FAMILY 2021/22
2021/22 SEASON PRESENTING SPONSOR:
LIFT EVERY VOICE PERFORMED BY YOUR COLORADO SYMPHONY SCOTT O’NEIL, conductor FRANKIE LE’TROY, spoken word poet OMAR THOMAS, composer CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE COMPANY FIESTA COLORADO DANCE COMPANY Sunday, April 24, 2022 at 2:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall
BEETHOVEN/arr. Karajan
“Ode to Joy” from Beethoven Symphony No. 9
PRICE
Symphony No. 1 in E minor, Mvt. III Juba Dance
MOZART
Eine kleine Nachtmusik, Mvt. 1 Allegro (excerpt)
MONCAYO
Huapango
ANNA CLYNE
Restless Oceans
LECUONA
“Malagueña” from Andalucia Suite
BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 7, op. 92, Mvt. 2
OMAR THOMAS
Of Our New Day Begun
FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 7 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!
Tonight's concert brought to you by Genessee Mountain Foundation
PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY PROGRAM IV
C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G
FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES SCOTT O'NEIL, conductor As a conductor, Scott O’Neil recently completed a nine-year tenure as Resident Conductor with the Colorado Symphony in Denver. During his time there he performed with some of the classical world’s elite soloists, such as Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Pinchas Zukerman, Lang Lang, Van Cliburn, Christopher O’Riley, Cameron Carpenter and Sharon Isbin, as well as leaders in the larger musical world, such as Steve Vai, Chris Botti, Bela Fleck, Victor Wooten, Tracy Silverman, Eileen Ivers, Sarah McLachlan, Ben Folds, Ingrid Michaelson, Amos Lee, Rufus Wainwright, Gregory Alan Isakov, Devotchka, The Lumineers, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Susan Egan and Will Chase. Mr. O’Neil has also created and developed an extensive series of concerts, entitled Inside the Score, which combine art, entertainment and enlightenment to engage audiences in explorations of a wide variety of music and ideas. Under the umbrella of Inside the Score fall a number of sub-series, including biography (Letters from Mozart, The Best of Beethoven, Brahms: A Life in Music, Rachmaninoff: From Tragedy to Triumph), individual masterpieces (Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony – This I Believe!, Eroica!, Beethoven’s Fifth, Stravinsky’s Petrushka, Debussy’s La mer, the “The Debussy Code”) and a cross-genre concert – Shuffle – which includes everything from Bach, Elgar, and Prokofiev to Metheny, Björk, and Philip Glass, as well as a feature concert with cross-over artist Kip Winger. (Once the front man for the band Winger, he now composes “classical” music reminiscent of Honegger and Messiaen.) In this vein, O’Neil has also presented Masterworks programs with “cross-over” elements, notably featuring Victor Wooten, performing the premiere of his own Bass Whisperer concerto, co-written with Conni Ellisor. Mr. O’Neil’s engaging manner in addressing audiences has led to extensive speaking engagements, including a TED-talk on music he composed for Arrow Electronics. As an arranger/orchestrator, Mr. O’Neil has created and orchestrated numerous works for the Colorado Symphony (Arrow: Five Years Out! – an original composition, Pat Metheny’s “The First Circle” as well as Minuano, Björk’s Overture, “107 Steps” and “New World,” a live version of Philip Glass’s Changing Opinions); he has also written orchestrations for Ingrid Michaelson, Eileen Ivers and Bela Fleck. Scott O’Neil continues to guest conduct and to lead his own ensemble, the Rosetta Music Society, in Denver, creating new, innovative programming and constantly seeking to draw wider audiences to live performances of music from Bach to today’s cutting-edge artists.
FRANKIE LE’TROY, spoken word poet Frankie Le’Troy is an internationally recognized poet. As a child, Frankie suffered a severe speech impediment which caused him to have to re-learn how to speak as an adult. He gives full credit to God for his miraculous healing. Frankie’s first poems have been shared around the U.S and also in Europe and Africa. His poems have also been used for course study at Minnesota University. Appearing in several documentaries including the film ‘Transcending Stuttering’, Frankie has become an ambassador for anyone who has been afraid to share their voice. He has become a professional actor landing a role in the Netflix film ‘Amateur’. His poems are known for their illustrative rhymes and passion that create a story he delivers to his audience. In Frankie’s words “He was the boy who couldn’t talk, now he is the man of many words”. PROGRAM V SOUNDINGS 2 0 2 1/ 2 2
FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES CLEO PARKER ROBINSON DANCE COMPANY Currently celebrating its 51st Anniversary Season, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance is an international performing arts and education institution rooted in African-American traditions, dedicated to excellence in providing cross-cultural instruction, performances, and enrichment programs - empowering all our communities by cultivating healthy mind, body, and spirit development for intergenerational students, artists, and audiences. Viewing dance as a universal language of movement that transcends boundaries of culture, class, and age, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance is committed to honoring diversity and inclusiveness throughout the global community. Cleo II was founded in 2011 in Denver, Colorado. This pre-professional training ensemble focuses on developing young adult dancers in preparation for entering the professional field of dance. The company’s major focuses are community outreach and education, technical development and the cultivation of artistic excellence.
LIST OF DANCERS: Cleo II: Sadie Sandoval, Emma Cory, Lauren Slaughter, Rashad Crane
CLEO PARKER ROBINSON, choreographer Cleo Parker Robinson is founder and artistic director of the 51-year-old Denver-based Cleo Parker Robinson Dance (CPRD), encompassing the renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (CPRDE), Cleo II (her 2nd company), a Youth Ensemble, an Academy of Dance, an International Summer Dance Institute, a 240-seat theatre, and multiple community engagement programs nationally and internationally. A master teacher/ choreographer and cultural ambassador, she and CPRDE have performed nationwide and throughout Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, and the African continent, with recent international tours in 2019 to Bogota, Colombia, and Mexico. Ms. Parker Robinson’s numerous accolades include the Colorado Governor’s Award for Excellence (1974), Denver Mayor’s Award (1979), induction into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame (1989) and the Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame (1994). She holds Honorary Doctorates from Denver University (1991), Colorado College (2003), Regis University in Denver (2008), an Alumni Award from University of Denver (2021), CU Boulder (2021), and is an Honorary Member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (2021). In 2011, she was voted an Honorary Lifetime Trustee of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, in recognition of her lasting impact on the Center. In June 2017, she received the prestigious DanceUSA Honor Award and in September 2017, the Randy Weeks Arts Leadership Award from the Denver School of the Arts. Ms. Robinson has served on NEA panels on Dance, Expansion Arts, Arts America, and Inter-Arts panels for the USIS, and for the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts as well as other national task forces, boards, and committees. In April 1999, she was appointed by then-President William Jefferson Clinton, with Senate confirmation, to serve for four years on the National PROGRAM VI
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FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES Council on the Arts, a 14-member panel advising the Chairman of the NEA on agency policy and programs, reviewing and making recommendations on grant applications. Ms. Parker Robinson has returned to her greatest passion as a choreographer since 2011, creating Dreamcatchers: The Untold Stories of the Americas and the world premiere of Romeo and Juliet, in collaboration with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. On the Edge… Reaching to Higher Ground (October of 2014) addressed resurging racial and human rights infractions world-wide. She re-staged two works (Spring 2017), melding classical and jazz composition with modern dance – Romeo and Juliet and Porgy and Bess. Copacetic: A Tribute to Jonathon “JP” Parker (Fall 2017) honored her late father. Lark Ascending (Spring 2018) was a collaboration with the Boulder Philharmonic. Rhapsody in Black, a collaboration with CPRD Associate Artistic Director, Winifred R. Harris, premiered at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts, University of Denver. In January 2019, in collaboration with the Denver Brass, she choreographed an innovative interpretation of Bernstein’s On the Town and Spring 2019 saw a collaboration with the Colorado Ballet entitled The MOVE/ment as part of the Tour de Force series at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Center for the Performing Arts. In 2019, she set a work on CPRDE alum Gary Abbot’s UMKC students, entitled Check Cashing Day in tribute to the jazz genius of Bobby Watson and Milt Abel. In August 2021, she premiered Standing On the Shoulders, a work commissioned by the Vail Dance Festival. September 2021 saw the debut of Freedom Dance, created with jazz icon Dianne Reeves and CPRD co-founder and poet, Schyleen Qualls and in October 2021, she premiered R.I.Power, commissioned by the Colorado College Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs.
CEDRIC DEWAYNE HALL, rehearsal director Cedric was featured in numerous musicals including “The Wiz”, “West Side Story” and “Footloose”, and has worked with renowned choreographers Terrance Greene, Dianne McIntyre, Gary Abbott, and Kevin “Iega” Jeff. After twelve seasons with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Mr, Hall is now an integral member of the CPRD Education Outreach program. He also remains on faculty with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Academy and is Rehearsal Director for Cleo II.
FIESTA COLORADO DANCE COMPANY The Fiesta Colorado Dance Company is the premier and most recognized Hispanic Dance Company of Colorado. The company is directed by, Denver native, Jeanette Trujillo-Lucero. Originally formed in 1972, Fiesta Colorado celebrates 45 years of Mexican and Spanish dance in Denver. The Fiesta Colorado Dance Company was awarded the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2006 for its service to the community and for excellence in the preservation of the Hispanic Arts.
FIESTA COLORADO DANCERS Estrella Acosta-Alire, Jessina Amaya, Carlos Aparicio, Eric Arellaño, Jessica Cabral, Thelma Cardeñas, Gabriela Duran, Aliya Garcia, Albert Jimerson, Jesus Martinez, Jonas Peña, Valentina Ruiz-Solis and Jeanette Trujillo-Lucero SOUNDINGS
2 0 2 1 / 2 2 PROGRAM VII
FAMILY BIOGRAPHIES JEANETTE TRUJILLO-LUCERO, founder, choreographer The founder of Fiesta Colorado & Spanish Dance Soloist: Jeanette is a native of Denver and is considered as a “Living Legend of Dance in Colorado” by the Dance Archive Library, which was awarded by the Colorado Dance Alliance from the University of Denver. Her photos can be seen in the Pulitzer nominated book “Hispanic Cultures of the Southwest“ by Dr. Arthur Campa. She has performed classical, traditional, Mexican and Spanish dance with the Colorado Symphony since the 1980. She has studied with legendary Mexican & Spanish dance masters. For her personal contributions in dance, Jeanette received the Mayor’s Award for Excellent in the Arts in 1997. Most recently, in 2017, Jeanette received the Latina Trailblazer Award from the Latina’s First Foundation and the Luminaria Recognition Award from the Latino Leadership Institute. In 2021, Jeanette was awarded the John Madden Jr. Lifetime achievement award by Colorado Business Committee for the Arts. She recognized by her dance artistry and has performed throughout the Southwest her entire life. Jeanette is also known for being a fabulous maestro of dance and was honored as an Outstanding Teacher from Think 360 Arts in 2019. Her great success is through her Fiesta Colorado Dance Company where she has taught thousands of dancers… many of them to become some of the best dancers in the world. This year she will be recognized as an official “Corn Mother” with her story be honored by the Colorado History Museum.
OMAR THOMAS, composer Described as "elegant, beautiful, sophisticated, intense, and crystal clear in emotional intent," the music of Omar Thomas continues to move listeners everywhere it is performed. Born to Guyanese parents in Brooklyn, New York in 1984, Omar moved to Boston in 2006 to pursue a Master of Music in Jazz Composition at the New England Conservatory of Music after studying Music Education at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He is the protégé of lauded composers and educators Ken Schaphorst and Frank Carlberg, and has studied under multiple Grammy-winning composer and bandleader Maria Schneider. Hailed by Herbie Hancock as showing "great promise as a new voice in the further development of jazz in the future," educator, arranger, and award-winning composer Omar Thomas has created music extensively in the contemporary jazz ensemble idiom. It was while completing his Master of Music Degree that he was appointed the position of Assistant Professor of Harmony at Berklee College of Music at the surprisingly young age of 23. He was awarded the ASCAP Young Jazz Composers Award in 2008, and invited by the ASCAP Association to perform his music in their highly exclusive JaZzCap Showcase, held in New York City. In 2012, Omar was named the Boston Music Award's "Jazz Artist of the Year." Following his Berklee tenure, he served on faculty of the Music Theory department at The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. Now a Yamaha Master Educator, he is currently an Assistant Professor of Composition and Jazz Studies at The University of Texas at Austin. Omar's first album, "I AM," debuted at #1 on iTunes Jazz Charts and peaked at #13 on the Billboard Traditional Jazz Albums Chart. His second release, " We Will Know: An LGBT Civil Rigths Piece in Four Movements," has been hailed by Terri Lyne Carrington as being a "thought provoking, multi-layered masterpiece" which has "put him in the esteemed category of great artists." "We Will Know" was awarded two OUTMusic Awards, including "Album of the Year." For this work, Omar was named the 2014 Lavender Rhino Award recipient by The History Project, acknowledging his work as an up-and-coming activist in the Boston LGBTQ community. Says Terri Lyne: "Omar Thomas will prove to be one of the more important composer/arrangers of his time." PROGRAM VIII C O LO R A D O S Y M P H O N Y.O R G