DISRUPTOR CONDUCTOR DIRECTED BY SHARON LEWIS PRODUCED BY IRON BAY MEDIA FOR MORE INFORMATION Noreen Hamid - Publicist [email protected] 647.404.8496 FILM SYNOPSIS Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser is an unlikely hero on a mission to create live orchestral shows that aren't just for the rich and fancy. Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser is one of the first openly gay black conductors in Canada. The child of a working-class Caribbean single mother, he was raised in Calgary, Alberta and he understands what it is to be an ‘other’. As he struggled with his sexuality, Bartholomew-Poyser turned to music for solace and finally found his voice as a conductor. He believes that the beauty and grace of music can unite and uplight all of us beyond race, class and gender barriers. Bartholomew-Poyser wants to use his musical power for good. In Disruptor, Conductor we see him on a mission to break down institutional walls and bring live orchestral music to millennials, people of colour, young people, LGBTQ, prisoners, refugees, students; anyone who identifies as ‘different’. “We're trying to bring music to everybody. Often times, when you heard these instruments, sometimes you had to go to a concert hall to hear it. We're trying to bring it out of the concert hall and just take it to wherever people are,” says Bartholomew-Poyser. Along with RuPaul’s Drag Race star, Thorgy Thor, Bartholomew-Poyser creates the first orchestral drag queen show in Canada. It’s a way to express all parts of himself at once; bringing old-world orchestra and his recently-discovered LGBTQ community together in harmonic union. TEASER SCENES CBC POV Disruptor Conductor premieres on CBC Docs POV, Thursday, September 5 at 9 p.m. (9:30 p.m. NT) on CBC and the free CBC Gem streaming service. CBC DOCS POV CBC’s point-of-view documentary series gets to the heart of issues that matter to Canadians. Celebrating the great Canadian tradition of documentary, Canada’s best filmmakers bring us films with compelling characters, harrowing tales and unforgettable moments. With unique and often unexpected access, these stories will ignite discussions and open dialogues about issues relevant in today’s society. CBC Docs social: Facebook: cbcdocs cbc.ca/cbcdocspov Twitter: cbcdocs Follow #CBCDocs Instagram: cbcdocs Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser From a young age, Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser turned to Daniel has performed with the San Francisco Symphony, orchestral music to bring light, beauty, and healing to his the Toronto Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Calgary personal and professional life. He isn't your typical Philharmonic, Hamilton Philharmonic, Edmonton conductor — Daniel has the vision and process to disrupt Symphony Orchestra, and Eastern Sierra Symphony. The the traditional ways orchestral music is experienced. 2019/2020 season is an exciting one for Daniel; he will debut with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and will The CBC/Iron Bay Media documentary Disruptor serve with the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Conductor captures what has been the biggest year of Centre as Cover Conductor. Daniel’s life, resulting in four concerts that include playing in a women's prison; conducting an Afro-fusion concert Currently holding a coveted position as the Artist in with an artist from the blockbuster film Black Panther; Residence and Community Ambassador at Symphony putting on the first orchestral drag show with “RuPaul's Nova Scotia, Daniel has recently been appointed to the Drag Race” celebrity contestant, Thorgy Thor; and Board of Orchestras Canada and is the chair of the creating a concert for people on the autism spectrum. Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility committee. Daniel earned his Bachelors in Music Performance and Facebook: daniel bartholomew-poyser Education from the University of Calgary, and received his Instagram: danielbartholomewpoyser Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England. He’s been awarded the Canada Council for the Arts Jean-Marie Beaudet Prize for Orchestral Conducting and has served as Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Thorgy Thor Thorgy Thor’s dream is to have her own Thorchestra. Her show with Daniel at Symphony Nova Scotia for Halifax Pride is one step closer to making that a reality. As Daniel looks for his place in his newly found LGBTQ community, Thorgy is trying to make room to be taken seriously as a classical violinist and celloist in the orchestral world. She now has that chance with Daniel leading the way with the Thorgy Thorchestra. The stakes are high for both of them. After spending the early years studying Violin, Viola, and Cello, Thorgy earned a dual degree in Violin and Viola Performance at HartSchool of Music and Purchase Conservatory. Over the last few years, Thorgy Thor has had the pleasure of playing violin with many recording artists including NYC legend Joey Arias, as well as performing with over 6 major orchestras, gracing the stages of Town Hall NYC, Le Poisson Rouge, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. What Thorgy is most well known for is her Season 8 appearance and reappearance in Season 10 on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Thorgy has said “It’s very important for me to present this and have it be something very special rather than be thrown together. I hate when things are After several unanswered emails, texts and phone calls, Daniel found out that thrown together. I think that’s why I might’ve appeared neurotic in RuPaul’s Drag Thorgy would be performing at Pride in St. Catherines, Ontario and drove over Race. I just want the Thorchestra to be so good.” This statement is a little bit 50 km to hunt her down—as Daniel called it, “the hunt for the drag queen.” He more than ironic given that Daniel has had to hunt Thorgy down to make plans caught up with her in the mall and in a drive back to her hotel, tried his last for the upcoming concert. attempt to secure her for the lineup for the performance. One day later, she texted Daniel to say she changed her mind—she was in. Sharon Lewis, Director Sharon Lewis’s directing talent successfully crisscrosses the genre of television, film, and theatre. Sharon has a history of helming projects that are groundbreaking and pioneering. She began the first theatre company run by and for women of color, called “Sugar’n’Spice”, and she co-wrote the theatre hit “sistahs”, which toured across Canada and the U.S. Sharon then moved into film and television, honing her directing skills in a variety of television genres. During that time, she directed award-winning shorts, including Chains, which aired on HBO and were showcased at a number of prestigious film festivals. Sharon's feature film debut, Brown Girl Begins, is an Afro-futurist sci-fi tale of a young black woman who saves her community through her connection to Caribbean spirits. The film has toured the world, garnering awards and recognition, including a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Lewis for Best Screenplay. She has recently completed her first feature documentary on Daniel Bartholomew- Poyser, the first openly gay, black conductor in Canada, called Disruptor Conductor. Sharon continues to direct episodic television and is currently working on the film adaptation of “sistahs”, slated for production in 2020. Her next feature documentary about the LGBTQ+ community's thriving after conversion therapy, With Wonder, will be released February 2020. Byron Kent Wong, Producer Justin Lovell, Cinematographer As a media producer and creative director, Byron has over two decades of Justin Lovell began in documentary and music video editing, later turning to creative development. He is the founder and lead of the Emmy-nominated VFX and design for MuchMusic, Ford, and features including Land of the production eco-system ZERO11ZERO/Iron Bay Media. Dead. Finding even more passion behind the camera, Justin honed his distinctive style as a cinematographer through his work with visual movement, He co-produced the globally syndicated music show, The NewMusic from composition, and natural lighting. 1997-1999 and went on to develop projects, programming, and creative with Michelle Obama, Gord Downie, The Crystal Method, The Eurythmics, Shooting around the world, his award-winning work has been celebrated at David Usher, David Bowie, Beck, New Order, Kendrick Lamar, Oscar- festivals such as Sundance, Berlin Nomos and ReelWorld; on broadcast with nominated producer Jerry Levitan, and Oscar-winner Mychael Danna. HBO, Bravo!, NBC, CBC, FOX, YTV, MTV, ESPN, and TSN; and online with Byron’s foray into feature film work first came through working with over ten million views of his work featuring athletes, musicians, martial artists, director and producer Clement Virgo and producer Damon D’Oliveira’s and world-class brands including Giorgio Armani, The Blue Jays, Choir!Choir! 2006 controversial Lie with Me and 2008’s Poor Boys Game, gaining the Choir!, Metric, BMW, Coors, ElectronicArts, RBC, and many more. team multiple award nominations including two Genie awards and Canadian Screen Awards. Justin shot the Emmy-nominated documentary Jason Day: Never Say Die, CBC Docs’ Player Zero, and has just completed two back-to-back feature In 2009, Byron produced the critically-acclaimed OffWorld, a fan and films with the teams from Suicide Squad, Triple X, and Netflix’s Marco Polo. festival favourite that received numerous awards including the ReelWorld He has been nominated by the Canadian Society of Cinematographers for his Best Feature of 2009. He has since produced two other feature films, Kill documentary work, and in 2017 he was nominated for a CSC award for his Order and On the Ropes, that are currently at market with global accomplishments in Lifestyle/Reality Cinematography.