SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 5

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EVERYTHING’S COMING UP BROADWAY!

COLORADO SYMPHONYSCOTT O’NEIL, resident conductor SUSAN EGAN, vocals

DOUG LABRECQUE, vocals

DEBBIE GRAVITTE, vocals 

DENVER GAY MEN’S CHORUS, JAMES KNAPP, artistic director 

DENVER WOMEN’S CHORUS, MARK ZWILLING, artistic director

Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 7:30 pm

Sunday, September 28, 2014 at 1:00pm

Boettcher Concert Hall

STYNE Gypsy Overture PORTER/BERLIN “Another Opening, Another Show” from Kiss Me, Kate

“No Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get Your Gun

LOEWE/LERNER “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady

ARLEN/HARBURG “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz HERMAN Miss Spectacular TESORI/SCANLON Thoroughly Modern Millie LOESSER “Luck Be a Lady” from Guys and Dolls WILLSON “76 Trombones” from Music Man LOESSER “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat” from Guys and Dolls KANDER/EBB Cabaret HERMAN Hello, Dolly!

—INTERMISSION—

PORTER “Blow Gabriel Blow” from Anything Goes KANDER/EBB Overture/All That Jazz SCHOENBERG “Bring Him Home” from Les Misérables

LOESSER “Standing on the Corner” from A Most Happy Fella ABBA Mamma Mia (Ulvaeus/Andersson) HERMAN “I Am What I Am” from La Cage aux Folles SCHWARTZ “Defying Gravity” from Wicked WEBBER “Memory” from Cats

WEBBER/HART “Music of the Night” from Phantom of the Opera

SATURDAY’S CONCERT IS GRATEFULLY DEDICATED TO KENNETH KENDAL KING FOUNDATION

PROGRAM 6 SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG

POPS BIOGRAPHIES

SCOTT O’NEIL, resident conductor

This is Scott O’Neil’s ninth season with the Colorado Symphony, and his fourth

full season as resident conductor. O’Neil maintains a strong commitment to

making music of the highest quality accessible to young audiences. He served

as associate conductor for the Utah Symphony, which he joined in August

2000. O’Neil studied piano performance at the Oberlin College Conservatory,

served as the assistant conductor of the Eastman School Symphony and

Philharmonia Orchestras at the Eastman School of Music, and earned a master’s degree in

orchestral conducting at Rice University, where he was the director of the Campanile Orchestra,

a community/university orchestra. In the spring of 2003, O’Neil was selected by the League of

American Orchestras (LAO) to conduct an orchestra comprised of members of the Los Angeles

Philharmonic and advanced students from the University of Southern California in Synergy, a

program created to promote young, contemporary composers. O’Neil is prominently featured

with the Colorado Symphony as conductor and creator of the Inside the Score series, in addition

to appearances on each of the Masterworks, Family, Pops and Holiday Series.

SUSAN EGAN, vocals

Susan Egan has traversed all four corners of the entertainment industry,

making powerful impressions in theatre, #lm, television and music.  Most

recently, Susan starred on Broadway as Thoroughly Modern Millie.  She has also

won critical acclaim as Broadway’s (longest-running) “Sally Bowles” in Cabaret,

in Triumph of Love and State Fair, and most notably, as the original “Belle” in

Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (Tony and Drama Desk noms.). Regionally, Egan

starred alongside Carol Burnett in “Putting It Together” and Tommy Tune in the national tour

of Bye, Bye Birdie. Film credits include: 13 Going on 30, Man of the Century (Slamdance Audience

Award), Death and Texas (Slamdance/Seattle Film Festivals, 2004), The Almost Guys (HBO

Comedy/Boston Film Festivals 2004), Meet Market (Sarasota Film Festival, 2004), and The Third

Wish (2005 release). In animation, Susan voiced the characters of “Meg” in Disney’s Hercules,

“Lin” in the Academy Award-winning Spirited Away, “Gina” in the latest Miyazaki release Porco

Rosso, and “Angel” in Lady and the Tramp II. On television, Susan spent two seasons on WB’s

Nikki, starred in Gotta Kick It Up for Disney Channel, and has guest-starred on NUMB3RS, NYPD

Blue, Arli$$, Drew Carey, Party of Five, Great Performances, and more.  Egan has sung with scores

of symphonies nationwide and will spend 2005-06 touring the country with her solo concert. 

She has over 30 recording credits, including three solo CDs. Her latest, Co#eeHouse, won a

Best Vocalist of the Year 2004 award from TalkinBroadway.com.   For more information, visit

susanegan.net.

SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 7

POPS BIOGRAPHIES

DOUG LABRECQUE, vocals

Doug LaBrecque is one of the most proli#c concert singers of his generation. He

has been a soloist with some of the world’s #nest orchestras, including Chicago

Symphony, San Francisco Symphony, Israel Philharmonic, and Cleveland

Orchestra. He has appeared with more than 125 orchestras worldwide and

most major Pops orchestras in America including Philly Pops, Boston Pops and

NY Pops at Carnegie Hall. LaBrecque thrilled theater audiences as The Phantom

and Raoul, in The Phantom of the Opera. He starred in the original cast of the Harold Prince

Broadway revival of Showboat and toured nationally with Les Misérables. He was also featured in

Oscar Hammerstein’s 100th birthday celebration at the Gershwin Theatre. Regionally, LaBrecque

has played leading roles in Candide, A Chorus Line, Man of La Mancha, and many others. A

graduate of The University of Michigan, he appeared in the musical adaptation of It’s a Wonderful

Life and starred in the premiere Revival of Kurt Weill’s Love Life. International engagements

have included Korean National Symphony, Shanghai Radio Orchestra in China, Hong Kong

Philharmonic, Brazilian Symphony Orchestra, The Jerusalem Symphony, and numerous return

engagements with Israel Philharmonic. He appeared in Alba, Italy as the guest soloist in an all

Bernstein concert and performed at the International Music Festival in Cesky-Krumlov, Czech

Republic. He recently performed with acclaimed pianist Lang Lang in Beijing and was a frequent

soloist with the legendary Marvin Hamlisch. For information on these and other engagements,

as well as information about his recordings, visit DougLaBrecque.com.

DEBBIE GRAVITTE, vocals

One of Broadway’s biggest personalities, Debbie Gravitte received the Tony

Award for her critically acclaimed performance in Jerome Robbins Broadway,

along with the New York Showstopper Award and a Drama Desk Award

nomination. She made her Broadway debut in the original cast of They’re

Playing Our Song, and went on to appear in: Blues In The Night, Perfectly Frank

(Drama Desk Award Nomination), Zorba, Ain’t Broadway Grand?, Chicago and

Les Misérables. Debbie appeared in London in Jerry Herman’s Mack and Mabel at the Drury Lane

Theatre and has been seen in the New York City Encores! productions of The Boys From Syracuse,

Tenderloin, and Carniva. Debbie has sung with over 100 orchestras worldwide, including

National Symphony with Marvin Hamlisch, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston Pops, Cleveland Pops,

Philly Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, San Diego Symphony, St. Louis Symphony,

and Houston Symphony. Overseas, she’s appeared with the London Symphony, Stockholm

Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, The Royal Scottish National Orchestra, National Syphonica

of Brazil, Munich Philharmonic, and a special performance in Beijing with Lang Lang and the

Chinese Philharmonic. Debbie is featured on many recordings including her 3 solo CDs: Defying

Gravity, The Alan Menken Ablum, and The MGM Album. Film: Isn’t She Great and The Little

Mermaid. Television: Trial and Error (CBS), Pursuit of Happiness (NBC), numerous PBS Specials

including: Broadway Plays Washington, Ira Gershwin’s 100th Birthday Live from Carnegie Hall, and In

Concert with the Boston Pops. Debbie was featured in the Peter Martin’s ballet Thou Swell with the

NYC Ballet. F or more information, visit debbiegravitte.com.

PROGRAM 8 SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG

POPS BIOGRAPHIES

JAMES KNAPP, artistic director, Denver Gay Men’s Chorus

With 30 years of choral conducting experience with colleges, churches and

community choruses, James Knapp is now in his second season leading the

Denver Gay Men’s Chorus and Out Loud: The Colorado Springs Men’s Chorus

to greater levels of artistic and musical excellence. James, who is the Artistic

Director Emeritus of the Bayou City Performing Arts, guided the Gay Men’s

Chorus of Houston, the Bayou City Women’s Chorus and the Bayou City

Chorale for eight years with tremendous success. He holds a Bachelor of

Music Education from Fredonia State University, a diploma from the Mozarteum Conservatory

of Music in Salzburg and a Master of Music from the University of Texas at Austin. His choirs

have appeared at regional conventions such as the American Choral Director’s Association and

the Texas Choral Directors Association. They have also appeared with the Moscow Chamber

Orchestra in the Palace of St Petersburg Chamber Music Festival in Russia. Additionally, he

conducted the featured choir at the International Church Music Festival in Coventry, England

with Sir David Willcocks. His choirs have been heard on NPR a%liate stations in performances

of the Brahms Requiem, Handel’s Messiah and portions of I Am Harvey Milk. His Singspiration

Singers won #rst prize in a national gospel symposium for their performance and interpretation

of gospel music. Mr. Knapp is an educator, performance adjudicator, clinician and has presided

over choral workshops in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Italy, England, Thailand and throughout the

United States.

THE DENVER GAY MEN’S CHORUS

The Denver Gay Men’s Chorus was established in 1982 with a passionate commitment to LGBT

people, to build community and foster acceptance, diversity and tolerance thorough music.

It was the #rst openly gay arts organization in Denver and the Rocky Mountain region. This

premier, auditioned 100-voice community chorus has performed more than 125 concerts

in its 32-year history, remaining true to its mission of entertaining, educating, inspiring and

empowering audiences. DGMC has collaborated with artists such as Margaret Cho, Ann

Hampton Callaway, and the Colorado Symphony and has worked with the Matthew Shepard

Foundation and the University of Denver, Lamont School of Music. DGMC has recorded two

commercial CDs and has a devoted commitment to the commissioning of new works, the most

notable being I Am Harvey Milk by Broadway’s Andrew Lippa. This 60-minute oratorio, scored for

SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 9

POPS BIOGRAPHIES

three soloists, men’s chorus and orchestra premiered last June at Gates Concert Hall to a sold out

audience receiving high critical acclaim. Most recently, Mayor Michael B. Hancock proclaiming

June 12, 2014 as Denver Gay Men’s Chorus Day honored the chorus as a respected leader in the

arts community, signi#cantly enriching the cultural life of the city while serving as a messenger

of social justice and change. The chorus produces three concert series per season and sings over

15 community outreach events each year. DGMC is a member of GALA Choruses, a LGBT choral

organization made up of over 180 choruses and 10,000 singers worldwide.

First Tenor

Christopher AdamsHayes BurtonJames DeMarcoRobert HaerrScott HolmesLondell JacksonMichael KadowitzShawn KellerAndrew LeBeauLuiz QuirozSly RezaCraig RobertsDavid Valdez

Second Tenor

Jesse B. AndersonMatthew BradfordJim CarstenChristopher CassadyMick DaveyPeter DiLeoRandy EastmanScotte HoerleRyan HunterJe&rey WinnKyle JensenTJ KizulaBrian Lloyd LeMaireAndrew LindstadGene McBrydeTodd D. NienhueserBilly RediessLucas Ripley

Carlos RodriguezMichael SattlerJoseph SchwabKarl SowaWayne L. SuttonSteven Winters Jaime Zuloaga

Baritone

Jon BlessingDale BrittCarlan DChristopher DapperKevin L. FordClark GearyGreg GossettVincent GrandiBill HeathDon JohnsonRobert KahnJohn F. KrotchkoDoug LanworthyStephen LaymanScot McGiveronJ.T. McGowanKevin McGrellisJ.T. MillerJohn MowryNolan OltjenbrunsLars PreeceGreg RavenwoodJe& ReinhardMatthew RittenberryMichael Rodel

Marcus SmithEric E. StephensonPeter StoneAnthony Trujillo, Jr.

Bass

Robert AllenGreg AndersenMichael BackmanJustin BallTerry BohannonSteven M. CalpaldiPaul CrowleyJames DrakeRoss HodgkinsChristopher JohnstonJay KleiberJarrett LeBeauEverette MarshallDoug MillerDoug MillikenRyan PageRobert S. ParkerIan Post-GreenCory RiversMark RobertsTom RuBaneEverett SchneiderNicholas R. SnakenbergVern J. TuttleDoug WagnerGeorge E. Ware

THE DENVER GAY MEN’S CHORUS

James Knapp, Artistic Director

Paul Crowley, Assistant Conductor

Ricki Moyer, Principal Accompanist

PROGRAM 10 SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG

POPS BIOGRAPHIES

THE DENVER WOMEN’S CHORUS

The Denver Women’s Chorus was founded in 1984 from an idea that Carol White had with Shirley

Guenthner and a few friends. They wanted to create a woman’s chorus of musical excellence

that was open to all women that were either Lesbian or respectful of Lesbianism. The Women’s

Chorus is now a member of the Rocky Mountain Arts Association and exist to build community

through music. Although their origins lie in the lesbian community, the Chorus is open to

everyone regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. They are a community chorus of

women with equal interests in the excellence of our music and performances, as well as in the

communities in which we live. DWC was the #rst women’s chorus to perform at a GALA festival

in 1986, and has performed at each of the following 7 GALA Festivals, National Conferences,

Local Festivals, Public Schools, across the state and in major concert halls across the country,

including Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center in New York. DWC has been proud to bring new

music to the women’s choral community through more than 7 original commissions and many

compositions and arrangements written speci#cally for and often by the chorus. The Denver

Women’s Chorus recorded 4 CDs for the public including Where I Live, a major work on breast

cancer. They have sung all types of music from Classical, Madrigal and Modern to Jazz, Folk and

Blues, from Rock, Pop and Broadway to Barbershop, Chants and Bulgarian. DWC has not been

limited by a style of music but rather use every style to convey a message and give the audience

an experience that they will remember. They tell stories about environmental, social, health

and how they are all women’s issues. The Chorus is rich in its diversity with the eldest members

who have lived a lifetime and young women who are just starting their lives. They have families

that include spouses, wives, husbands, children, parents, friends and pets. DWC believes that

music should challenge and inspire us towards individual growth and dynamic engagement in

enriching the entire community; the chorus, our audience, and beyond.

SOUNDINGS 2014/15 | COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG PROGRAM 11

POPS BIOGRAPHIES

First Soprano

Alicia Burtard Angie Durlin Caroline Yates Cathy Noland Connie North Courtney Squire Dorthy Peter Ena Logan Gwen Balk Janice TildenJennifer Maupin Jennifer Johnson Jessica Knoedler Laura Reed Lyndsey Lane Megan Hawthorn Sue Knight

Second Soprano

Ann Foster Angie StevensBecky Bright Carolyn Burtner Cecelia Thomas Clacy Olson Emily BeerJennifer Abeyta Jewell Cochran Julia Steadham Julie Korhonen Karen Aase Lane Wake Lauren GrenzLucy Ellsworth Lucy Reyes

Meghan Morris Michelle Busse Mollye Barrett Monet Leleua Pamela Coen Patricia O’Brien Patricia Shea&er Rachel Richards Rebekah Whittaker Renee Ellis Sarah Blizzard Stephanie Jauregui Stephanie Sandoval Sarah TL Waugh V McDougall

First Alto

Alison Dozier Amber Cantorna Angela Gilbert Ann Afton Ann Chamberlin Breana Romero Carri Ratazzi Cheryl Hamilton Clarsa McElhaney Diana Martinez Dianna Orf GwenEllyn Nordquist Indra Lusero Janice Arey Janice Bowen Jennifer Bell Jennifer Baldwin Jessica Christensen Kalima Knapp

Kathryn Woods Krystalyn Goodson Martha Everett Mary PalmerMegan Waples Michelle Gebhart Niki Horino Osharae Steadham Paula Dinwiddie Rosemary Aitken Susan Whittlesey Yael Shalom

Second Alto

Alyson Daly Ariel DeFazio Barb Jensen Barbara Eberhardt Beth Wienski Chantel Spann Dominique Malik Jada Petersen Jude Gassaway Kareen McCollough Kareena Rae Romero Karen Aviles Karen Edson Leah Klein Lisa Brotz Liz Tredennick Megan Geigle Michelle Bressette Petra Bennett Sarah Lehan Val Durfee

THE DENVER WOMEN’S CHORUS

Mark Zwilling, Artistic DirectorAlison Dozier, Assistant DirectorBeth DeBoer, Principal Accompanist

“Haul Out the Jolly”

Friday, December 5, 2014 at 7:30 pm

“Making Spirits Bright”

Friday, December 12, 2014 at 7:30 pm

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 7:30 pm

“Space Oddity: Broadway and Beyond”

“All You Need is Love - The Music of The Beatles”

Friday, March 20, 2015 at 7:30 pm

“Stand Tall - Sing Out - THE PRIDE CONCERT”

For tickets and more information visit www.rmarts.org or call 303-325-3959

Concert Series of the Rocky Mountain Arts Association

ROCKY MOUNTAIN

l - Sing Out - THE PRIDE CONCERT”l - Sing Out - THE PRIDE CONCERT”“Stand Tall - Sing Out - THE PRIDE CONCERT”

For tickets and more information visit www.rmarts.org or call 303-325-3959