pm Boettcher Concert Hall
CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 40 MINUTES INCLUDING A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION.
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY
Cynthia Erivo is a Grammy® Emmy® and Tony® Award-winning actress, singer and producer, as well as a Golden Globe®, SAG, and 3x Academy Award® nominee. Erivo burst onto West End and Broadway stages in The Color Purple and has since taken the world by storm.
Erivo most recently starred as Elphaba opposite Ariana Grande’s Glinda in Universal’s record-breaking film adaptation of the hit musical Wicked from director Jon M. Chu. Part 1 of Wicked was released on November 22nd, 2024. Part 2 will be released on November 21st, 2025. Wicked Part 1 opened at number one and has since become the highest grossing movie ever at the domestic box office based on a Broadway musical. Erivo has received widespread critical acclaim and rave reviews for her performance as Elphaba including Golden Globe, SAG, Critics’ Choice, NAACP, BAFTA, and Academy Award nominations.
She recently wrapped production on the second season of Poker Face, Peacock’s critically acclaimed series from creator Rian Johnson starring Natasha Lyonne. Erivo will guest star in season two alongside BJ Novak and Margo Martindale.
In Spring 2024, Erivo starred in and produced Drift, which follows a young Liberian refugee named Jacqueline (Erivo) who has barely escaped her war-torn country to a Greek island. The film made its World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 22nd, 2023 and opened to rave reviews. It made its theatrical release on March 26, 2024. In addition to starring in and producing the film, Erivo also wrote and recorded original song, “It Would Be” for the film.
In 2021, Erivo was nominated for an Emmy® for her critically acclaimed portrayal of Aretha Franklin in National Geographic’s Emmy-winning global anthology series Genius: Aretha. This season is the first-ever, definitive, and only authorized scripted limited series on the life of the universally acclaimed Queen of Soul. The series premiered on National Geographic on March 21, 2021.
In addition to her illustrious acting career, Erivo is a Grammy®-nominated songwriter and performer, often headlining sold-out shows, symphonies, and music spaces including the Kennedy Center Honors, the 2020 Academy Awards, the 2017 Governor’s Ball and the 2017 Grammy Awards. Erivo released her debut album, Ch. 1 Vs. 1, with Verve/Universal Music Group on September 17, 2021.
Erivo released her first children’s book titled, Remember to Dream, Ebere on September 28, 2021. The book follows a young girl named Ebere whose mother encourages her to dream as big as possible. Erivo wrote the book as an ode to a child’s imagination, a parent’s love and the big dreams shared by both.
Erivo recently starred opposite Idris Elba in the Netflix feature film installment of Luther: The Fallen Sun, continuing the story of the acclaimed crime series. Erivo plays a detective who is also Luther’s nemesis while Serkis is the story’s criminal villain. Luther: The Fallen Sun premiered on Netflix on March 10, 2023.
In Disney's 2022 live-action retelling of Pinocchio directed by Robert Zemeckis, Erivo took on the iconic role of the Blue Fairy. She is also slated to star in Apple’s Roar, an anthology series of darkly comic feminist fables. It was also announced that Erivo will produce and star in a biopic about Sara Forbes Bonnetta, a 19th-century Nigerian princess who was “gifted” to Queen Victoria after being liberated from slavery.
In August 2020, Erivo launched her production company, Edith’s Daughter, and announced her first-look deal with MRC Television & Civic Center Media. Edith’s Daughter focuses on projects that express the beauty in the stories and people who are often overlooked and underrepresented. Erivo named Solome Williams as Vice President of the company.
Erivo starred in the HBO series The Outsider, which premiered on January 12, 2020. The series is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. The series follows an unorthodox investigator and a seasoned cop investigating a gruesome murder of a local boy.
In 2019, Erivo starred in Kasi Lemmons’ Harriet, where she brought the legacy of Harriet Tubman to the big screen. Focus Features released the film in theaters on November 1, 2019, and Erivo’s performance was met with critical acclaim. Additionally, Erivo lent her voice to the movie’s title song, “Stand Up,” for which she co-wrote. “Stand Up” won “Best Original Song” at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards. Both Cynthia and “Stand Up” were nominated for two Academy Awards as well as two Golden Globe Awards in the categories of “Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama” and “Best Original Song” respectively. Additionally, “Stand Up” received a nomination for a Grammy Award in the category of “Best Song Written for Visual Media.” The film also garnered ten NAACP nominations as well as AAFCA and Society of Composers & Lyricists Award wins.
USE YOUR PHONE
Access the silent auction via our friendly URL below.
HOW DO I FIND ITEMS?
You can find items by pressing any one of the buttons on the main menu, or by using the search bar to find a specific item or category.
HOW DO I BID ON AN ITEM?
1) Find the item. 2) Select it. 3) Press Bid.
AUTOMATICALLY BID
Set a Max Bid. When you’ve been outbid, it will automatically bid on your behalf up to the Max Bid amount you set using the bid increments provided.
WAS I OUTBID?
You’ll receive a text message when you’ve been outbid. Alternatively, navigate to Your Activity to check the status of your bids.
Our friendly URL is: one.bidpal.net/coloradosymphonyfrontiergala
Australian conductor Christopher Dragon is the Music Director of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra, newly appointed Music Director of the Greensboro Symphony and is the Resident Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. He joined the Colorado Symphony in the 2015/2016 Season as Associate Conductor – a position he held for four years. For three years prior, Dragon held the inaugural position of Assistant Conductor with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch.
Dragon has a versatile portfolio ranging from live-to-picture performances including Nightmare Before Christmas, Toy Story and Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, a wide variety of collaborations with artists such as the Wu-Tang Clan, Cynthia Erivo and Joshua Bell, to standard and contemporary orchestral repertoire such as Danny Elfman’s Percussion Concerto; all areas of which he has become highly sought after. Christopher has become known for his charisma, high energy and affinity for a good costume, consistently delivering unforgettable performances that has made him an audience favourite.
Recent highlights include his debut with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center, his German debut with the WDR Funkhausorchester, performances of Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton with Danny Elfman reprising the role of Jack Skellington and historic performances with Nathaniel Rateliff at Walt Disney Concert Hall and David Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center. Upcoming debuts include the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Nasvhille Symphony and the LA Philharmonic.
Christopher is highly sought after as a guest conductor and has worked with the San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Omaha Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, Modesto Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. In Australia, he has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. His 2015 debut performance at the Sydney Opera House with John Pyke and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was released on album by ABC Music and won an ARIA the following year.
He has also conducted at numerous festivals including the Breckenridge and Bangalow Music Festivals, with both resulting in immediate re-invitations. At the beginning of 2016, Dragon conducted Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony as part of the Perth International Art Festival alongside Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Christopher began his conducting studies in 2011 and was a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia under the guidance of course director Christopher Seaman. He has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Leonid Grin, Paavo and Neeme Jarvi at the Jarvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula.