Program - Women of Rock

SYMPHONY POPS

2018/19

2018/19 SEASON PRESENTING SPONSORS:

WOMEN OF ROCK COLORADO SYMPHONY CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor TRACKSUIT WEDDING ALI FRANKFURT, lead vocals ERICA BROWN, guest vocals STU MILLER, guitar/vocals LIBBY ANSCHUTZ, keyboards ROQUI LLUMA, bass TREVOR MARIOTTI, percussion JOSH SKELTON, guitar KENNY PASSARELLI, guest keyboards/trumpet Thursday, April 4, 2019, at 7:30 p.m.

Boettcher Concert Hall

Dolly Parton

9 to 5

Big Mama Thorton

Houndog

Joan Jett

I Love Rock & Roll

Whitney Houston

I Wanna Dance with Somebody

Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac)

The Chain

Annie Lennox

Walking On Broken Glass

Melissa Etheridge

I’m the Only One

Tina Turner (Ike &)

Proud Mary

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Thursday’s Concert is Gratefully Dedicated to Merle C. Chambers PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

SOUNDINGS

2018/19

PROGRAM 1

SYMPHONY POPS

2018/19

The Pretenders (Chrissy Hein)

Middle Of The Road

Gladys Night (& the Pips)

Midnight Train to Georgia

Pat Benatar

Hit Me With Your Best Shot

Aretha Franklin

You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman

Adele

Rolling In the Deep

Eurhythmics

Would I Lie To You

Pink! Try Donna Summer

Hot Stuff

Bonnie Raitt

Something to Talk About

Madonna Holiday Ike & Tina Turner

A Fool In Love

Janis Joplin

Piece of My Heart

Lady Gaga

Shallow

Tracksuit Wedding

Coming Home

PROGRAM 2

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G

SYMPHONY POPS BIOGRAPHIES CHRISTOPHER DRAGON, conductor Australian conductor Christopher Dragon is in his fourth season as the Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony. For three years he previously held the position of Assistant Conductor with the West Australian Symphony Orchestra, which gave him the opportunity to work closely with Principal Conductor Asher Fisch. Dragon works regularly in Australia and has guest conducted the Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and West Australian Symphony Orchestras. His 2015 debut performance at the Sydney Opera House with Josh Pyke and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra was released on album by ABC Music and won an ARIA the following year. Dragon’s international guest conducting includes the Orquestra Sinfônica de Porto Alegre, the San Diego Symphony Orchestra and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted at numerous festivals including the Breckenridge and Bangalow Music Festivals, with both resulting in immediate re-invitations. At the beginning of 2016 Dragon conducted Wynton Marsalis’ Swing Symphony as part of the Perth International Arts Festival alongside Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra. Dragon began his conducting studies in 2011 and was a member of the prestigious Symphony Services International Conductor Development Program in Australia under the guidance of course director Christopher Seaman.

He has also studied with numerous distinguished conductors including Leonid Grin, Paavo and Neeme Järvi at the Järvi Summer Festival, Fabio Luisi at the Pacific Music Festival, and conducting pedagogue Jorma Panula.

S TAY

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COLORADOSYMPHONY.ORG SOUNDINGS

2018/19

PROGRAM 3

SYMPHONY POPS BIOGRAPHIES

PHOTO: KIRSTEN COHEN

TRACKSUIT WEDDING It’s not every day a band comes along that’s as comfortable playing big local rooms as it is in the lineup of national festivals. Tracksuit Wedding, Denver’s premier vintage rock / funk / blues powerhouse, makes both look easy. Tracksuit Wedding is the brainchild of keyboardist Libby Anschutz and lead singer Ali Frankfurt. Conceived in 2013, the band brings together seasoned players from all over the Denver scene, celebrating the universal truth that a band’s primary objective is to get a groove going. After years of mixing funk, soul and blues, Tracksuit Wedding made the decision to ground its sound in its rock roots, adding mutli-instrumentalist and former Fire In The Asylum bassist Roqui Lluma to the mix. Lluma brings a diverse set of influences – from classical, jazz, Latin and rock – to her new role in Tracksuit Wedding. Her unique style and experience playing all over the U.S. and Latin America was the kick in the pants the band needed to solidify its powerful musical personality. “She has a powerful presence on stage,” says Anschutz. “She’s really raising the bar for Tracksuit Wedding’s live experience.” With Lluma in tow, Tracksuit Wedding has become an even greater force in Colorado music. And that comes from experience.

The members of Tracksuit Wedding are familiar faces at Colorado venues, both as fans of local, live music and as hard-working musicians. Frankfurt is a veteran of the scene, having fronted the gritty punk / hard rock group The Blackouts for many years. It may seem like an odd move from the heavy side of the spectrum to the groove-based, party atmosphere of Tracksuit Wedding, but for Frankfurt, the only thing that matters is the music. “It’s definitely been an evolution,” says Frankfurt. “That’s what defines us, the melding of styles.” That combination of influences and sounds is what makes Tracksuit Wedding stand out. The band’s original tunes are at once familiar and fresh, the perfect combination of the good old days of loose, low-fi, bluesy rock and the well-honed professionalism of seasoned musicians. “Over the years of playing together we have experimented with lots of added instrumentation and backup vocals,” says Anschutz. “For 2017 we have stripped some of that away to simplify our sound and write energizing rock songs that people will want to move to. This is the sound we’ve been searching for.”

PROGRAM 4

C O L O R A D O SY M P H O N Y.O R G