Traces Monday, March 25, 2013; 7:30 pm Tuesday, March 26, 2013; 3 & 7:30 pm Traces will be performed without an intermission.
TOM GABBARD AMANDA DUBOIS FOX THEATRICALS THE DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS NASSIB EL-HUSSEINI AND TOM LIGHTBURN present
starring
MASON AMES VALÉRIE BENOÎT-CHARBONNEAU LUCAS BOUTIN MATHIEU CLOUTIER BRADLEY HENDERSON LJ MARLES PHILIPPE NORMAND-JENNY FOX THEATRICALS by KRISTIN CASKEY MIKE ISAACSON Produced for
Tour Marketing Direction
ALLIED LIVE
Tour Booking Agency
The Booking Group
Production Supervisor General Management
Technical Theater SolUTIONS/ Rhys Williams
WORK LIGHT PRODUCTIONS
Creative Direction
LES 7 DOIGTS DE LA MAIN aka 7 FINGERS Direction & Choreography
SHANA CARROLL
GYPSY SNIDER
Due to the physical demands of Circus Arts performances, the artists performing each day are subject to change. Please be advised that a strobe light is used in this production. The taking of photographs with flash is strictly prohibited. www.threestages.net
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ABOUT 7 FINGERS What do you think of when you hear the word “circus?” For most people, it’s a blur of high-wire stunts, dancing animals and peanuts. Tents and elaborate costumes are nearly mandatory. And who could forget the clowns? But what would circus performers do if they had it their way? What kind of circus troupe would they create if they were allowed to do more than just their specialty act and push themselves to the furthest limits of their abilities? Enter 7 Fingers. Founded in Montreal in 2002, 7 Fingers’ initial goal was to bring circus to a human scale. Les 7 Doigts de la Main translates literally as “the 7 fingers of the hand.” It is a twist on a French idiom, (“the five fingers of the hand”) used to describe distinct parts united tightly, moving in coordination towards one common goal. Here it refers to the seven founding directors of the company (Shana Carroll, Isabelle Chasse, Patrick Léonard, Faon Shane, Gypsy Snider, Sébastien Soldevila and Samuel Tétreault) who, by combining their distinct talents and experiences, work towards their common artistic goals with the beautifully awkward dexterity of a 7-fingered hand. Their first show, Loft rejected the fanciful production qualities of standard circuses for the intimate environment of an artist’s loft. This is done while blending such diverse forms as acrobatics, avant-garde dance, physical comedy, music, song, spoken word, interactive video projections and live DJ-ing. The result was a brandnew type of show. Since Loft, 7 Fingers has created seven shows including Traces, La Vie, Psy, Fibonnaci Project, Patinoire, Sequence 8, and A Muse; each show offering a distinct setting and yet carrying the same 7 finger-print. In addition, the 7 Fingers have developed a special events department through which they deliver a diverse range of custom projects. The 7 Fingers have performed for the Queen of England during The Royal Variety Performance, performed during ceremonies for both the Turin and Vancouver Olympics, have created performances for large corporate events, and much more. Each project was custom-made and approached with the same hands-on creativity. ABOUT TRACES With Traces, 7 Fingers worked to take their trademark human and multi-disciplinary approach one step further by fusing classic acrobatics with such street forms as skateboard, basketball and parcours. Traces is a new circus experience—one with an urban flavor as young artists explode onto the stage with a renewed dynamic energy. Unlike classic circus where an artist specializes in one talent, the artists in Traces have mastered a multitude of specialties. What results are fluid narratives from beginning to end that highlights the individual artist as much as it honors the ensemble effect. The people seen on stage are not nameless and faceless nor are they hidden by costume and makeup. The men and woman on stage are real, living and breathing artists with stories to tell and astonishing talents to share. What results is a breathtaking array of human daring mixed with the personal charm of the individual artist. What are the Traces you’ll leave behind? 16B SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE
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MASON AMES (Artist) moved to Montreal from New Hampshire to train at the National Circus School, specializing in hand to hand. Previous credits include: Cirque Eloize’s iD, Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis, Circus Smirkus and other productions of 7 Fingers, notably joining them for their participation in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Most recently, Mason spent over a year performing in the Off-Broadway production of Traces and just completed a four month European tour. VALÉRIE BENOÎT-CHARBONNEAU (Artist) trained for seven years at Montreal’s National Circus School, specializing in hand to hand and banquine. Previous credits: Eclipse in Shawinigan, Quebec during two summers while training at the National Circus School; Cirque Eloize’s iD (Korean production); Cirque du Soleil’s Viva Elvis. Valérie also performed in the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics and more recently, in the Off-Broadway production of Traces as well as in the four month European tour. LUCAS BOUTIN (Artist) discovered circus arts at age six, learning to juggle and unicycle in a small town near Paris. His passion for movement led him to expand his acrobatic skills, entering the Châtellerault National Circus School at age 15. It was followed by the Circus Space in London at 18 where he specialized in Chinese Pole and graduated in July 2011. Performing credits include the Generating Company in Hong Kong, the Circa Festival in France, numerous events, and the English National Opera. Lucas just returned from a four month European tour of Traces. MATHIEU CLOUTIER (Artist) Originally from Gaspe, Quebec Mathieu spent three years at the Circus School of Quebec, specializing in acrobatics, rollerblade and diabolo. Previous credits include: GOP (Munich, Munster), Cirque du Soleil (special events), Les Grands Opéras de Québec and more than 275 acrobatic shows at Seabreeze Amusement Park in Rochester, N.Y. Most recently, Mathieu spent over a year performing in the Off-Broadway production of Traces and just completed a four month European tour. Mathieu also enjoys playing guitar and writing music. BRADLEY HENDERSON (Artist) was one of the original Traces cast members and has been touring the world with 7 Fingers since 2005. A San Francisco native, Bradley trained at the S.F. Circus Center, learning Chinese acrobatics with Master Trainer Lu Yi. In 2002 he moved to Montreal to attend the National Circus School and upon graduation was hired by 7 Fingers. Most recently, Bradley spent over a year performing in the Off-Broadway production of Traces and just completed a four month European tour.
LJ MARLES (Artist) London-boy LJ (Kalyn) fell in love with the circus arts at the age of 18 after taking part in a youth project with the Bassline Circus. A self-taught street and hip-hop dancer, he spent the next three years at the Circus Space, specializing in aerial straps. After developing his skills and approach, he performed in projects such as Finland’s Turku Festival, France’s Circa Festival, and an outdoor series with the British National Theatre. LJ just returned from a four month European tour of Traces. PHILIPPE NORMAND-JENNY (Artist) was born and raised in Montreal. He trained at the Circus School of Quebec, specializing in hand to hand, teeterboard and trampoline. Other performances include: GOP (Munich, Munster), Cirque du Soleil (special events), Les Grands Opéras de Québec and more than 275 shows at Seabreeze Amusement Park, Rochester, N.Y. Most recently, Philippe spent over a year performing in the Off-Broadway production of Traces and just completed a four month European tour. SHANA CARROLL (Direction, Choreography) is co-founding Artistic Director of Montreal’s Les 7 Doigts de la Main (7 Fingers), where she has co-directed and choreographed the company’s major touring shows, whether together with the collective (LOFT, La Vie) with partner Gypsy Snider (Traces), with partner and husband, Sebastien Soldevila (Sequence 8), or alone (Psy, Cabaret 2010). In addition to her work within 7 Fingers, Shana’s circus directing and choreography credits include the Cirque du Soleil performance at the 84th Annual Academy Awards (2012), the acrobatic design and choreography of Cirque du Soleil’s show, Iris at the Dolby (formerly Kodak) Theatre, creation of 4 gold-medal winning acts at the Festival de Cirque de Demain, Il Fait Dimanche for l’Ecole Nationale de Cirque de Montreal, and Quebec’s 400th anniversary performance with 40 trapeze artists (2008). GYPSY SNIDER (Direction, Choreography) Born into the circus ring as the daughter of the founders of San Francisco’s Pickle Family Circus, Gypsy began her artistic career at age four. She has been performing ever since. A graduate of Switzerland’s Scuola Teatro Dimitri, Gypsy performed for three seasons with La Compagnia Dimitri. She has consistently developed her own amalgam of theatre and circus, going on to perform internationally with Cirque du Soleil, Cirque Knie, Pomp Duck and Circumstance and Teatro Zinzanni. Gypsy has been impassioned since adolescence www.threestages.net
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Edward Scissorhands, The Car Man, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty; Grace; Basic Training; Ghost; West Side Story; 9 to 5; and upcoming Matilda; Cinderella; Jekyll & Hyde and Kinky Boots. He is an investment committee member of the Independent Presenters Network (IPN) and former Board member of the Broadway League. AMANDA DUBOIS (Producer) has been an independent producer since 2005. Her Broadway credits include Grace, starring Paul Rudd, Michael Shannon and Ed Asner, the 2007 Tony Award-winning production of Spring Awakening and its subsequent National Tour as well as the Broadway revival of ’night, Mother, starring Edie Falco and Brenda Blethyn. Off-Broadway she was Associate Producer on both Bare and The Awesome 80s Prom, now in its 6th year at Webster Hall. She has also produced at the New York International Fringe Festival and New York Musical Theatre Festival. Amanda serves on the board of Early Stages and on the Advisory Committee of The American Theatre Wing.
by directing and teaching, and has been a guest teacher with the San Francisco Circus Center and National Circus School of Montreal and a director with the New Pickle Circus, Jamie Adkins/Cirque Eloize, the National Circus School’s show Scène de crime and for various special projects with Cirque du Soleil. Gypsy is choreographing the circus acts in the musical revival of Pippin, directed by Diane Paulus. Gypsy co-formed Les 7 Doigts de la Main in 2002. She was an original performer in Loft and Mistress of Ceremonies in Cabaret des 7 doigts, a co-creator of Loft, co-director of Traces (nominated for a New York Drama Desk Award in Oustanding Choreography), and director of A Muse. NASSIB EL-HUSSEINI (Chief Executive Officer) Political scientist, author (L’Occident Imaginaire, PUQ Editions), advisor and volunteer for dozens of national and international organizations, Nassib fell under the charm of a modern day tribe: Les 7 Doigts de la Main. He ran away with the circus, as the saying goes, and took on the management of this jewel of the Montreal stage, serving as CEO. TOM GABBARD (Producer) CEO of Blumenthal Performing Arts, which operates six theaters in Charlotte, NC. The Blumenthal offers a highly diverse arts and education program that ranges from blockbuster musicals to dance, music and family attractions. Broadway, National Tours and London productions in which the Center has served as a co-producer or investor include Monty Python’s Spamalot; The Color Purple; Legally Blonde; Frost/Nixon; RED; The Mountaintop; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Matthew Bourne’s 16D SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE
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FOX THEATRICALS (Producer) Headed by Kristin Caskey and Mike Isaacson. Broadway credits include Grace; Red (six 2010 Tony Awards); Everyday Rapture; The Seagull; Legally Blonde: The Musical (also London, Olivier Award); ‘night, Mother; Caroline, or Change; Thoroughly Modern Millie (six Tony Awards); One Flew Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony Award); Death of a Salesman (Tony Award); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (two Tony Awards); Jekyll & Hyde. Off-Broadway: Trying, Lobby Hero, Three Tall Women, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. National Tours: 9 to 5; Legally Blonde: The Musical; Thoroughly Modern Millie; Death of a Salesman; Jekyll & Hyde. Member of the Independent Presenters Network, Broadway producer on Spamalot, The Color Purple and Edward Scissorhands, and operator of Chicago’s Briar Street Theatre. Fox Theatricals is a division of Fox Associates, owner and operator of The Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis, and is led by President Richard Baker and owners Robert Baudendistel and Mary Strauss. KRISTIN CASKEY (Producer) is President of Fox Theatricals. With producing partner Mike Isaacson, Broadway: Bring It On: The Musical (also National Tour), Grace, Red (Tony Award); Legally Blonde: The Musical (also National Tour and West End, Olivier Award for Best New Musical); Thoroughly Modern Millie (Tony Award; also National Tour and West End); One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Tony Award); The Seagull; ‘night, Mother; Caroline, or Change; You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; and Everyday Rapture. Chicago: An Evening with Sutton Foster. Upcoming: Mad Hot Ballroom and Coal Miner’s Daughter. Kristin also programs the US Bank Broadway Series at The Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis. She is a member of the Independent Presenters Network and on the Board of Governors at the Broadway League. Special thanks to Megan and Kate.
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MIKE ISAACSON (Producer) heads Fox Theatricals with partner Kristin Caskey. Broadway: Grace, Bring It On: The Musical, Red (2010 Tony Award); Everyday Rapture; The Seagull starring Kristin Scott Thomas; Legally Blonde: The Musical; ’night, Mother; Caroline, or Change; Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002 Tony Award, Best Musical); One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (2001 Tony Award); You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown; Death of a Salesman (1999 Tony Award). For the IPN: Spamalot (Tony Award, Best Musical); The Color Purple. London: Legally Blonde: The Musical (Olivier Award, Best Musical); Thoroughly Modern Millie. Upcoming: Fun Home, Mad Hot Ballroom. Isaacson also serves as Executive Producer of the world famous Muny in St. Louis, the world’s oldest and largest outdoor theatre. THE DENVER CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS (Producer) The Center is under the leadership of Chairman and CEO Daniel L. Ritchie and offers an exhilarating mix of Broadway shows, professional theatre, acting instruction and breathtaking facilities. Established in 1979, the organization operates out of eight theatres in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. It consists of the Tony Award-winning Denver Center Theatre Company, which produces classics, revivals and world premieres; and Denver Center Attractions which presents blockbuster musical touring shows and cabaret productions. The Denver Center’s comprehensive Education Department offers classes in all aspects of the performing arts to children and adults, aspiring professionals and amateurs alike. NASSIB El-HUSSEINI and TOM LIGHTBURN (Producers) Nassib El-Husseini, Ph.D., acting as producer on behalf of Les 7 Doigts de la Main (also known as 7 Fingers), has used his worldwide business and financial contacts to propel the 7 Fingers with their current line-up of five productions into the forefront of the international circus performance world. Producing credits include Loft, Traces, La Vie, Psy, Fibonacci Project, Patinoire, A Muse, and Séquence 8, as well as hundreds of custom-made projects such as participation in the closing ceremony of the Torino Winter Olympic Games. Nassib is currently serving on the boards of the International Exchange for the Performing Arts (CINARS) and the Montreal Conseil for the Arts (CAM). Tom Lightburn has been associated with the 7 Fingers as producing partner for the past five years. He was involved with the creation of La Vie in New York and presented Traces in Toronto. He is active both in film and theatre. He has produced the SingALong Sound of Music, Slava’s Snow Show, and Spiegeltent, as well as being active with the 7 Fingers.
WORK LIGHT PRODUCTIONS (General Management) Dedicated to creating and producing live entertainment. In addition to general/production managing Traces, WLP are producers of the North American tours of Tony Award-winners American Idiot, In The Heights, Avenue Q and A Year With Frog and Toad. Produced Julie Andrews - The Gift of Music with performances at The Hollywood Bowl and London’s O2 Arena. Upcoming productions include the 2013/14 tour of Mamma Mia!. They are creators of four new musicals for young audiences including The Musical Adventures of Flat Stanley and James and the Giant Peach. WLP is led by founding partner and President, Stephen Gabriel and Vice President, Nancy Gabriel. General Management, Scott Seay and Anièle Fortin. Production Management, Rhys Williams and Mike East. www. worklightproductions.com. TECHNICAL THEATER SOLUTIONS (Production Supervision) Based in Charleston, SC, TTS provides production supervision and technical direction for a variety of clients including the annual Spoleto Festival USA, Mabou Mines, Aruba Productions, and Work Light Productions. Select current associations include US and international tours of Mamma Mia! and Green Day’s American Idiot; past associations include tours of In The Heights and Avenue Q, and on Broadway Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, and Play On!. Rhys Williams is Founder and President of TTS and Mike East serves as Vice President. Allied Live (Tour Marketing/Publicity) is a full-service marketing firm representing numerous Broadway touring shows, venues, retail centers, lifestyle brands and attractions throughout North America. Current touring clients include: The Book of Mormon, Billy Elliot the Musical, Mamma Mia!, West Side Story, Hair, Blue Man Group, and STOMP. Chicago clients include: Million Dollar Quartet, The Lyric Opera, Lookingglass Theatre, and Hubbard Street Dance. LA clients include: Hollywood & Highland Center, Westfield, The Strand (Huntington Beach), LA Phil at Hollywood Bowl and Walt Disney Concert Hall, Center Theatre Group, and Reprise Theatre Company. Washington, DC clients include: The Washington Ballet, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Strathmore Performing Arts Center, The Kimmel Center (Philadelphia).
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STAFF FOR TRACES GENERAL MANAGEMENT WORK LIGHT PRODUCTIONS Stephen Gabriel Nancy Gabriel Scott Seay Anièle Fortin PRODUCTION SUPERVISION TECHNICAL THEATER SOLUTIONS Rhys Williams Mike East TOUR MARKETING DIRECTION ALLIED LIVE Laura Matalon Marya K. Peters Anne Dailey Meyer Andrew Damer ASSOCIATE PRODUCER FOR FOX THEATRICALS Megan Larche Dominick Company Manager.....................................Anièle Fortin Artistic Manager............................William Underwood, . Olaf Triebel, Claudette Waddle Production Supervisor.............................Rhys Williams Associate Production Supervisor..................Mike East Sound/Video........................................Sébastien Marion Rigging/Carpentry..........................John “5ive” McInnis Head Electrician.................................. Amber Tanudjaja Consulting General Manager..........................DR Theatrical Management Social Media Coordinator..........................Owen Spruill Legal Counsel........................................ Nan Bases, Esq. Music Clearance.................................... Janet Billig Rich Accountant................................FK Partners CPAs LLP/ Robert Fried Comptroller.................................... Galbraith & Co., Inc./ Tabitha Falcone Banking...................................................Signature Bank/ Margaret M. Monigan Assistant to Amanda Dubois....................Owen Spruill Assistant to Kristin Caskey.........................Kate Cofran ARTISTIC TEAM FOR TRACES Direction and Choreography ����������������� Shana Carroll, Gypsy Snider Acrobatic Designer........................ Sébastien Soldevila Technical Director....................................... Olivier Rosa Lights................................................. Nol van Genuchten Costumes........................................... Manon Desmarais Set & Props Original Design...................... Flavia Hevia Set & Props Adaptation/ Music & Soundscape/ Video................. Les 7 Doigts de la Main/7 Fingers Head Coach (Acrobatics)......................Jerôme Le Baut Aerial Strap.............................................Isabelle Chassé Hand Balancing...................................Samuel Tétreault Skateboards............................................ Yann Fily-Paré Single Wheel.................................................... Ethan Law Piano............................................................ Sophie Houle
LES 7 DOIGTS DE LA MAIN / 7 FINGERS Chief Executive Officer...................Nassib El-Husseini Founding Members & Artistic Directors................................. Shana Carroll, Isabelle Chassé, Patrick Léonard, Sébastien Soldevila, Gyspy Snider, Samuel Tétreault Touring and Development Director............... Tina Diab Administrative Director....................... Richard Gagnon Artistic Coordinator................................Francisco Cruz Director – Accounting Services...........Céline Boucher Production Director......................................Luc Paradis Technical Director..................................Yves Touchette Operations Director.................................. Sophie Picard Special Event...............................Ann-Laurence Dubois Project Management..........................Génifère Legrand Accounting Technician........................ Sandrine Hubert Communication................ Marion Bellin, Fanny Perret Touring.................. Mélina Saunier, Kevin Bissonnette Assistant to the Artistic Directors.......Sabrina Gilbert Touring Development & Public Funding............................Joanie Leroux-Côté Technical Coordinator............................. Vincent Houle TOUR BOOKING AGENCY THE BOOKING GROUP Meredith Blair, Mollie Mann Brian Brooks and Rich Rundle www.thebookinggroup.com ORIGINAL PRODUCTION Traces was originally co-produced by Centre National des Arts—Ottawa with the support of partners Conseil des Arts du Canada and Conseil des Arts et Lettres du Québec. CREDITS Sound Equipment by Masque Sound®; Lighting Equipment by Christie Lites; Chain Motors by Port City Equipment Rentals; Trucking by JANCO SPECIAL THANKS National Circus School of Montreal, TOHU Ben Philippi, Michael Meseke Broadway In Chicago, Broadway/L.A. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts Skateboards provided by Karma Skateboards www.tracesusa.com www.7fingers.com
MUSIC CREDITS “Touched” by Jon Crosby Performed by VAST Published by Vast Music Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment (Warner Music Group Company) c/o Vast Music o/b/o Rhino Entertainment (Warner Music Group Company) “Marigold” by Francisco Cruz “Una Pondera” Written and performed by Seth Stachowski Published by Seth Stachowski Music “Polaroids” by Francisco Cruz “La Rue de St. Paul” Performed by Le Peuple de l’herbe Courtesy of Play It Again Sam Records under the license of SONY/ATV Music Publishing “Tides” Performed by Nitin Sawhney Courtesy of Outcaste Records Limited under the license of Universal Music Publishing “Burn My Shadow” Written by Ian Astbury, James Lavelle, Richard File, Christopher Goss Performed by Unkle Published by Ian Astbury, Baby Cole Music c/o Wixen Music Publishing, James Lavelle, Richard File “Talk Show Host” Performed by Radiohead ©WB Music Corp. All rights reserved. Used by Permission. “Mashav” Composed by John Zorn Courtesy of Hips Road “It’s Only a Paper Moon” by E.Y. “Yip” Harburg, Harold Arlen, and Billy Rose Performed by Stephane Grappelli Courtesy of Concord Music Group Published by SA Music LLC c/o Stockpile Holdings Warner Chappell Music Inc. Glocca Morra Music (ASCAP) Administered by Next Decade Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved Used by Permission “Make You Feel That Way” Performed by Blackalicious Courtesy of Geffen Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises “Jumping in Havana” Performed by Chinese Man Published by Chinese Man Records “Ni Ten Ichi Ryu” Performed by Photek Productions Courtesy of Geffen Records under license from Universal Music Enterprises “Mitis Traho” Written and performed by Seth Stachowski Published by Seth Stachowski Music “Spiegelbeeld” Performed by Ferenc E. Van der Sluijs, aka I-F Fucking Consumer
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Steve Tyrell & Diane Schuur Thursday, March 28, 2013; 7:30 pm
occasions. At the request of the Sinatra family and Quincy Jones, Steve was the featured performer with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra at their season opening concert in which Frank Sinatra was inducted into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame. Also at the request of the Sinatra family, he reprised that performance this past May at Carnegie Hall. This is one of the rare times the family has reached into the vault of original Sinatra arrangements to share with another artist. In 2005, after the passing of the legendary Bobby Short, Steve was asked by New York City’s Café Carlyle to take over their revered Holiday Season of November and December, which Mr. Short had not missed in 36 years. Now Steve has become a fixture in New York and has played the Café Carlyle to record crowds for the last 6 years. His work in the studio as a record producer has included collaborations with such diverse and legendary artists as Rod Stewart, Diana Ross, Ray Charles, Smokey Robinson, Linda Ronstadt, Aaron Neville, Mary J Blige, Blood Sweat and Tears, Chris Botti, Dave Koz, Dolly Parton, Bonnie Raitt, Burt Bacharach, Bette Midler, Stevie Wonder, and the list goes on and on.
Grammy Award-winning vocalist Steve Tyrell is truly a renaissance man. In his four and a half decades in the music business, he has achieved great success as an artist, producer, songwriter, music supervisor, and performer. With his breakthrough performances in Father of the Bride and Father of the Bride II, Steve Tyrell reinvented and re-popularized classic pop standards for a modern-day audience. With the grit and soul of a lifetime of experiences, producing hits for Grammy-winning artists ranging from Linda Ronstadt and Aaron Neville, to Rod Stewart and Diana Ross, Steve himself has sold hundreds of thousands of albums and gained a passionate following all over the world. His hits, The Way You Look Tonight, The Simple Life, Crush On You and The Sunny Side of The Street have launched thousands of weddings and millions of romances. He’s held top positions at Standards, Swing, and Big Band outlets with a devoted following at key Adult Contemporary Radio. With sold-out shows across America and raves from around the world, his following increases day by day. Although Steve tours mainly with his band, he also enjoys playing with some of the most renowned orchestras in the land and has appeared with The Boston Pops, twice with The New York Pops, The Nashville Symphony, and The Houston Symphony on several
As an artist, all 7 of his American Standards albums have achieved top 5 status on Billboard’s jazz charts, and his first album A New Standard, was amongst the best-selling jazz albums for over 5 years. His voice has been featured on television and in numerous movies. In 2009, he was asked by Oscar winning songwriters Alan and Marilyn Bergman and Marvin Hamlisch to sing the end title to Steven Soderbergh’s film The Informant. His voice was also recently heard in the Hugh Grant/ Sarah Jessica Parker film, Did You Hear About the Morgans?. As a music supervisor and music producer for film and TV, Tyrell has worked with such distinguished directors as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Nancy Meyers, Steven Soderbergh, Betty Thomas, and Charles Shyer. His songs have been recorded by such revered artists as Ray Charles, Diana Ross, LL Cool J and Elvis Presley, and his song How Do You Talk To An Angel, written and produced for Aaron Spelling’s Fox television series The Heights, was a No. 1 pop hit in 1992. Aside from being a Grammy Award-winner, Tyrell has earned two Emmy nominations, 3 Ace Nominations, 2004 American Society of Young Musicians “All That Jazz Award”, 2004 The Wellness Community “Human Spirit Award”, 2006 Society of Singers “Lifetime Achievement Award”, and 2008 Los Angeles Jazz Society’s “Jazz Vocalist of the Year”.
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Steve Tyrell & Diane Schuur continued
Vocalist/pianist Diane Schuur is as eclectic as she is brilliant. A longtime disciple of Dinah Washington and other legendary jazz singers of the ‘40s and ‘50s, Schuur has built a stellar career by embracing not only the jazz of her parents’ generation, but also the pop music of her own youth during the late 1950s and ‘60s. In a recording career that spans nearly three decades – and includes two Grammy Awards and three Grammy nominations – Schuur’s music has explored nearly every corner of the 20th century American musical landscape. Born in Tacoma, Washington, in December 1953, Schuur was blind from birth. She grew up in nearby Auburn, Washington, where her father was a police captain. Nicknamed Deedles at a young age, Schuur discovered the world of jazz via her father, a piano player, and her mother, who kept a formidable collection of Duke Ellington and Dinah Washington records in the house. She was still a toddler when she learned to sing the Dinah Washington signature song, What a Difference a Day Makes. Armed with the rare gift of perfect pitch, Schuur taught herself piano by ear and developed a rich, resonant vocal style early on, as evidenced in a recording of her first public performance at a Holiday Inn in Tacoma when she was ten years old. She received formal piano training at the Washington State School for the Blind, which she attended until age 11. By her early teens, she had amassed her own collection of Washington’s records and looked to the legendary vocalist as her primary inspiration.
via her parents during her childhood and adolescent years. The album features songs by George and Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Sammy Cahn, Rogers and Hammerstein and more. Over the next 13 years, Schuur recorded 11 albums on GRP, including two Grammy winners: Timeless (1986) and Diane Schuur and the Count Basie Orchestra (1987). The recording with the Basie Orchestra spent 33 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard jazz charts. In 1991, Pure Schuur made the numberone slot on the Contemporary Jazz charts, and Heart To Heart – a 1994 collaborative recording with B.B. King – entered the Billboard charts at No. 1. Since she first began recording, jazz legend Diane Schuur has had a dream. It is one she never got to achieve—until now. The singer wanted to record an album of classic country songs, those that inspired her when she was still a child. At the same time Schuur decided she wanted to venture into country Vanguard Records had contacted her manager about signing the artist. That started the ball rolling with her Vanguard Record debut, The Gathering. The core of the band for The Gathering consists of guitarist Steve Gibson, Wurlitzer player Mike Rojas, bassist Michael Rhodes and drummer Eddie Bayers, along with vibraphonist Eric Darken on seven of the 10 tracks.
Schuur made her first record in 1971, a country single entitled Dear Mommy and Daddy, produced by Jimmy Wakely. After high school, she focused on jazz and gigged around the northwest. In 1975, an informal audition with trumpeter Doc Severinson (then the leader of the Tonight Show band) led to a gig with Tonight Show drummer Ed Shaughnessy’s group at the Monterey Jazz Festival. She sang a gospel suite with Shaughnessy’s band in front of a festival audience that included jazz tenor saxophonist Stan Getz, who in turn invited her to participate in a talent showcase at the White House. A subsequent return performance at the White House led to a record deal with GRP, which released Schuur’s debut album, Deedles, in 1984.
On The Gathering, Deedles turns a corner into a brand new lane, infusing her jazz sensibilities into ten country-brewed tunes from such seminal songwriters as Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Hank Cochran, Kris Kristofferson, Roger Miller and others. Recorded in Nashville in largely a one day-long session on December 6, 2010, Schuur is accompanied by a stellar Nashville backup band augmented by several all-star caliber guests, including vocalists Alison Krauss, Vince Gill and Carmella Ramsey; guitarists Mark Knopfler and Larry Carlton; and tenor saxophonist Kirk Whalum. The Gathering allows Diane Schuur to embrace her country roots for the first time, really, as a recording artist.
After one album on Atlantic records in 1999 – Music is My Life, produced by Ahmet Ertegun – Schuur joined the Concord label with the 2000 release of Friends for Schuur. The move to Concord marked the beginning of a series of highly successful collaborative projects: Swingin’ For Schuur (2001), a set of finely crafted duets with trumpeter Maynard Ferguson; Midnight (2003), Schuur’s unique interpretations of thirteen songs (mostly new material) written or co-written by Barry Manilow; and Schuur Fire (2005), a decidedly Latin-flavored album featuring the Caribbean Jazz Project.
The Gathering is a collection of hit country songs brought to life by Schuur’s unique jazz styling. “I get in my actress mode,” she says. “I was singing about heartbreak, and I needed to identify with that emotion. Of course, most of these songs I couldn’t have sung with total conviction when I was younger. But with life experience, you understand how it feels.
Some Other Time, Schuur’s February 2008 Concord release, was a recording of songs by jazz artists whom she first discovered 16H SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE
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With The Gathering, Diane Schuur feels the timing is right. “I needed another direction for my music,” she says. “This album was a natural fit for me. All the stars lined up, and nothing was forced. I waited a long time to do this kind of album. Those sessions in Nashville were a gathering of the spirits, and we got it right.”
Academy Award Winner
Jeff Bridges & The Abiders – An Intimate Evening Monday, April 1, 2013; 7:30 pm
One of Hollywood’s most successful actors and a six-time Academy Award® nominee, Jeff Bridges’ performance in Crazy Heart—as Bad Blake, the down-on-his-luck, alcoholic country music singer at the center of the drama—deservedly garnered the iconic performer his first Oscar® for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role. The performance also earned him the Golden Globe, SAG Award and the IFP/Spirit Award for Lead Actor. Bridges’ moving and multi-layered performance is one of many in a career that spans decades. He earned his first Oscar® nod in 1971 for Best Supporting Actor in The Last Picture Show. Three years later, he received his second Best Supporting Actor nomination for his role in Thunderbolt and Lightfoot. By 1984 he landed top kudos with a Best Actor nomination for Starman; which also earned him a Golden Globe nomination. In 2001 he was honored with another Golden Globe nomination and his fourth Oscar® nomination for his role in The Contender, in which Bridges played the President of the United States. In December 2010 his role as the triggerhappy, drunken U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn in True Grit landed him his sixth Oscar® nomination. The same month he was seen in highly anticipated 3D action-adventure TRON: Legacy. Bridges reprised his role of video-game developer Kevin Flynn from the classic 1982 film TRON. With state-of-the-art technology, TRON: Legacy featured Bridges as the first actor in cinematic history to play opposite a younger version of himself. He recently wrapped the supernatural action adventure R.I.P.D, set for a June 2013 release and in March he will start shooting the adventure/fantasy film, Seventh Son. Prior to Crazy Heart, Bridges was seen in the war comedy The Men Who Stare at Goats, playing Bill Django. He starred in A Dog Year and garnered an Emmy nomination, in the Paramount Pictures/Marvel Studios blockbuster Iron Man, and starred in the Academy Award®-nominated Surf’s Up. The actor’s multi-faceted career has cut a wide swathe across all genres. He has starred in numerous box office hits, including Gary Ross’ Seabiscuit, Terry Gilliam’s offbeat comedic drama The Fisher King, (the multi-award-nominated The Fabulous Baker Boys, co-starring his brother Beau Bridges and Michelle Pfeiffer), The Jagged Edge (opposite Glenn Close), Francis Ford Coppola’s Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Blown Away (co-starring his late father Lloyd Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones), Peter Weir’s Fearless, and Martin Bell’s American Heart (produced by Bridges’ company, AsIs Productions). That film earned Bridges an IFP/ Spirit Award in 1993 for Best Actor.
Some of Bridges’ other acting credits include The Muse, Arlington Road, Simpatico, The Big Lebowski, White Squall, Wild Bill, Fat City, The Mirror Has Two Faces, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, K-PAX, Masked and Anonymous, Stay Hungry, Bad Company, Against All Odds, Cutter’s Way, The Vanishing, Texasville, The Morning After, Nadine, Rancho Deluxe, See You in the Morning, Eight Million Ways to Die, The Last American Hero and Heart of the West. Jeff founded the End Hunger Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to feeding children around the world and produced the End Hunger televent, a three-hour live television broadcast focusing on world hunger. He is currently the national spokesman for the Share Our Strength/No Kid Hungry campaign that is fighting to end childhood hunger in American by 2015. He produced Hidden in America, which starred his brother Beau. That television movie, produced for Showtime, received a Golden Globe nomination in 1996 for Best TV/Cable Film and garnered a Screen Actors Guild nod for Best Actor for Beau Bridges. The film was also nominated for two Emmy Awards. One of Jeff’s true passions is photography. While on the set of his movies, Jeff takes behind-the-scenes pictures of the actors, crew and locations. After completion of each motion picture, he edits the images into a book and gives copies to everyone involved. Jeff’s photos have been featured in several magazines, including Premiere and Aperture, and other publications worldwide. He has also had gallery exhibits of his work in New York (at the George Eastman House), Los Angeles, London and San Diego. PowerHouse Books released Pictures: Photographs by Jeff Bridges, a hardcover book containing a compilation of photos taken on numerous film locations over the years. Proceeds from the book are donated to the Motion Picture & Television Fund. In August 2011 Jeff released his self-titled major label debut album for Blue Note Records. Multiple-Grammy Award-wining songwriter, musician and producer T Bone Burnett produced Jeff Bridges. It is an organic extension and culmination of his 30 year personal, professional and music friendship with Burnett. The critically acclaimed album was a follow-up to his first solo effort Be Here Soon, on Ramp Records, the Santa Barbara, CA label he co-founded with Michael McDonald and producer/singer/ songwriter Chris Pelonis. The CD features guest appearances by vocalist/keyboardist Michael McDonald, Grammy-nominated Amy Holland and country-rock legend David Crosby. Jeff and his wife Susan divide their time between their home in Santa Barbara, California, and their ranch in Montana.
In the summer of 2004, he appeared opposite Kim Basinger in the critically acclaimed The Door in the Floor, which earned him an IFP/Spirit Award nomination for Best Actor. www.threestages.net
SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16I
Stacy Sullivan: A Tribute to Miss Peggy Lee Friday, April 5, 2013; 8 pm Saturday, April 6, 2013; 2 & 8 pm Sunday, April 7, 2013; 2 pm
Stacy Sullivan, winner of the 2008 Backstage Bistro Award for Outstanding Vocalist, and 2002 MAC Award for Outstanding Female New York Debut from the Manhattan Association of Cabarets and Clubs, has played Cabaret Rooms across the country, from “Jazz at Lincoln Center” and the legendary “Oak Room at the Algonquin” in New York to the Ford Theatre and famed “Feinstein’s at the Cinegrill” in Hollywood. She has recorded five albums for the LML Music label, including her latest, It’s a Good Day, featuring Jon Weber, Steve Doyle, and Bucky Pizzarelli. Stacy’s fourth CD, It’s a Small Town was nominated for the 2009 MAC Award for Album of the Year. Her theatrical performances include Look Back in Anger at the Rose Theatre in Venice, “Christine” in the Los Angeles premiere of Phantom, Rosabud in the West Coast Premiere of The Mystery of Edwin Drood with Karen Morrow and George Rose, and Toby Bluth’s Babes in Toyland with Robert Morse at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Live performances include eight Cabaret Conventions in New York and San Francisco, the Pasadena Pops Orchestra with John Raitt, and Knoxville Symphony with KT Sullivan. In May, she made her debut at the 92nd Street Y in their “Lyrics and Lyricists” Series with Andrea Marcovicci. Her new show, A Tribute To Miss Peggy Lee, has been gaining critical acclaim. It is an interpretive exploration of the extraordinary music and personal struggles of a singer, composer, and actress whose remarkable career spanned over six decades, influencing jazz and popular-music culture worldwide. The seventh of eight children, Stacy grew up performing family concerts in Oklahoma with her gifted siblings and mother, Elizabeth Sullivan. Graduating cum laude with her degree in Music from Tulsa University, Stacy was fortunate to study with famed voice teacher, Laven Sowell, becoming the soprano soloist in Hayden’s Teresa Mass and the Mozart Requiem, among others. While her film and television credits consist mostly of small movies, soap operas, guest spots, and commercials, Stacy was thrilled to create the role of Sissel Jorgensen on the award-winning television series, Christy, with Tyne Daly and Kellie Martin. Stacy lives in New York City with her husband, Jeff Brown. Their children, Sullivan Brown and Savannah Brown are students at UCLA. stacysullivan.com 16J SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE
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Pianist Dan Franklin Smith – La Vida Iberiana (Iberian Life) Saturday, April 6, 2013; 8 pm Sunday, April 7, 2013; 7 pm
LA VIDA IBERIANA Federico Mompou 1893-1987 Cancion y Danza Nr. 6 Joaquin Turina 1882-1949 Sonata Sanlucar de Barrameda En la torre del Castillo Siluetas de la Calzada La Playa Los pescadores en Bajo de Guia Carlos Surinach 1915-1997
Cancion y Danza Nr. 1
Intermission Manuel Infante 1883-1958 El Vito (Variations) Jose Vianna da Motta 1868-1948 Chula da Douro (from Scenas Portuguezas) Heitor Villa-Lobos 1887-1959 Alma Brasileira (Choros #5) Astor Piazzolla 1921-1992 Sin Rumbo (Tango) Hector Campos-Parsi 1922-1998
Santa Maria (#1 from Plenas)
Louis Moreau Gottschalk 1829-1869
Ojos Criollos (Danza Cubana)
Andre Previn b.1929 Three South American Sketches Festivo Flor de Jardim Mina d’Agua
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SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16K
Pianist Dan Franklin Smith
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Dan Franklin Smith is a resident of New York City but performs in colleges, universities, museums and concert halls throughout the US and Europe. He has been described as “an incredibly sensitive player” and “a master pianist.” Accolades such as “breathtakingly beautiful,” “technical wizardry,” “brilliant technique and emotional fervor” appear in every review. An Aliso Viejo, California, headline proclaimed, “Classical Pianist Moves Audience to Tears.” He graduated as a piano major from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, and made his European recital debut in 1997 just outside of Stockholm, Sweden, where he received a standing ovation and rave reviews. The following year he made his European orchestral debut in Stockholm at Sofia Kyrkan and was later featured on Swedish TV. A debut recording with the Gävle Symfoniorkester soon followed, and not long afterward, a recording with the Stuttgart Philharmonic. These premier recordings received outstanding reviews and are broadcast on dozens of classical stations throughout the US. As Music Director and recital soloist with the international festival, Elysium: Between Two Continents, he is showcased in performances here and in Europe. Major German newspapers praise his work for “stirring emotionalism, precision with keen intensity, the subtle hesitations and shifts that constitute great expression.” He has received high praise time and again from Munich’s Süddeutsche Zeitung as well as the Münchener Merkur, Coburger Tageblatt and Neue Presse. Recent and future highlights include performances in Maryland, Georgia, Minnesota, Michigan, North Carolina, Tennessee, New York, Virginia, Florida, Washington, D.C., Wisconsin, Arizona, New Mexico, Canada, and California, where he played performances of Brahms’ First Piano Concerto and toured again in 2010. His European engagements have included Bernried, Dessau, Coswig, Wittenberg, and Leipzig in Germany, Oslo, Paris, London, including recitals at St. Martin-inthe-Fields, and appearances in Sweden. In past summer seasons, he performed in Berlin, Munich, Bernried, Coburg, Offenbach, Neuwied, Brussels, London, Zagreb, Warsaw, Lodz, and Kiev. In fall 2010, he appeared at the Bruckner Festival in Linz and the Mozarteum in Salzburg. As chamber musician and vocal accompanist, he has performed at venues such as The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.—where he recently presented a solo recital—the Cleveland Museum’s Distinguished Artist Series, and Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, as well as tours in Bermuda, Taiwan, and Puerto Rico. He is the recipient of a Performing Artist Grant from the American-Scandinavian Foundation of New York City, which provided funds for him as piano soloist in an orchestral performance in Stockholm. He is a member of the Recording Society as well as the American Matthay Association and frequently performs at their yearly conferences.
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Merle Haggard & The Strangers Monday, April 8, 2013; 7:30 pm Tuesday, April 9, 2013; 7:30 pm
The word “legend” usually makes an appearance at some point when discussing Merle Haggard. It’s an acknowledgement of his artistry and his standing as “the poet of the common man.” It’s a tribute to his incredible commercial success and to the lasting mark he has made, not just on country music, but on American music as a whole. It’s apt in every way but one. The term imposes an aura of loftiness that’s totally at odds with the grit and heart of Haggard’s songs. “I’d be more comfortable with something like ‘professor’,” he once told a reporter, and the description suits him. Studying, analyzing and observing the details of life around him, Haggard relays what he sees, hears and feels through his songs. But Haggard’s real gift was that anyone who hears his songs recognizes the truth in them. When a Merle Haggard song plays, it can make an innocent-asapple-pie grandma understand the stark loneliness and self-loathing of a prisoner on death row; a rich kid who never wanted for any material possession get a feel for the pain of wondering where the next meal will come from; a tee-totaling pillar of the community sympathize with the poor heartbroken guy downing shots at the local bar. As a result, Haggard found his songs at the top of the charts on a regular basis. Immediately embraced by country fans, he also earned the respect of his peers. In addition to the 40 #1 hits, Haggard charted scores of Top Ten songs. He won just about every music award imaginable, both as a performer and as a songwriter, and in 1994 was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. His body of work easily places him beside Hank Williams as one of the most influential artists in country music. That’s quite an accomplishment for the boy who was once officially branded “incorrigible.”
Photograph by Alan Wallace
Merle Ronald Haggard was born in 1937, outside Bakersfield, California. His parents, Jim and Flossie moved the family there after their farm in Oklahoma burned down, with Jim finding work as a carpenter for the Santa Fe Railroad. The family lived in an old boxcar that they converted into a home. Though struggling to make a meager living, they had sturdy shelter and food was always on the table. Things changed dramatically after Jim died of a stroke when Merle was nine years old. It was a devastating event for the young boy, who was very close to his father. His mother went to work as a bookkeeper to make ends meet, often leaving Merle in the care of a great aunt and uncle. With his world turned upside down, Haggard turned rebellious. He hopped a freight train when he was just ten years old, making it to Fresno before being picked up by the authorities. It was the first step toward a youth of truancy from school and petty crime. For the next few years, Haggard would find himself in reform schools, sometimes making an escape, only to get thrown back in again. The angel on his shoulder during these troubled times was Haggard’s love and talent for music. Some of his father’s musical gift had been passed on to Merle, and he easily took to playing guitar. Starting out as a fan of Bob Wills, Haggard eventually found his musical idol in Lefty Frizzell. “For three or four years I didn’t sing anything but Lefty Frizzell songs,” Merle told Music City News. “And then, because Lefty was a fan of Jimmie Rodgers, I learned to imitate him too.” Haggard was already starting to make small amounts of money here and there by playing music, but it wasn’t enough to keep him out of trouble. He left home at 15 with a friend, and the two were picked up as suspects in a robbery. Though innocent, he ended up in jail for two-and-a-half weeks. It was the first time he tasted prison life, but it wasn’t the last. In and out of jail over the years for small crimes, he found himself doing serious time in San Quentin at the age of 20. www.threestages.net
SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16M
Merle Haggard & The Strangers
“Going to prison has one of a few effects,” he told Salon in 2004. “It can make you worse, or it can make you understand and appreciate freedom. I learned to appreciate freedom when I didn’t have any.” His musical ability offered hope for a future. Haggard’s music was his way out of a dead-end life of small crimes and intermittent jail time. Released from San Quentin in 1960, he joined the then thriving Bakersfield country scene, which enjoyed the hard-hitting honky-tonk groove. After making an impression working in local clubs, Haggard joined Las Vegas star Wynn Stewart’s band in 1962 as a bassist. When he got a chance to record his own single, Haggard chose the Stewart composition, Sing A Sad Song. It came out on the small Tally Records label in 1964 and made it into the Top Twenty. His follow-up singles didn’t do quite as well until (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers went into the Top Ten and brought him to the attention of Capitol Records. He proved himself a hit maker with three Top Ten singles in 1967, including his first #1, The Fugitive. Haggard said Johnny Cash encouraged him to address his problems directly in verse. “I was bull-headed about my career”. When Cash introduced him on his variety show, he said, “Here’s a man who writes about his own life and has had a life to write about.” Once Haggard stopped hiding the story of his past incarcerations, his songs opened a window on the dark life of prisoners and ex-cons. Sing Me Back Home was another #1 in 1967. Mama Tried, which reached the top of the chart in 1968, offered an apology of sorts to Haggard’s religious and hardworking mother, absolving her of blame for his bad behavior. He laid out all the other aspects of his life in subsequent songs, proving himself an adept lyricist who specialized in sorrow and pain, with the occasional dash of hope or humor. By 1969, Haggard had also won over a good portion of musicians and critics in the rock world. Producer Don Was, who has worked with Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones and Bonnie Raitt, told Newsweek in 1996, “He’ll tell you he’s a country singer, but to me the essence of rock and roll is a cry for freedom and rebellion. And I don’t know anyone who embodies it better. Every aspect of his life is a refusal to submit.” Working Man Blues, which came out in 1969, may have appealed to the rock crowd because of its hard-driving beat and its anti-elitism, but it delivered a clear message of solidarity to the blue collar country audience, with its 16N SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE
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uncomplimentary reference to welfare. That political stance was solidified with Haggard’s most popular song, Okie From Muskogee. Followed by the belligerent Fightin’ Side of Me, which undeniably challenged the anti-war protesters, it made Haggard a political symbol. In the ensuing years, Richard Nixon invited him to sing at the White House. Ronald Reagan, then Governor of California, gave him an unconditional pardon for his past criminal offenses. The furor caused by those two songs took Haggard by surprise, but he never shied away from writing songs with a strong point of view. In 1972, he released I Wonder If They Ever Think Of Me, which revisits Vietnam via the thoughts of a P.O.W. while 1973’s If We Make It Through December crystallized the worries of an unemployed father at a time when much of the U.S. was feeling the effects of a particularly difficult recession. Of course, Haggard also wrote about more cheerful issues. Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man) in 1971, and Grandma Harp in 1972. Both express his joy in music and how it saved him in low times. Though the hits slowed down a bit in the following decades, Haggard never stopped making music. He started producing his own cuts for the first time, and My Favorite Memory and Big City went to #1 in 1981. The next year he and George Jones made an album together, with their duet Yesterday’s Wine, reaching the top of the chart. Teaming up with another legend-in-the-making, Willie Nelson, Haggard scored again with the 1983 hit Pancho and Lefty. In 1987, he scored his last #1, Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Star. In the mid-nineties, with the release of the box set, Down Every Road coming at the same time Haggard was releasing an album of new music, the media turned their attention to the long-ignored singer once more. His status as a living legend took hold about then, with good reason. It was overdue. It would be difficult to find an artist as creative, as successful, and as stubbornly true to himself as Haggard. In between his hits, he made albums that paid tribute to the musicians who influenced him, like Jimmie Rodgers, Lefty Frizzell and Bob Wills - done out of respect rather than commercial calculation. He blended elements of jazz, rock, blues and folk music into his arrangements while staying true to the traditions of country. No matter what the current fashion of the moment was in music, Haggard always went his own way. “I’ll tell you what the public likes more than anything,” he told the Boston Globe, “It’s the most rare commodity in the world - honesty.”
Keyboard Conversations® with Jeffrey Siegel Listen to the Dance: Waltzes, Polkas, Marches & Tangos! Wednesday, April 10, 2013; 7:30 pm
Photograph by Peter Schaaf
PROGRAM Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826)
Invitation to the Dance
Frédéric Chopin (1810-1849)
Waltz in A Minor, Op. 34, No. 2
Dmitri Shostakovich (1906-1975)
Polka (from “The Golden Age”)
Bedřich Smetana (1824-1884)
Polka in G Minor, Op. 8, No. 2
Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971)
Circus Polka (1942)
Manuel de Falla (1876-1946)
Ritual Fire Dance
Intermission Isaac Albéniz (1860-1909)
Tango in D
Astor Piazzola Street Tango (1921-1992) Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Funeral March (from Sonata No. 12 in A-flat, Op. 26)
Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)
Wedding March (transcription by Franz Liszt-Vladimir Horowitz)
Questions and Answers www.threestages.net
SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE 16O
Jeffrey Siegel Biography
The distinguished American pianist Jeffrey Siegel has been a featured soloist with the world’s great orchestras. Abroad, these include: the Berlin Philharmonic; the London Symphony; the London Philharmonic; and the London Philharmonia; the Moscow State Symphony; Munich’s Bayerischer Rundfunk; the Amsterdam Philharmonic; the Oslo Philharmonic; the Stockholm Philharmonic; Orchestra of La Scala; and the NHK Symphony of Japan. In the United States, he has performed with: the New York Philharmonic; the Los Angeles Philharmonic; the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Cleveland Orchestra; the Boston Symphony Orchestra; and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Siegel has collaborated with many of the preeminent conductors of our time, including: Claudio Abbado; Pierre Boulez; Charles Dutoit; Neeme Järvi; James Levine; Lorin Maazel; Zubin Mehta; Leonard Slatkin; Michael Tilson Thomas; and David Zinman. He has also played for legendary maestros of the past, including Eugene Ormandy, Sir George Solti, William Steinberg, Klaus Tennstedt, and Yevgeny Svetlanov. In addition to his solo appearances, Jeffrey Siegel presents Keyboard Conversations®, a brilliantly polished series of concert-with-commentary presentations, in which lively, captivating remarks precede virtuoso performances of piano masterpieces. These concerts conclude with brisk, witty Q & A sessions. New listeners discover an informal, entertaining, and immensely accessible introduction to the magnificent piano repertoire. Seasoned music-lovers enjoy a deeply enriched, more-focused listening experience. Ongoing series of Keyboard Conversations® flourish in numerous American cities, among them New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Phoenix, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Dallas, Denver, and Washington, D.C. Some of these venues have been presenting Keyboard Conversations® for more than 40 years – resounding testimony to Siegel’s superb artistry, innovative format, and loyal fans. Following last season’s successful reception of Keyboard Conversations® in the United Kingdom, Keyboard Conversations® continue in 2012-2013 at London’s dynamic, newest arts complex, Kings Place. Photograph by Peter Schaaf
Siegel has appeared on Oprah Radio’s Dr. Oz Show as guest of host and heart surgeon Dr. Mehmet Oz, and co-host and author Dr. Michael Roizen. In addition, he has been a frequent guest on the popular London-based BBC program In Tune. Siegel has recorded: Keyboard Conversations® – Piano Treasures, a one-hour, PBS special (Time Life); Mozart and Friends; The Power and Passion of Beethoven; The Romanticism of the Russian Soul; The Romance of the Piano (Random House Audio Publishing Group); Music for the Young – and the Young at Heart (WFMT Radio, Chicago); Mozart & Chopin (Twin Cities Public Television); and American Pianistic Treasures (WEDU, Tampa). Siegel’s recording of Gershwin’s complete works for piano and orchestra, with Leonard Slatkin and the Saint Louis Symphony, continues to be a best-seller and is available through Amazon.com. Born into a musical family, Siegel studied with Rudolf Ganz in his native Chicago, with the legendary Rosina Lhévinne at the Juilliard School, and, as a Fulbright Scholar, with Ilona Kabos in London. Siegel and his wife live in New York and have two grown children. Please visit Jeffrey Siegel’s website at www.keyboardconversations.com for further information, including this season’s schedule of Keyboard Conversations®, video highlights, and national and international media acclaim. Jeffrey Siegel is a Steinway artist.
16P SPRING 2013 PROGRAM GUIDE
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