saturday, january 18, 2020 @ 7:30pm sunday, …...everybody needs to clap hands and be happy....

present

Saturday, January 18, 2020 @ 7:30PMSunday, January 19, 2020 @ 3PM

Rodrick DixonTenor

Alfreda BurkeSoprano

Karen Marie RichardsonAlto

Conductor: Suzanne Mallare Acton

Too Hot Choir Director: Bill Fraher

Concept: Marin Alsop

Co-Arrangers and Orchestrators: Bob Christianson and Gary Anderson

Stage Manager: Ellen Peck

Production Coordinator: Stephen Sell

Lighting Design: Pat Donahue, Jr.

Musical Contractor: Sylvia de la Cerna

Celebrating 15 Years in Chicago!

Please join us by the stage immediately following the Sunday matinee performance for a Q&A with the artists of Too Hot.

THANK YOU TO OUR 2020FRIENDS OF TOO HOT TO HANDELGeneva and Robert CallowayTammy and Rob CampbellGwendolyn CohenJoan Colmar and Mitchell SabshonMarie and David DicksonPatti Eylar and Charlie GardnerShelley and William FarleyJudie and Richard GreenHermene Hartman, Chair Emeritus

Renee and Mel KattenDr. Paul LisnekHelen Hall MelchiorMargaret and Dave RadeletDave Samber and Darrell WindleJanice Van Dyke and John ZeilstraNike B. Whitcomb and the late Jim McKechnie

TO BECOME A FRIEND OF TOO HOT TO HANDELor to support the production, please contact Kelly S. Allen at 312.341.2364 or ksaro� @auditoriumtheatre.org.

AuditoriumTheatre.org

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.

THANK YOU TO OUR 2020

TOO HOt TO HANDELSPONSORS

Photos by Kristie Kahns.

Media Sponsor

Student Matinee SponsorsEducational Outreach Sponsor

Presenting Sponsors

Darrell Windle & Dave Samber

2019–20 Season Support Provided By:

O� cial Hotel Partner O� cial Magazine Sponsor

JANUARY 18+19, 2020 | TOO HOT TO HANDEL | 3

PROGRAM

PART ISinfony

Comfort Ye

Every Valley

And the Glory of the Lord

Thus Said the Lord

But Who May Abide

And He Shall Purify

Behold, A Virgin Shall Conceive

O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion

For Behold, Darkness Shall Cover the Earth

The People That Walked in Darkness

For Unto Us a Child Is Born

There Were Shepherds Abiding in the Field

And Suddenly There Was with the Angel

Glory to God

INTERMISSION

PART IIRejoice Greatly, O Daughter of Zion

Then Shall the Eyes of the Blind Be Opened

He Shall Feed His Flock

His Yoke Is Easy

Behold, the Lamb of God

Surely He Hath Borne Our Griefs (with David Vaughn, bass baritone)

All We Like Sheep

Behold, I Tell You a Mystery

The Trumpet Shall Sound

The Lord Gave the Word

Why Do the Nations So Furiously Rage

Hallelujah!

“Everybody has the blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved.

Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

In music, especially this broad category called jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these.”

—Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., program notes for the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival

4 | TOO HOT TO HANDEL | JANUARY 18+19, 2020

POETRY CONTEST

Each year, the Auditorium Theatre invites students from across the Chicagoland area to participate in the annual Too Hot to Handel Poetry Contest, asking them to respond to the

prompt “How has my community shaped me?” Three finalists are selected to read their poems on stage before one of the Too Hot performances, including the Student Matinee.

Here are the winning entries for 2020!

Peace EverywhereBy Jaylene Denill Lopez, 5th grade student at Charles R. Henderson Elementary School

My community is peaceful, quiet, calm, and nice I feel calm here The sun rises beautifully The day is nice The wind blows The air is refreshing I lay in the grass and look up at the clouds I make faces with it, animals with it I feel free, relaxed, and calm I have energy to do anything I get up to look and smell the beautiful flowers There’s peace everywhere

We Are a Community!By Maya Fields, 7th grade student at William T. Sherman Elementary School

My community has shaped me Into a creative person

In my community we care For each other and love each other

Here we care, hope, and We have the potential to be anything we dream

My community is full of joy Joy makes me feel comfortable And makes me want to laugh

My hope is that we continue with this pattern To make sure we continue this pattern

I will do my part

I will continue to love and care and hope

We are a community!


POETRY CONTEST

My CommunityBy Reniyah Gales, 7th grade student at William T. Sherman Elementary School

My community has made me an intelligent person My community is brave and majestic In my community, we encourage each other We pray and we learn

Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream”

My dream is that my community always be this way My hope is that we never change I will have faith and try to make it happen Because this is my community

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BRINGING TOO HOT TO CHICAGO

Celebrating 15 Years of Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah in Chicago!

Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah had its Chicago premiere at the Auditorium Theatre in 2006. It was not the first time selections from this landmark jazz-gospel arrangement of Handel’s Messiah had been heard in the city. Bill Fraher, the music director at Old St. Patrick’s Church, was impressed with the power and emotion of the unique jazz-gospel arrangement when he attended a performance of Too Hot in New York City in 1998 starring Rodrick Dixon (a featured soloist in the Chicago production). In 2000, Fraher subsequently introduced and directed several Too Hot pieces at the Old St. Patrick’s Church annual Christmas concert, Deck the Hall. When the Auditorium Theatre hired Brett Batterson as its new Executive Director in 2004, Batterson knew there were certain shows he had been involved with at the Michigan Opera Theatre in Detroit that he wanted to produce in Chicago. Chief among them was Too Hot. Immediately upon landing in the city, he contacted his friends Rodrick Dixon and Alfreda Burke and began discussing bringing the show to the Auditorium. In addition, he contacted his former Detroit colleague, conductor Suzanne Mallare Acton, and brought her on board for the Chicago production.

Knowing how enthusiastic Batterson was about Too Hot, Dixon introduced Batterson to Fraher and suggested Fraher serve as the director of the Too Hot choir in Chicago. Batterson and Fraher hit it off immediately and the connection between the Auditorium and Old St. Patrick’s was forged. Acton suggested bringing in some members of the Rackham Symphony Choir (RSC), the choir she led in Detroit, as they would already be familiar with the difficult music. Fraher also auditioned local Chicagoans, as he continues to do today, in order to create the volunteer all-city Too Hot Choir that performs with the RSC.

“[The Messiah] is a great story, but I also think that it requires some kind of audience participation. It becomes an active listening experience when you’re allowed to stand up or clap your hands,” said Too Hot co-creator and original conductor Marin Alsop, who wanted to turn the performance into a participatory event. The creative team of Alsop, Gary Anderson, and Bob Christianson, who created this gospel and jazz adaptation of the Messiah in 1992, decided their version would encompass jazz, gospel, rock, and funk — to “break the classical sound barrier.” The result is a swinging performance of the traditional oratorio. Acton suggests that audiences listen for the basic melodic and harmonic outlines of Handel’s original composition that co-arrangers Christianson and Anderson creatively highlighted and reinvented by using scat, back beats, jazz and gospel vocals, instrumental improvisation, and the walking bass line played by the bass soloist. The recitatives, with their improvisatory style in Messiah, have been expanded to shout-and-response improvisations over a gospel organ and piano accompaniment. The use of the drum set is actually a natural progression from the metrical music of Messiah. The result is that Too Hot, with its jazz and gospel elements, acts as a modern day musical tribute to the original work by introducing a new generation to Handel’s masterpiece.

The final piece of the puzzle in bringing Too Hot to Chicago fell to the leadership of the Auditorium Theatre. Led by at the time by then Chairman Mel Katten, the Auditorium Theatre Board of Directors was asked by Batterson to invest money in a totally unknown project and to commit to that investment over a number of years while the audience grew (as Batterson, Dixon, Burke, Fraher, and Acton knew it would). Katten and the Board made that leap of faith, and Too Hot was launched in Chicago to honor the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. on a cold, snowy weekend in 2006. Now, thanks to the continued support of Auditorium Theatre Board and staff, Too Hot celebrates its 15th anniversary in Chicago.

We are proud to present today’s performance, and we know you will leave the theatre singing and swaying, like everyone who has experienced Too Hot before you.

Article courtesy of the Auditorium Theatre, Rackham Symphony Choir, and Chicago’s Old St. Patrick’s Church.


BIOGRAPHIES

Rodrick Dixon (Tenor) possesses a tenor voice of extraordinary range and versatility that has earned him the respect and attention of leading conductors, orchestras, and opera companies throughout North America.

Dixon’s 2019-20 Season includes the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI as Erik in Der Fliegender Hollander, conducted by James Conlon and broadcast on BBC Radio 3; performing the role of the Shaman in the premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe’s Healing Tones, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin of the Philadephia Orchestra; a debut with the Orquestra Sinfonica do Estado de Sao Paulo, conducted by Marin Alsop; and a return to Cincinnati Symphony in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with Louis Langree. Dixon’s other debuts include the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Ken Lam, and the

Greensboro Symphony and South Dakota Symphony, performing Beethoven’s 9th Symphony. Dixon has received invitations to perform for the Glen Gould Foundation Gala honoring Jessye Norman in Toronto and for a private event with the Royal Philharmonic in London. Upcoming appearances in 2020 also include performances at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

Dixon recently made his St. Louis Symphony Orchestra debut in Wagner’s Der Fliegende Hollander as Erik, under the baton of David Robertson. Other notable opera credits include Los Angeles Opera in the title role of Zemlinsky’s Der Zwerg and Walter von der Vogelweid in Wagner’s Tannhauser. Additional credits include Michigan opera Theatre and Todi Music Festival productions of Donizetti’s La Fille Du Regiment as Tonio; Todi Music Opera production of Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin as Lenski, Portland Opera in the title role of Offenbach’s Les Contes d’Hoffmann; Cincinatti Opera as the Duke in Verdi’s Rigoletto; and Opera Southwest in the title role of Rossini’s Othello. Dixon played the role of Sportin’ Life in the Virginia Opera’s tour of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.

On the concert stage, Dixon is a regular guest of the Cincinnati May Festival, where he has performed Orff’s Carmina Burana, Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex, Janácek’s Glagolitic Mass, Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied, and many others. He made his Philadelphia Orchestra debut in the title role of Der Zwerg, conducted by James Conlon, and was tenor soloist for the world premiere of Hannibal Lokumbe’s One Land, One River, One People, conducted by Yannick Séguin. Dixon played the title role in Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex at the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Sydney Arts Festival, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen and directed by Peter Sellars. He made his Ravinia Festival debut singing Rossini Arias under the baton of Christoph Eschenbach and Rachmaninoff’s The Bells and Mahler’s Das Klagende Lied under the baton of Maestro Conlon. He has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra at Blossom Music Center as Sportin’ Life in Bennett’s suites of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess; with the Atlanta Symphony for its Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration, conducted by Robert Spano; and at the Vail Music Festival to perform in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and a Bernstein program, conducted by Marin Alsop. Dixon has filmed, recorded, and concertized works by composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor with the Longfellow Chorus. Other notable performances include the Choral Arts Society of Music as the Celebrant in Bernstein’s Mass at the Kennedy Center; a return to Carnegie Hall to debut with the American Symphony Orchestra in Frederick Delius’ A Mass of Life; Cincinnati May Festival as a featured soloist in a new work by Alvin Singleton; Philadelphia Orchestra at Saratoga Performing Arts Center in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony under the baton of Stéphane Denève; Trilogy Opera in the role of Loge in Das Rheingold and Odinga in Kenyatta; and Hannibal Lokume’s world premiere of Crucifixion Resurrection at Mother Bethal AME Church, commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra.

A gifted recitalist, Dixon earned rave reviews for his Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert broadcast, honoring Roland Hayes on WFMT-FM. He has also presented pre-concert recitals at the Cincinnati May Festival for multiple years; completed a 30-city tour for Community Concerts; and performed the duet concert Following in the Footsteps at Hampton University with wife, soprano Alfreda Burke, with whom he has also appeared in duet recitals for the Umbria Music Festival in Italy. The couple performed and participated in the Mandla Mandela and Miss World delegation Rise Against Hunger campaign, honoring the legacy of President Nelson Mandela. Dixon’s notable concerts with tenors Victor Cook and Thomas Young include performances at the Kodak Theatre with Barbra Streisand; Barry Manilow; Aretha Franklin’s dedication concert at the renaming of a Detroit Park after her father Pastor C.L. Franklin; the Atlanta Symphony; LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl with the Irish Tenors; Cincinnati Symphony; Pittsburgh Symphony; Dayton Philharmonic; Colorado Symphony; Phoenix Symphony Orchestra; West Virginia Symphony; Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Millennium Park; Elgin Symphony; Rackham Symphony Chorus; and the Concordia Orchestra at Lincoln Center.

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BIOGRAPHIES

Alfreda Burke (Soprano) has a voice that has been described as “voluptuous, creamy, and luxuriant” by the Chicago Tribune. She has appeared in concert throughout North America and Europe. Burke made her Carnegie and Orchestra Hall debuts in Strauss’ Elektra with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, led by Daniel Barenboim. Highlighted performances include the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia under Erich Kunzel; Cincinnati Pops Symphony Orchestra; Michigan Opera Theatre/Detroit Symphony Orchestra/Rackham Choir; Royal Philharmonic (London); Prague Philharmonic; Umbria Music Festival (Italy); TodiMusicFest (US); Miss World 2012, 2014, 2016 (China, UK, US); Nkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, Miss World Beauty With A Purpose and Rise Against Hunger Gala events in 2017 (South Africa); Holders Season Gala (Barbados); Lancaster Festival; Corrales Cultural Arts Council (New Mexico); Grant Park Music Festival; Millennium Park

Gala; Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra; Kennedy Center; Auditorium Theatre; Auditorium Theatre 125th Living the History celebration; Orpheum Theatre (Memphis); Chicago Opera Theater; Chorus Angelorum; Chicagoland Pops Orchestra; Old St. Patrick’s Siamsa na nGael; and the NATO Chicago Summit, among others. Burke filmed the Prague PBS special Hallelujah Broadway (Mind the Gap Films, Dublin) and recorded it on the EMI/Manhattan Records label (Czech National Symphony Orchestra Studios, Prague). Burke and Rodrick Dixon sang at the historical inauguration of Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot at Chicago’s Wintrust Arena in 2019. She is honored to be a Historic Maker and a permanent part of their collection at the Library of Congress. Burke’s oratorio, opera, concert, and musical theatre engagements include the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts broadcast on WFMT-FM; Mozart’s Requiem, Mass in C Minor and Coronation Mass in C Major; Handel’s Messiah; Mendelssohn’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Beethoven’s Mass in C; Poulenc’s Gloria; Schubert’s Mass in G; Mahler’s 2nd and 8th Symphonies; Strauss’ Elektra; Puccini’s Turandot (Liu); Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta; Barber’s Knoxville: Summer of 1915; Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors; Rutter’s Requiem; Vaughan Williams’ Dona Nobis Pacem; Boulez’s Le Visage Nuptial, under the baton of Pierre Boulez; Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess; Bernstein’s West Side Story; Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary Magdalene); Christianson and Anderson’s Too Hot to Handel; and Kern’s Show Boat (Kennedy Center/national tour and at Auditorium Theatre with her son, Dean), directed by Harold “Hal” Prince. A cycle of Paul Laurence Dunbar songs was written for Burke by Dr. Edward Hart of the College of Charleston in 2015, in addition to spiritual settings arranged for her by Belford Hernandez in 2017. She was featured in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Symphony Center Inaugural Festival and Radiothon. She has also performed for Francis Cardinal George, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, and the Office for Immigrant Affairs’ Keep Hope Alive benefit. Burke’s work in recordings, music video, television, radio, film, and commercials includes soprano vocals on the Dawa movies soundtrack featuring Ramsey Lewis, Maestro James Mack, and members of the CSO; a Bobby Lewis release; Celine Dion and R. Kelly’s I’m Your Angel video; and numerous classical/crossover, sacred/secular profiles and broadcasts. Films include The Visit, The Visitors, Unconditional Love, and U.S. Marshals. Burke has made guest soloist appearances on the WTTW/Odyssey broadcast of 30 Good Minutes and performed the National Anthem for the Chicago Bulls and Chicago Fire. Burke received rave reviews for the Community Concerts national tour and Following in the Footsteps concert with tenor Rodrick Dixon. Her discography includes her solo debut CD From the Heart and Hallelujah Broadway (EMI/Manhattan Records). She recorded and performed the Chicago Olympic 2016 Bid Anthem “I Will Stand” at the Millennium Park Gala and served on the city’s Arts & Culture Advisory Council. Recent and upcoming engagements include productions of Too Hot to Handel at the Michigan Opera Theatre/Rackham Choir (18 years) and the Auditorium Theatre (15 years), where the production will be livestreamed to prisons across the country, thanks to the Auditorium Theatre and Elmhurst Christian Reformed Church; Orpheum Theatre (Memphis); City Lights Orchestra; Deck the Hall; Variety Children’s Charity Telethon; Tuba Bach Festival; Hannibal Lokumbe’s Crucifixion Resurrection; the Royal Philharmonic (London); and the Auditorium Theatre and DiBurke, Inc. co-produced duo show and subsequent CD release. Burke received master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music from Roosevelt University and served as Alumna Ambassador for Roosevelt’s 60th Anniversary. She currently serves on the Roosevelt University Chicago College of Performing Arts Advisory Board as the Community Engagement Committee Chair and served on the Auditorium Theatre’s 125th Anniversary Season Committee. Visit SopranoAlfredaBurke.com and TheHistoryMakers.org. Follow Burke on Facebook and Twitter at @AlfredaBurke17.

The talent, support, and encouragement of Alfreda Burke’s beloved parents ignited her passion for music. Her performances are dedicated to the life, love, legacy, and cherished memory of Pastor John H. Burke Jr. and First Lady Mamie R. Burke.


BIOGRAPHIES

Karen Marie Richardson (Alto) is a songwriter, vocal arranger, actress, educator, and musician and a Chicago native who is known nationally for her vocals. She has performed in Too Hot to Handel as the alto soloist at the Auditorium Theatre and Detroit Opera House for the last 10 seasons. She is currently starring in the Off-Broadway sensation Sleep No More as jazz chanteuse Stella Sinclair, where she has sung duets with P!nk and John Legend. Richardson can also be seen as the Canteen Chanteuse in the movie adaptation of the Michael John Lachiusa musical Hello Again. She appeared on television in 2015 and 2016, vocally supporting Grammy Award-nominated artist Andra Day on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Wendy Williams Show, Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, and Live With Kelly. She was featured in the pilot episode of Vinyl on HBO, directed by Martin Scorsese. Richardson is one of the few artists to

perform in Duke Ellington’s Queenie Pie in the title role (at the Long Beach Opera and Chicago Opera Theater). She portrayed the Queen of Night in the “Baz Dazzled” series at Barneys New York under the direction of Baz Luhrmann. She can also be seen on YouTube as a featured vocalist in a few viral videos. She holds a BFA in musical theatre from Millikin University. Richardson would like to dedicate her performance to Linda Shaver-Gleason.

Alvin B. Waddles, (Piano) is a native Detroiter. He studied at the Interlochen Arts Academy and the University of Michigan School of Music. After completing his formal education, he returned to the Detroit area and immediately immersed himself in the rich musical culture of the city, benefiting from the diverse influences that would eventually shape his own unique style.

Waddles has delighted Detroit music lovers with performances in a variety of musical events, including the Detroit International Jazz Festival and the Detroit International Jazz Festival; the Detroit Festival of the Arts; the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival; and Arts, Beats, and Eats.

Waddles’ engagements as a soloist and featured artist have taken him to a variety of destinations, including Barbados, Beijing, Paris, Barcelona, and Ghana. He has also traveled extensively as musical director/pianist for Cook, Dixon, and Young.

Suzanne Mallare Acton (Conductor) is known for her versatility and dynamic style, with a repertoire that ranges from opera to jazz. For Michigan Opera Theatre, Acton’s conducting credits include West Side Story, Il Barbiere di Siviglia, The Music Man, The Pirates of Penzance, The Mikado, La Bohème, Die Fledermaus, La Traviata, A Little Night Music, The Daughter of the Regiment, Carmina Burana with members of the Cirque du Soleil, The Medium, View from the Bridge, Frida, and Les Pêcheurs de Perles.

Additional opera credits include My Fair Lady and La Traviata for Dayton Opera; The Merry Widow and Madama Butterfly for Artpark; La Traviata, Gianni Schicchi and L’Elisir D’Amore for Verdi Opera Theatre; Il Barbiere di Siviglia, La Traviata, and Carmen for the Wharton Center; Cavalleria Rusticana for Friends of the Opera; and Tosca for Augusta

Opera. Symphonic concerts include the Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, the Birmingham-Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, The Lexington Bach Festival, the Dearborn Symphony Orchestra, and the Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra.

Acton is also the Artistic and Music Director of Rackham Symphony Choir. Under her leadership, Rackham was awarded the 2008 Governor’s Award for Arts & Culture. Acton has been named by Corp! Magazine as one of Michigan’s 95 Most Powerful Women.


BIOGRAPHIES

Bill Fraher (Too Hot Choir Director) is a native of rural Illinois who has been making music since he was a child and conducting choirs since high school. He has served as pianist, organist, music director, and worship director at churches in St. Louis, Oakland, San Francisco, and the Chicago area. He was director of music at Chicago’s historic Old St. Patrick’s Church from 1991 to 2013. During that time, the music program expanded to include numerous liturgical choirs as well as a number of concert choirs that delighted audiences not only at Old St. Patrick’s Church, but at Chicago’s Symphony Center; Galway, Ireland’s Arts Festival; and the National Concert Hall of Ireland in Dublin. During his tenure, commissioned works came from Ireland’s Shaun Davey, Noel Eccles, and Liam Lawton and from Chicago’s Rory Cooney, Gary Fry, Scott Stevenson, and Ben Wedge. Fraher continues to be involved at Old St. Patrick’s Church as director of

concert choirs and programs. He is also music and artistic director, creator, and producer of Siamsa na nGael: A Celebration of the Celtic Arts, now in its 25th year.

This is Fraher’s 15th year as director of Chicago’s Too Hot Choir. Singers are welcomed from throughout the Chicago metropolitan area — from Hoffman Estates to Crown Pointe and Gary, IN; from Broadview to Lakeview; from Hyde Park to Lincoln Park to Oak Park; from Aurora to Harvey to Joliet; from the west side of the city to the north and south sides. If you would like to be a part of this wonderful, hardworking group of singers or for more information on any of the programs Fraher is involved in, please contact him at [email protected].

Chris Mahieu (Rehearsal Pianist) studied classical piano at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. Since then, his interests have led him to jazz and other styles of piano. He is an active performer in Chicago in both jazz and classical settings and has performed at venues including Chicago Jazz Fest, Jazz Showcase, the Green Mill, and Symphony Center. Outside of music, Mahieu is also a Registered Nurse and the father of two wonderful kids, ages 1 and 2.

Marin Alsop (Concept) is the Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Conductor of Honour at the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. She is the Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. She is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a music director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives.” She is recognized throughout the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages. Alsop is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.

Bob Christianson (Co-arranger and Orchestrator) is a musician, composer, arranger, and conductor. He scored HBO’s Sex and the City series and the series Wildlife Emergency for Animal Planet, and was nominated for an Emmy for his music for ABC Sports. Christianson received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY at Potsdam (Crane School of Music) and completed his graduate work in composition at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. After college, he started out in New York City as a musical director and conductor for Broadway shows, including Godspell, The Magic Show, and Gilda Radner — Live from New York. In the concert arena, he has had the good fortune to work on several projects with longtime friend Marin Alsop, his favorite being Too Hot to Handel with co-arranger Gary Anderson.

Gary Anderson (Co-arranger and Orchestrator) is an acclaimed composer, producer, and artist who has accumulated a wide range of work, from the world-known themes of ABC and CNN to the critically-acclaimed underscore for animations by Ralph Bakshi and Matt Groening. He has worked with legends from Frank Sinatra to Chaka Khan to Judy Collins. A summa cum laude graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Anderson began his career with a four-year tenure as a full-time professor at the world-renowned school. He was awarded his alma mater’s Outstanding Achievement Award and was named one of the college’s 50 outstanding graduates, along with fellow alumni Quincy Jones, Arif Mardin, Alf Clausen, and Gary Burton. In network and cable television, his music can be heard on ABC, CNN, CBS, PBS, NBC, and (not to forget Bart Simpson’s favorite) the theme from The Itchy and Scratchy Show.


ORCHESTRA AND JAZZ BAND

Too Hot Orchestra

Too Hot Jazz Band

Piano: Alvin Waddles Organ: Fred Hughes String Bass: Marion Hayden Electric Bass: James Simonson Electric Guitar: Alan Ayoub Drums: David Taylor

Violin IJenny Cappelli, ConcertmasterRika SekoKjersti NostbakkenEdith YokleyLori AshikawaBernardo Arias

Violin IIPaul Vanderwerf, PrincipalJeff YangBarbara FarleyLucinda Ali LandingSylvia de la CernaJennifer Dunne

ViolaDaniel Golden, PrincipalMichael HallRachel TaylorDaniel Taylor

CelloAlexa Muhly, Principal Jocelyn Shoulders Elizabeth Anderson Richard Yeo

BassMichael Hovnanian, Principal

SaxophoneGreg Ward, PrincipalMax Bessesen, Alto SaxophonePat Mallinger, Tenor SaxophoneWilliam Overton, Tenor SaxophoneJerry DiMuzio, Baritone Saxophone

French HornMelanie Cottle, Principal Michael BuckwalterDan O’Connell

TrumpetMark Olen, Principal Dave SpencerWilliam Denton

TromboneTracy Kirk, Principal Steve BerryMark Fry

TimpaniDave O’Fallon, Principal

PercussionRuben Alvarez, Principal


CHOIR

Too Hot ChoirBill Fraher

Choir Director

SopranoAlthea Ward-Curtis**Alyce ClaerbautAmy Roberts-PaethBeatrice BrooksBeth HafterBeth Deuel*Carolina Hernandez Carolyn E. HollinsCeleste AllenDebra HarveyDina SchenkElizabeth (Beth Anne) HostertGabriella Manolache**Gayle DieckGima VergaraGrace StauskasHolly FathJoan Crawford*Julie WilsonJuliet MelzerKaren SlawikKatie WinsonLinnetta TaylorLiz GassnerMarcella RichardsonMaria Brady**Marilyn TaylorRobin SpeaksRosalind JacksonSandra DavisSara LocatelliSharon RileyShelley HeardTracy MaddaloniVanessa Beavers

Alto Maureen Abele*Beth Adams*Beth Awerkamp**Judy DeKnockEmily Eichenhorn*Jean FishbeckSusan A. Fox*Yvonne Friday*Patricia GeraghtyLisa GilmoreShirley Hubert-Thompson Wendy Keebler*Carolen KingKelly KniffenLoryn KoganSandra KwasaJulia MarselleNancy MelvinTheda MickeyKimberly Minichiello**Patricia Minnick*Sara MurphyCheryl Murphy**Margo P. NanceAvice NelsonDeb Nero*Pamela OlsonSherrill PettifordGail PollardJudy PopovichMichelle Rathel**Jackie Roberson**Mary RobinsonLinda ScottAn ShapRobin Simon **Maretta SmithJoan SpornyVerlene WalkerRobyn WheelerHalema Younger

TenorMichael Boettcher*Norm CrattyKevin CurranPatrick GarnerKevin GloverSean Mallory**Heidi MorlockWesley Rizal**Raymond SchwarzkopfMike SpurlockLeslie Star**LeeAnn ThorntonKen Woodhouse

BaritoneSteven P. Pejuan*Will Yeats*

BassFrederick ButzenBruce Dopke**David FoltsDan Gardiner**John GubbinsKenneth HundrieserArthur JonesCarl McGeeRonald MorrisMichael Murphy **Michael PellecchiaDavid Peters

* Member of Rackham Symphony Choir, Detroit

** Steering Committee Member

The Too Hot Choir is a volunteer choir! For more information on joining this group of singers in future productions of Too Hot, please contact Bill Fraher at [email protected].


YEAR OF CHICAGO MUSIC

Year of Chicago Music

Chicago is a global music leader. Its musical heritage is legendary as the birthplace of house and gospel music, urban blues, and modern jazz, and today’s music scene is as

strong as ever, spanning across genres including hip hop, indie rock, experimental, jazz, Latinx, classical, and more.

It is for these reasons that Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot and Chicago's Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events have designated 2020 as the "Year of Chicago

Music."

The Auditorium Theatre is honored to present Too Hot to Handel: The Jazz-Gospel Messiah, a production that truly reflects the vibrancy and diversity of the city of

Chicago, as part of the "Year of Chicago Music"!

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TOO HOT ENGAGEMENT IN PRISONSK

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For the fourth year, the Auditorium Theatre continues its correctional facility and youth center engagement, working to expand the reach of Too Hot beyond the theatre walls.

This year, Auditorium Theatre Teaching Artists are hosting a series of one-hour Poetry Residencies at the Illinois Youth Center (IYC) in Chicago with residents from the Chicago center and IYC-Warrenville, connecting the messages of Too Hot with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s vision of a “beloved community.”

The Sunday performance of Too Hot will also be streamed to the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA.

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AMBASSADORS

Thank You to Our Too Hot to Handel Ambassadors

Ambassador Committee MembersRhonda E. Bell, Co-Chair

Vanessa M. Beavers

Jamella Biegal Tammy Campbell

Norm Cratty Aida R. Gibson Sean Mallory Margo Nance

Michelle Rathel Raymond Schwarzkopf

Joseph SmithRobin Speaks

Linnetta Taylor Marcella Thomas Halema Younger

These enthusiastic individuals help bring hundreds of people through our doors so they can experience the transformative power of these performances.

The Auditorium Theatre is immensely grateful for their assistance and support.

For more information about the Ambassadors program, please contact Chris Dorsey by phone at 312.341.2308

or via email at [email protected].

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Photo credits: Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Jacquelin Harris. Photo by Andrew Eccles.

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