2018–2019 SEASON 18-19 Sponsors | 5 Music Director | 8 Songs and Stories of Neil Diamond | 10 The Fiedler Tradition | 14 Ghostbusters | 19 Let’s Hang On! | 21 Orchestra Kentucky Personnel | 24 David Jones Artwork | 26-27 Orchestra Kentucky 3 4 www.orchestrakentucky.com Orchestra Kentucky 7 JEFFREY REED MUSIC DIRECTOR “A melody, a lyric, or a certain harmony can trigger memories,” says conductor Jeffrey Reed. 8 www.orchestrakentucky.com JEFFREY REED MUSIC DIRECTOR Reed has been bringing back the memories as music director of Orchestra Kentucky since he founded it in 2000. Sometimes combining classical and popular music, his concert presentations are singularly authentic, recreating the soundtracks of music’s greatest decades. From the 17th century to our time, his concerts celebrate anniversaries and music milestones, from Beethoven, Mahler and Stravinsky, to Elvis, The Beatles and The Carpenters, drawing on some of the nation’s brightest musical talent. Reed has worked with BJ Thomas, Larry Gatlin, Paul Williams, Peter Tork, Glen Campbell, Keith Emerson, Neil Sedaka, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis, Jr., Mary Wilson, Melissa Manchester, Chris Young, and many others in appearances with his own orchestra and orchestras in Milan (Italy), St. Petersburg (Russia), and South Korea. Reed has twice appeared with the Royal Philharmonic at London’s Royal Albert Hall at the specific request of Neil Sedaka. In the United States, Jeffrey Reed has conducted the orchestras of Alabama, Augusta, Charleston, Detroit, Knoxville, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville, Omaha, Phoenix, Portland (ME), Quad Cities (IA), Sacramento, South Bend and Winston-Salem. This season he will return to the Quad Cities and will appear for the first time with the Greensboro (NC) Symphony Orchestra. Reed has been involved in commissioning world premieres of classical works by legendary pop artists Neil Sedaka, Keith Emerson, Peter Tork, Jimmy Webb, and Italian pops sensation, Giovanni Allevi. His programming has been nationally recognized. Bestselling author and marketer Seth Godin singled out Jeffrey Reed in his best-selling study of new creativity, “Small is the New Big.” Godin praised his “clever” concerts and praised the “totally different way” Reed approaches programming. Reed is the only musician featured in the book. In 2015, the University of Louisville named Reed its Alumni Fellow for the School of Music in recognition of his distinguished work in his chosen field. In 2008, he received the Jefferson Award for public service in South Central Kentucky. In addition to his work with Orchestra Kentucky, Reed served as principal guest conductor of Symphony Orchestra Augusta and has also served as music director of the North Charleston Pops and the Murfreesboro Symphony. He is represented by agent Rachel Bowron. Orchestra Kentucky 9 SONGS & STORIES OF NEIL DIAMOND SEPTEMBER 22, 2018 | 7:30pm | SKyPAC Jeffrey Reed, conductor Jack Wright, lead vocals Heartlight Showband: Gordon Lustig, Arranger/Acoustic & Lead Guitar Chris Wills, Keyboards Marc Levine, Bass Guitar David Rokeach, Drums Prologue/Crunchy Granola Neil Diamond opened his most memorable concert series, Hot August Night 1972, with an elegant orchestral prologue that garnered a Grammy Award nomination for renowned film and television composer Lee Holdridge. Lee’s prologue segued into Neil’s quirky little song about a breakfast cereal – and a memorable marriage of classical and pop/rock music was made. Forever in Blue Jeans Solitary Man Play Me Song Sung Blue Kentucky Woman Stargazer Love on the Rocks If You Know What I Mean I’m a Believer I Am…I Said Shilo INTERMISSION 10 www.orchestrakentucky.com SONGS & STORIES OF NEIL DIAMOND SEPTEMBER 22, 2018 | 7:30pm | SKyPAC Dear Father Orchestra Kentucky comes to the fore in this soaring, dynamic original Lee Holdridge film score from Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973). Cherry, Cherry Cracklin’ Rosie September Morn Beautiful Noise Morningside Desiree Hello Again Holly Holy Sweet Caroline RETRO SERIES SPONSORED BY Jim & Darlene Johnson CONCERT SPONSORED BY CONCERT CO-SPONSORED BY Heart Strings & Chatters Orchestra Kentucky 11 GUEST ARTIST Jack Wright vocalist Jack Wright fell in love with the spotlight and the microphone as a small child, and the pure joy of being on the stage has been at the heart of his performing career for decades. The “entertainer” in him found expression from high school through college in musical theater and classical music performance. Following his success in one of the most challenging lead roles in musical theater, as Don Quixote in Man of La Mancha, he literally “took his act on the road.” During a continuous 13-year stint as a cover artist, he played to appreciative audiences in repeat bookings at luxury hotels and resorts throughout the U.S. and Canada. Neil Diamond songs were the big draw, and a sign of things to come. Before turning back to popular music, Jack made a completely unexpected transition to Contemporary Christian music. Part of the appeal was the wide-open opportunity to create original songs and arrangements in any genre – classical, pop, country, folk, jazz. He saw it as a chance to make a difference, eventually as a World Vision performing artist. Over the past decade, tribute acts have become a new musical genre. And paying homage to Neil Diamond, one of the most beloved performers in the past five decades, offered a new dream and a new challenge. Jack has emerged, not as an impersonator, but as a natural live performer of the best of Neil Diamond’s music. His voice is remarkably similar. His musical arrangements are accurate and powerful. His “gut feeling” for Neil’s music probably comes from the same place as it was originally written: a need to express life’s ups and downs, hopes and aspirations, love found and love lost – through words, melodies and expressive musical arrangements. It’s a natural fit. And it comes through, honestly and passionately in every performance. “I think a lot of the energy and emotions of Neil Diamond’s songs comes from his musical arrangements. The only way to do them justice is to recreate the original music as closely as possible – strings, bass, rhythm sections, woodwinds, brass; everything has to come together with that rich, full, romantic sound that underpins and enhances Neil’s poetic lyrics. I would like to thank Lee Holdridge for his support and encouragement in bringing my dream show to its fullest realization. –Jack Wright 12 www.orchestrakentucky.com PROTECTING THE WILDEST JUNGLES ON THE PLANET. MAIN STREET. PRESCHOOL. THE PLAYGROUND. The environment isn’t just some far off place. It’s the lawn under our feet, the food on our plate, and the air we breathe. To learn more, go to NRDC.org. And help protect the jungle creatures in your backyard. Because the environment is everywhere. Orchestra Kentucky 13 THE FIEDLER TRADITION OCTOBER 22, 2018 | 7:30pm | SKyPAC Jeffrey Reed, conductor Rachel Barton Pine, violin Rimsky-Korsakov Procession of the Nobles from Mlada Rimsky-Korsakov Flight of the Bumblebee from The Tsar Sultan Arr. Hayman Pops Hoedown Bizet/Sarasate Carmen Fantasy on Themes of Bizet Rachel Barton Pine, violin Anderson The Syncopated Clock Borodin Prince Igor: Polovtsian Dances INTERMISSION Williams The Cowboys Overture Arr. Williams Hooray for Hollywood Arr. Mancini Portrait of The Beatles Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture VARIETY SERIES SPONSORED BY The Haskins Foundation CONCERT CO-SPONSORED BY 14 www.orchestrakentucky.com GUEST ARTIST Rachel Barton Pine violin A leading interpreter of the great classical masterworks, violinist Rachel Barton Pine thrills audiences with her dazzling technique, lustrous tone, and emotional honesty. With an infectious joy in music-making and a passion for connecting historical research to performance, Pine transforms audiences’ experiences of classical music. Over the course of a career that began with her debut at the age of 10 with the Chicago Symphony, Pine has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s other most prestigious ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony, the Baltmore Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, and the Netherlands Radio Kamer Filharmonie. Unlike most contemporary violinists, Pine writes her own cadenzas to many of the works she performs. These cadenzas can be heard on her prolific discography of 36 CDs. With the publication of The Rachel Barton Pine Collection, Pine became the only living artist and first woman to join great musicians like Fritz Kreisler and Jascha Heifetz in Carl Fischer’s Masters Collection series. The winner of several of the world’s leading competitions, Pine was the youngest gold medal-winner ever at the J.S. Bach International Violin Competition. Her Rachel Barton Pine Foundation assists young artists through various projects, including the Instrument Loan Program, Grants for Education and Career, Global HeartStrings (supporting musicians in developing countries), and a curricular series in development with the University of Michigan, titled Music by Black Composers. She performs on the “ex-Bazzini ex-Soldat” Joseph Guarnerius del Gesu (Cremona 1742). Orchestra Kentucky 15 PROGRAM NOTES by Dr. Janet Bass Smith Boston Pops and Orchestra Kentucky Maestro Jeff Reed has always admired Arthur Fiedler, who conducted the Boston Pops for 50 years. Fiedler’s combination of light classical and popular music on the same program inspired Jeff to create what is now known as the Variety Series. Although Fiedler is most certainly known for performances of the popular music of his day, such as The Beatles, and novelties by Leroy Anderson and Richard Hayman, it is not commonly known that he sometimes included movements of symphonies or concertos on his programs. The great film composer, John Williams, who followed Fiedler with the Pops, continued this tradition. Jeff’s programs also continue Fielder’s tradition and account for much of Orchestra Kentucky’s growth over the last 18 years. In recognition of their influence on Orchestra Kentucky, tonight we pay tribute to the Boston Pops and its conductors, Arthur Fiedler and John Williams.