Artist Biographies

Christopher James Lees

resident conductor

Emerging American conductor Christopher James Lees brings passionate and nuanced orchestral performances to the stage, a fierce commitment to contemporary music, and a natural charisma to audiences all around the world.

In 2018, Mr. Lees began an appointment as Resident Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra and Principal Conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Youth Orchestra. In addition to the more than 50 annual concert appearances with the CSO, he has stepped in to conduct Subscription Classical performances on four occasions, including a gala weekend with Grammy Award winning artist and Jazz legend Branford Marsalis in May 2021.

An active guest conductor, Mr. Lees has returned for performances with the Los Angeles and Rochester Philharmonics, the Houston, Detroit, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Portland, and Flint Symphonies, and conducted debuts with the Indianapolis, Kansas City, Toledo, and Vermont Symphonies.

Additional engagements have taken him to the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestra de Chambre de Paris, Aspen Philharmonic Orchestra, Cabrillo Festival Orchestra, and at the Music in the Mountains Festival & Festival Internacional de Inverno de Campos do Jordão in Brazil.

Only the second American Gustavo Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Mr. Lees made his debut with the orchestra in April 2013 and returned for concerts in February 2015.

With the New York Philharmonic, St. Louis & Atlanta Symphonies, among others, Mr. Lees has served as assistant conductor for the world’s leading conductors, including: Gustavo Dudamel, Paavo Järvi, Herbert Blomstedt, Leonard Slatkin, David Robertson, Robert Spano, Marin Alsop, Pablo Heras-Casado, Stéphane Danève, Susanna Mälkki, and Nicholas McGegan.

A recipient of a Career Assistance Grant from the Solti Foundation US, Mr. Lees was also chosen for showcase on the Bruno Walter Memorial Foundation National Conductor Preview, hosted by the League of American Orchestras and Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

A dedicated advocate for music of our time, Mr. Lees has premiered more than one hundred fifty new works by a diverse range of composers, and collaborated closely with Pulitzer Prize winners John Adams, William Bolcom, John Corigliano, Jennifer Higdon, Joseph Schwantner, Steven Stucky, Caroline Shaw, Roger Reynolds, and Julia Wolfe.

An equally passionate advocate for music education, Mr. Lees has brought inspirational energy to student orchestras across the country, from the Colburn School to the New England Conservatory, and previously served on the faculties of the University of Michigan and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

A native of Washington, D.C., Mr. Lees holds bachelors and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan, and has studied conducting with Larry Rachleff and Robert Spano, as well as having participated in masterclasses with Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Gustav Meier, and Jorma Panula.

When not performing, Mr. Lees can be found building Lego sets with his six year old son, reading the stack of books by his nightstand, or training outdoors for his next 10K road race.

Alan Silvestri

composer

Composer Alan Silvestri has scored some of the most beloved and profitable films in Hollywood history, with over a hundred credits to date, earning him two Oscar and Golden Globe nominations, two Emmy awards and three Grammy awards. While stylistically diverse, his scores feature unmistakable rhythmic melodies that continue to embody cinematic excitement and drama for generations of moviegoers.

Born in New York City and raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, Silvestri’s first ambition was to become a bebop jazz guitarist. He studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, eventually finding his way to Hollywood at the age of 22, where he composed the scores for several successful low-budget films including The Doberman Gang and its sequel The Amazing Dobermans. This led to his composing the energetic, action-driven music for the hit TV series CHiPs, which caught the ear of budding filmmaker Robert Zemeckis. Their first collaboration, the 1984 film Romancing the Stone, was a runaway hit, and its success formed the basis of a decades-long composerdirector relationship that continues to this day. Their numerous collaborations include the jazzy world of Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, the time-travel adventure of Back to the Future 1, 2 and 3, the dramatic tension of What Lies Beneath, the dark comedy of Death Becomes Her, the cosmic wonder of Contact, the emotional isolation of Cast Away, the Wagnerian brawl of Beowulf, and the holiday magic of A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express, from which Silvestri’s original song “Believe” garnered an Oscar nomination. But perhaps no film defines their creative partnership better than Zemeckis’ 1994 Best Picture winner Forrest Gump, for which Silvestri’s gift for beautifully melodic themes earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Score.

Silvestri’s other films feature original scores in a wide range of styles and genres, including the hard-hitting percussive scores of Predator, Judge Dredd and James Cameron’s The Abyss, the thrilling effects-driven scores for The Mummy Returns and G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra, the ethnic rhythms of Soapdish and The Mexican, and the raucous fun of family films like Stuart Little 1 and 2, Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, and the Night at the Museum trilogy. Other credits include the romantic film noir The Bodyguard, edgy comedies like Mouse Hunt and heartfelt romantic comedies like The Father of the Bride 1 and 2, The Parent Trap and What Women Want. Silvestri has also proven adept at evoking the Wild West in Young Guns 2 and The Quick and the Dead, providing thrilling macho muscle for Van Helsing and The A-Team, and creating a dynamic musical soundscape for Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One. Silvestri’s longstanding collaboration with Marvel Studios has helped to propel a number of their films to spectacular world-wide success, including Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers, The Avengers: Infinity War and most recently The Avengers: Endgame, which broke all previous worldwide box office records to become the number one grossing film of all time.

In 2014 Silvestri won two Emmy awards for his music for Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, based on Carl Sagan’s original 1980 series and updated with the latest scientific discoveries as well as spectacular visual effects and animation. Sagan’s widow Ann Druyan, who co-wrote the original Cosmos series, served as an executive producer, writer and director, alongside executive producer Seth MacFarlane.

Silvestri and his wife Sandra are long-time residents of California’s central coast. The Silvestri family embarked on a new venture as the founders of Silvestri Vineyards, creating wines that show lovingly cultivated fruit has a music all its own. “There’s something about the elemental side of winemaking that appeals to me,” said the composer. “Both music making and wine making involve the blending of art and science. Just as each note brings its own voice to the melody, each vine brings its own unique personality to the wine.”

Whether in his studio or vineyard, Silvestri continues to find inspiration and passion for music, film, family and wine.

Glen Ballard

songwriter

Six-time Grammy Award winner Glen Ballard is one of popular music’s most accomplished producers and songwriters, whose records have sold more than one hundred and fifty million copies worldwide.

Through his Los Angeles-based company, Augury, Ballard is currently developing a diverse slate of projects in which music plays a central role. His most recent project is the Netflix Original series The Eddy, which debuted in May 2020. Ballard wrote and composed original songs and music for the limited series and also served as an executive producer.

Ballard wrote original lyrics and music for GHOST the Musical. Ballard is also writing songs for the stage version of the 1979 movie The Rose, to be produced by Gail Berman (The Jackal Group) and Michael Gorfaine and Sam Schwartz in association with Augury. In addition, Augury has a movie musical in development called Queen of Souls, an original story of Marie Laveau the Voudou Queen of New Orleans.

Ballard produced and co-wrote Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill” (33 million worldwide, four Grammys, and named Best Album of the Decade by Billboard Magazine). The musical Jagged Little Pill debuted on Broadway in Fall 2019 and was nominated for 15 Tony Awards.

He has written and produced songs for Quincy Jones, Aretha Franklin, Barbra Streisand, Dave Matthews, Shakira, Katy Perry, Idina Menzel, George Benson, George Strait, Wilson Phillips, Van Halen, Chaka Khan, Patti Austin, Al Jarreau, Andrea Bocelli and many others. His production credits include producing and arranging records for Annie Lennox, No Doubt and POD. Ballard co-wrote and arranged “Man in the Mirror” for Michael Jackson, and co-wrote and produced the Grammy-winning and Oscar-nominated song “Believe” (Josh Groban) for the feature film The Polar Express.

His work in film includes composing original songs for Charlotte’s Web, Beowulf, A Christmas Carol, The Croods, The Mummy Returns and Valentine’s Day.

ABOUT CINECONCERTS

CineConcerts is one of the leading producers of live and digital music experiences performed with visual media, and continues to redefine entertainment. Founded by Producer/ Conductor Justin Freer and Producer/Writer Brady Beaubien, CineConcerts will engage over 4.8 million people worldwide in concert presentations in over 1,749 performances in 48 countries through 2022, and recently launched CineConcerts +PLUS — a global digital network and app suite with hundreds of exclusive podcast episodes and produced content. CineConcerts continues to work with some of the most prestigious orchestras and venues in the world including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, and more. Recent and current live and digital concert experiences include Elf in Concert, The Pinball Concert (Digital), The Polar Express in Concert, Rudy in Concert, The Passion of the Christ in Concert, The Da Vinci Code in Concert, The Harry Potter Film Concert Series, Gladiator Live, The Godfather Live, It’s a Wonderful Life in Concert, DreamWorks Animation In Concert, Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage 50th Anniversary Concert Tour, Breakfast at Tiffany’s in Concert, and A Christmas Dream Live.

JUSTIN FREER President/Founder/Producer

BRADY BEAUBIEN Co-Founder/Producer

Managing Director JEFFERY SELLS

Head of Publicity and Communications ANDREW P. ALDERETE

Director of Operations ANDREW MCINTYRE

Senior Marketing Manager BRITTANY FONSECA

Senior Social Media Manager SI PENG

Worldwide Representation OPUS 3

Music Preparation JOANN KANE MUSIC SERVICE

Sound Remixing JUSTIN MOSHKEVICH IGLOO MUSIC STUDIOS