Program Notes: A Colorado Christmas

HOLIDAY 2022/23

A COLORADO CHRISTMAS

TAYLOR MARTIN, conductor

DEVIN DESANTIS, vocalist CHRISTINE MILD, vocalist

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS, MARY LOUISE BURKE, director

COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE, EMILY CRILE, artistic director

Friday, December 9, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 10, 2022, at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, December 10, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Sunday, December 11, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. Boettcher Concert Hall

Arr. Don Sebesky A Christmas Scherzo

Arr. Samuel Lancaster Welcome All! Welcome Here!

Arr. Mack Wilberg One December, Bright and Clear

Arr. Mack Wilberg Fum, Fum, Fum!

Ola Gjeilo Gloria

Arr. Gary Fry O Holy Night Lowry/Greene Mary, Did You Know?

Arr. Courtney

Arr. Matt Riley We Three Kings

G. F. Handel Hallelujah Chorus (Messiah)

G. F. Handel Comfort Ye/ For Unto Us (Too Hot to Handel)

Arr. Christianson/Anderson

Arr. Gary Fry Hark! the Herald Angels Sing —INTERMISSION—

Friday’s perFormance is dedicated to Kathie & Keith Finger sunday’s perFormance is dedicated to FranK & Jeanne trainer

HOLIDAY 2022/23

William Mathias Welcome, Yule

Pyotr Tchaikovsky Trepak (Nutcracker)

Donald Sosin The Day Before Christmas

Meredith Willson It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas Arr. Kerr

Stanley/Taylor/Brooks The Man With the Bag

Donny Hathaway This Christmas

Leroy Anderson Sleigh Ride

Arr. Gary Fry Snow Place Like Home Sager/Foster The Prayer

Matthew Sklar SparkleJollyTwinkleJingley (Elf) Arr. Beck

Silvestri/ Ballard God Bless Us Everyone (A Christmas Carol) Arr. Martin

Special appearance by Brad and Susie Bolton

Special thanks to Phil Hiester, lighting designer

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 31 MINUTES WITH A 20 MINUTE INTERMISSION

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 8 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES

TAYLOR MARTIN, conductor

Taylor Martin has served as Associate Conductor of the Colorado Symphony Chorus since 2017. He made his Colorado Symphony conducting debut with Handel’s Messiah in 2019 and has been the conductor of the Colorado Symphony’s A Colorado Christmas since 2020. In the summer of 2022, Taylor conducted the Symphony Chorus for a concert tour of Austria, which included Bruckner’s Te Deum. In addition, he has prepared the chorus for multiple pops concerts. Taylor is the Artistic Director of ELUS, an innovative chamber choir. His passion for creative and thought-provoking programming has led the ensemble to considerable acclaim for their immersive presentations of repertoire ranging from great orchestral masterworks to new, imaginative works for unaccompanied choir.

DEVIN DESANTIS, vocalist

Devin DeSantis is happy to be back hosting A Colorado Christmas for a sixth year. Hailing from Arvada, Colorado, Devin grew up as a proud member of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, and started his solo career with the Colorado Symphony at the age of 11 in Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, conducted by Marin Alsop, He now lives and works as a performing artist in Chicago, though he has the honor of working all over the country. Favorite professional credits include: Charlie Price in Kinky Boots, Tommy in The Who’s Tommy (Jeff Award Nomination Best Actor), Marius in Les Miserables (Jeff Award Nomination Best Supporting Actor), Prince Eric in Disney’s The Little Mermaid, and Corny Collins in Hairspray, Britt Craig/Young Soldier in Parade, Dr. Frankenstein in Young Frankenstein, Frederick in Pirates of Penzance, Nanki-Poo in Hot Mikado, Buddy in the first regional post-broadway production of Side Show, Frank Churchill in Emma, Matthew in Altar Boyz Chicago, Anyone Can Whistle starring Patti LuPone and Audra McDonald, and The Most Happy Fella starring George Hearn. He was a singer for four years in The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes at the world-renowned Radio City Music Hall. He is a graduate of Northwestern University’s School of Music, and a proud member of Actor’s Equity. He is a lead singer with the Bluewater Kings Band in Chicago, a member of The Four C Notes: a Tribute to Franki Valli and the Four Seasons, and an adoption consultant with RG Adoption Consultants—helping people all over the country grow their families through adoption. Have courage and be kind.

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES

CHRISTINE MILD, vocalist

Christine Mild is a Chicago-based actress, singer, and performer. She attended Northwestern University as a Theatre major, with a concentration in Music Theatre, and has worked professionally as an Actor’s Equity member for 18 years. She has studied classical voice with Marie Michuda and is known for her vocal versatility: classical, country, pop, gospel, music theatre, rock, and standards. Christine has performed in musical productions around the country in regional and touring productions, most notably the titular role in Always, Patsy Cline, Company, Les Misérables, Nunsense, Cats, White Christmas, 9 to 5, Godspell, and Galati/Flaherty’s Loving Repeating: a Musical of Gertrude Stein. She performs regularly with multiple bands in Chicago: The BlueWater Kings, The Yacht Rock’ettes, and Martin & Mild, a folk duo. Her debut album, “Love Is Everything,” is available on all online music platforms.

MARY LOUISE BURKE,

Symphony Chorus

Mary Louise Burke is in her 29th season as Principal Associate Director of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. In addition to assisting Chorus Director Duain Wolfe, she also prepares the chorus for various Colorado Symphony pops concerts and special projects, including Too Hot to Handel. In the summer of 2022, she conducted the Symphony chorus on their concert tour of Austria. She has worked as the Associate Director of the Colorado Children’s Chorale, participating in hundreds of concerts and dozens of the Chorale’s regional, national and international tours. She was also Vocal Director of the Children’s Chorale, where she provided specialized vocal coaching and opera preparation. With an expertise in vocal technique, Burke frequently conducts seminars in vocal and choral techniques for area church and community choirs. She is the Vocal Advisor at Montview Presbyterian Church and has taught classes in Find Your Authentic Voice at the University of Denver. She has a Doctorate in Voice Performance and Pedagogy from the University of Colorado.

creative director for A Colorado Christmas, principal associate director, Colorado

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS

The 2022/23 Colorado Symphony concert season marks the 39th season of the Colorado Symphony Chorus. Founded in 1984 by Duain Wolfe at the request of Gaetano Delogu, then the Music Director of the Symphony, the chorus has grown into a nationally respected ensemble. This outstanding chorus of volunteers joins the Colorado Symphony for numerous performances each year, to repeated critical acclaim.

The Chorus has performed at noted music festivals in the Rocky Mountain region, including the Colorado Music Festival, the Grand Teton Music Festival, and the Bravo! Vail Music Festival, where it has performed with the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the Dallas Symphony, under conductors Alan Gilbert, Hans Graf, Jaap van Zweden, Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Fabio Luisi. For over twenty five years, the Chorus was featured at the world-renowned Aspen Music Festival, performing many great masterworks under the baton of conductors Lawrence Foster, James Levine, Murry Sidlin, Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, and Robert Spano.

Among the eight recordings the Colorado Symphony Chorus has made is a NAXOS release of Roy Harris’s Symphony No. 4. The Chorus is also featured on a Hyperion release of the Vaughan Williams Dona Nobis Pacem and Stephen Hough’s Missa Mirabilis. Most recently, the Colorado Symphony and Chorus released a world-premiere recording of William Hill’s The Raven.

In 2009, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the chorus, Duain Wolfe conducted the chorus on a three-country, two-week concert tour of Europe, presenting the Verdi Requiem in Budapest, Vienna, Litomysl and Prague; in 2016 the chorus returned to Europe for concerts in Paris, Strasbourg and Munich featuring the Fauré Requiem. In the summer of 2022, the Chorus toured Austria, performing to great acclaim in Vienna, Graz and Salzburg.

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES

COLORADO SYMPHONY CHORUS

Duain Wolfe, Founding Director and Conductor

Mary Louise Burke, Principal Associate Director and Conductor

Taylor Martin, Associate Director and Conductor

Jared Joseph, Conducting Intern Hsiao-Ling Lin and ShaoChun Tsai Schneider, pianists Eric Israelson, Chorus Manager/Librarian Barbara Porter, Associate Chorus Managers

SOPRANO

Ascani, Lori Atchison, René Blum, Jude Bowen, Alex Brauchli, Margot Causey, Denelda Coberly, Ruth Coberly, Sarah Collins, Suzanne Collums, Angie Cote, Kerry Dakkouri, Claudia Eck, Emily Emerich, Kate Ewert, Gracie Galante, Leontine Gaskill, Andria Gile, Jenifer Gill, Lori Graber, Susan Headrick, Alaina Heintzkill, Mary-Therese Hittle, Erin Irigoyen, Alicia Jones, Kaitlyn Jorden, Cameron Kermgard, Lindsey Kinnischtzke, Meghan Kraft, Lisa Kushnir, Marina Linder, Dana Look, Cathy Machusko, Rebecca Montigne, Erin Maupin, Anne Moraskie, Wendy Nyholm, Christine O’Nan, Jeannette Peterson, Jodie Pflug, Kim

Porter, Barbara Rae, Donneve Ropa, Lori Roth, Sarah Sladovnik, Roberta Tate, Judy Timme, Sydney Von Roedern, Susan Walker, Marcia Wall, Alison Wise, Rebecca Woodrow, Sandy Wuertz, Karen Zisler, Joan

ALTO Adams, Priscilla Berganza, Brenda Braud, Charlotte Chatfield, Cass Conrad, Jayne Cox, Martha Darone, Janie Fairchild, Raleigh Friedman, Anna Gayley, Sharon Golden, Daniela Groom, Gabriella Guittar, Pat Haller, Emily Haxton, Sheri Hoopes, Kaia Hoskins, Hansi Jackson, Brandy Janasko, Ellen Kaminske, Christine Kim, Annette LeBaron, Andrea London, Carole Long, Tinsley Maltzahn, Joanna

McWaters, Susan Nordenholz, Kristen Owens, Sheri Parsons, Jill Peltier, Sydney Rudolph, Kathi Scarselli, Elizabeth Stevenson, Melanie Thaler, Deanna Thayer, Mary Tiggelaar, Clara Trubetskoy, Kimberly Virtue, Pat Worthington, Evin York, Beth TENOR Babcock, Gary Bowman, Ryan Carlson, James Davies, Dusty Dinkel, Jack Fuehrer, Roger Gale, John Gordon, Frank Guittar, Forrest Hodel, David Hughes, Tony Ibrahim, Sami Johnson, Trey Kolm, Kenneth McCracken, Todd Milligan, Tom Moraskie, Richard Muesing, Garvis Myers, Lucas Nicholas, Timothy Rangel, Miguel Rehberg, Dallas Richardson, Tyler Roach, Eugene

Ruth, Ronald Seamans, Andrew Shaw, Kyle Sims, Jerry Stohlmann, Phillip Thompson, Hannis Zimmerman, Kenneth BASS Adams, John Friedlander, Robert Gray, Matthew Grossman, Chris Griffin, Tim Hesse, Douglas Highbaugh, David Hunt, Leonard Israelson, Eric Jackson, Terry Jirak, Thomas Jones, John Joseph, Jared Lingenfelter, Paul Mehta, Nalin Molberg, Matthew Morrison, Greg Nuccio, Gene Phillips, John Pilcher, Ben Potter, Tom Quarles, Kenneth Richards, Joshua Skillings, Russell Smedberg, Matthew Struthers, David Swanson, Wil

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES

EMILY CRILE, artistic director, Colorado Children’s Chorale

Emily Crile exhibits her passion and enthusiasm for choral music through developing and conducting singers of all ages. She currently directs Tour Choir, a premier treble ensemble. During the past 22 years with the Chorale, she has directed Prep, Apprentice and Transitions Choirs, worked with Concert and Tour Choirs, prepared children for appearances with the Colorado Symphony, Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, and Colorado Ballet, and toured throughout Australia, China, Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. With a commitment to equitable access for high quality music education, she crafted, led, and administered School Partnership and Community Choir programs across the Denver Metro area and earned a certification in Facilitating Effective DEI Discussions from Dena Samuels Consulting. Emily serves as the current President of the Colorado American Choral Director’s Association and is an active choral clinician and presenter throughout the United States. Prior to joining the Chorale in 2000, she served as an Assistant Conductor with the Northern Iowa Children’s Choir. She holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder.

COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE

The Colorado Children’s Chorale has been performing with the Colorado Symphony and Chorus on A Colorado Christmas for 39 years. With a diverse repertoire ranging from fully staged opera and musical theater to standard choral compositions in classical, folk, and popular traditions, the Chorale performs with an innovative stage presentation and a unique theatrical spirit. In recognition of its artistic quality, the Chorale was awarded the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Mayor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts and the prestigious El Pomar Award for Excellence in Arts and Humanities. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Emily Crile and Executive Director Meg Steitz, the Colorado Children’s Chorale annually trains 300 members between the ages of 7 and 14 from all ethnicities and socio-economic backgrounds representing more than 150 schools in the Denver metro area and beyond. Since its founding, the Chorale has sung countless performances with some of the world’s finest performing arts organizations, performed for numerous dignitaries, and appeared in television and radio broadcasts. The Performance Program includes a series of self-produced concerts, numerous performances with other Colorado arts organizations and touring around the world. This season the Chorale presents Merry and Bright and Time to Shine at Boettcher Concert Hall, as well as So Many Voices, Performing Small Miracles, and Spring Fling Sing! in venues across the metro area. Chorale children will also take to the stage in Amahl and the Night Visitors with Central City Opera and Turandot with Opera Colorado.

HOLIDAY BIOGRAPHIES

COLORADO CHILDREN’S CHORALE

Emily Crile, Artistic Director

Victoria Bailey, Assistant Conductor

TOUR CHOIR

Tre Appleton

Keaton Bau

Kinsley Bau

Soren Baugher

Alice Britton

Saniyah Brooks

Maddi Burm

Annon Camero

Francesca Casaverde Marin

Nelle Collier

Carly Crile Anika Dande

Nick Diamond Finn Donahue

Ellie Eckstine

Brian Erickson

Havi Flores

Camilla Franklin

Lorena Franklin

Carmen Gomez

Charlotte Gort

Junah Graf

Olivia Gramlich

Portia Hansen

Silas Helton Hannah Hoffman

Joseph Kraus

Samuel Kraus

Jack Lee Cam Lewis

Soliah Maceo

Eli Maize

Kenny Millard

Bianca Morris

Christina Mulryan

Abby Musser

Grace Neubeiser

Kason Nicholas

Aubrey O’Neill

Clara Paterson

Katelyn Patterson

Taytum Peterson Emmy Pouliot

Avie Powers

Marion Powers

Mary Kate Reagan-Wilson Macy Sampson Isabella Sandoval Hari Shamos

Cora Shoup

Drew Shoup Ayden Sidwell

Tori Southworth

Joshua Taylor Lovely Tilon Gavin Ulmer Davina Wang Gabe Ward

Ella Williams Conor Winburn

Jonah Winburn Bailey Winn Caroline Wolfinger Sarah Yang Johnson Zhu

CONCERT CHOIR

Gianna Accardi Ian Briones

Reilly Butler

Cordelia Cheever Alessia Cheong Terra Darnell

Savannah Davenport Maggie Davis Zoe Davis

Iola Higdon Ethan Horner

Bryce Amelia Hunt

Addie Hutchinson

Maggie Inderrieden Oliver Irons Mayura Iyengar

Norma Jackson

Ayomide Jaiyesimi Addie Jewell Mike Jui

Alyssa Klein

Helen Knight

Vivian Kowalski

Jane Lanoha

Gracie Lee Evan Lewis

Emma Livingston Abby Lucente

Kade Matsumoto Gretchen Meredith Kait Millhollin Andika Muljadi Nick Nagle Caroline Nelson Gwen Nicholas Abby Nichols Aiana Ochoa Parker Olson Alex Osaka

McKenna Pardieck Io Partch Meg Politte Riley Powers

Molly Reagan-Wilson Grayson Riek

Monroe Rippe Elijah Rosen Gabriel Salaz Juliette Schneider Clara Seigle Mae Shamos Dale Southworth Emily Stone

Katie Tkachenko Kristina Tkachenko

Avery Turner Geneva Waanders

Madeline Walker Harmony Webb

Ava Williams Colton Williams Andrew Zhao