Program Notes: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Tribute

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT 2022/23

DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. TRIBUTE

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DR. MLK, JR. HOLIDAY COMMISSION AND DENVER ARTS & VENUES SCOTT O'NEIL, conductor PURNELL STEEN AND THE FIVE POINTS AMBASSADORS

Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 7:30pm Boettcher Concert Hall

KEY Star Spangled Banner

JAMAL Night Mist Blues

Arr. BRIAN LAGUARDIA

TAYLOR I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free Arr. BRIAN LAGUARDIA

OMAR THOMAS Of Our New Day Begun

SCHLUGER/LEE I Love Being Here With You Arr. BRIAN LAGUARDIA

ELLINGTON Come Sunday Arr. SCOTT O’NEIL

PETERSON Hymn to Freedom Arr. SCOTT O’NEIL

LOES This Little Light of Mine Arr. BRIAN LAGUARDIA

TINDLEY We Shall Overcome Arr. SCOTT O’NEIL

CONCERT RUN TIME IS APPROXIMATELY 1 HOUR AND 30 MINUTES WITH A NO INTERMISSION PROUDLY SUPPORTED BY

FIRST TIME TO THE SYMPHONY? SEE PAGE 7 OF THIS PROGRAM FOR FAQ’S TO MAKE YOUR EXPERIENCE GREAT!

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT 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, Béla 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 combined art, entertainment and enlightenment to engage audiences in explorations of a wide variety of music and ideas. Under the umbrella of Inside the Score fell 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 Béla 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.

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT BIOGRAPHIES

PURNELL STEEN, piano

Purnell Steen is a Denver native who grew up in the Five Points neighborhood, and was educated in the Denver Public Schools and University of Colorado, Boulder. He began his musical career at the age of 4, studying piano with Mrs. Kathryn Cohron, a noted music teacher in East Denver. He continued his advanced Classical Piano studies with Dr. Antonia Brico, whose most famous student is folk singer Judy Collins. He also studied with Florence Lamont Hinman, founder of the Lamont School of Music, University of Denver.

Purnell began his music career at age 7, playing for the Children’s Choir of the historic Zion Baptist Church. He advanced to Youth Choir Accompanist at age 12, after having been featured in a solo Piano, Violin & Organ Recital at Zion. He began his organ studies at age 13, studying with Kathryn Cohron and Jim Bratton, and completed more than 40 years as Pianist/Accompanist at Zion Baptist Church.

After a tour of duty in Europe and North Africa with the United States Army, and having lived in Germany for another five years as a civilian, Purnell returned to Denver to resume his musical career. He has been the Musician at Berean Bible Church, Campbell AME Church, and Cure D’Ars Catholic Church. Currently Accompanist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in northeast Denver, Purnell loves church music of all genres, and brings a considerable knowledge of sacred music to his work in jazz and blues that, after all, have their roots in Black Gospel and African American Spiritual music. Purnell was the Pianist for the National Baptist Convention held in Denver, and also for the National Baptist Convention Congress of Christian Education. He played for the Alabama Delegation to the Democratic National Convention in 2008, as well as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Interfaith Services. During the turbulent 1960’s, he played for Dr. King in Birmingham, Alabama, as well as here in Denver.

For the last thirty-plus years, Purnell has performed jazz and blues “Five Points Style” as leader of Purnell Steen and LeJazz Machine, now known as Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors In September 2022, Purnell led the band spending a week playing and lecturing in Brest, France, as part of the Denver Sister City International Cultural Exchange program.

DEREK BANNACH, trumpet

Colorado native Derek Banach has performed trumpet professionally for 30 years in a variety of setting from Jazz to Hip-Hop, Salsa, Classical and Reggae. His roots are firmly set in the Hard-Bop stylings of 60’s period icons such as Lee Morgan, Freddie Hubbard and Woody Shaw. Derek’s quintet album “Tugende” displays his composing talents and personal approach to trumpet playing. He has recorded with Italian producer Nicola Conte, Quintetto X, Paul Mulliken and has performed with Wynton Marsalis, Richie Cole, Joe Bonner and Ron Miles. Derek is a regular with Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors, and toured with the band in Brest, France, in September 2022, as part of the Denver Sister City International Cultural Exchange program.

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT BIOGRAPHIES

RON BLAND, bassist

Ron Bland has been a professional musician for over forty years, playing virtually all styles of music in every setting from concert hall to theatre to the recording studio. Classically trained, Ron is at home on both the double bass and electric bass. He has performed with the Colorado Symphony and Colorado Springs Symphony Orchestras, as well as with jazz greats including Dizzy Gillespie, George Benson, Eddie Daniels, Billy Taylor and Doc Severinsen, in performance with Earth Wind and Fire, Yes, Andrea Bocelli, Pavarotti, Marvin Hamlisch, Linda Ronstadt, Rosemary Clooney, Billy Crystal and many others. He plays often in the pit for touring Broadway shows, including Legally Blonde, A Chorus Line and The Color Purple. In 2003, with the Denver Jazz Quartet, Ron performed as a featured headliner at the Queenstown International Jazz Festival in New Zealand. As part of the Rocky Mountain Trio & Park Hill Brass Nonet, Ron has performed at the Jazz in the Vercors Festival in Villard de Lans, France several times. He has also been a clinician for the workshop associated with the festival. Ron has performed extensively throughout the United States, including the 2001 Inaugural Ball in Washington D.C. Internationally, he has performed in Canada, Mexico, and Europe. A regular with Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors, Ron toured with the band in Brest, France, in September 2022, as part of the Denver Sister City International Cultural Exchange program. Ron is on the music faculty at Colorado Christian University & the University of Colorado at Denver. He has also been on the faculty at Metropolitan State University of Denver, DIME Denver & Colorado School of Mines. He teaches private applied lessons on acoustic and electric bass, ensembles, music theory, ear training, and a sightreading and improvisation class.

CARLOS CHAVEZ, saxophone

Denver native and North High School graduate, Carlos started playing saxophone at the age of 12, because it looked interesting and complicated. Carlos went on to study music at the University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Nevada Las Vegas. He has spent the last 40 years playing with a range of bands throughout the Denver metro area. Musical influences include Sonny Stitt, Lenny Pickett, and Clarence Clemons, to name just a few. He has performed with Charlie Burrell, Don Was, Bonnie Raitt and Kenny Loggins. Carlos loves all types of music, but has a soft spot for jazz, Latin, and funk. He has recently become infatuated with learning string instruments like cello and guitar, and is constantly improving his musical education and adding to his repertoire.

BILL LARSON, drums

Bill started life in International Falls, Minnesota, and became enamored with drums at age 9. After many opportunities to perform in school music programs, he began a steady performance career with professional musicians at the age of 16. Upon finishing High School, Bill moved to Los Angeles, California to study at the Musicians Institute, and graduated with honors in 1995. He moved to Denver in 1997, and joined the staff of the Colorado Music Institute in Centennial in 1998, and has been teaching drums there ever since. Over the years, in addition to his teaching career, Bill has played drums with most of Denver’s finest jazz, blues, and rock bands.

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT BIOGRAPHIES

VOHN ERIK REGENSBURGER, guitar

A guitarist, composer, arranger and conductor specializing in Brazilian music and orchestral film soundtracks. Currently, Vohn plays guitar for Purnell Steen and the Five Points Ambassadors. Performance highlights include: Tour of Brest, France at the Vauban and the Atlantique Jazz Festival, The Colorado Symphony, Telluride Jazz Festival, Winter Park Jazz Festival, Estes Park Jazz Fest, City Park Jazz Festival, Durango Jazz Festival, Breckenridge Music Festival, Jazz Aspen, WestCliffe Jazz Festival, Taos Jazz Festival, Dazzle, Muse, La Cour, 5 Points Jazz Festival, Taste of Colorado, The Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Denver Art Museum “Top of the Week” series, Jazz Works, The Brazilian Hour from Los Angeles, and most recently performed with the Five Points Ambassadors in Brest, France, as part of the 2022 Denver Sister Cities International cultural exchange. Vohn has received critical acclaim for his original compositions and recordings including: In a Brazilian Mood, Tropical Breeze, Table For Two, Kaleidoscope and the feature film soundtracks: Last of the Romantics, A Remarkable Life, the documentary, A Century of Change and most recently, The Longest Walk – The Charles Burrell Story. Vohn directed the featurelength Documentary film, The Longest Walk, about the life of famed bassist Charles Burrell, which is currently being distributed internationally by Cobalt Pictures. Additionally, he has written and directed two award-winning feature films, Last of the Romantics, distributed by Shoreline Entertainment and, A Remarkable Life, distributed by Green Apple Entertainment. Vohn is the Owner of Magnum Opus Music record company since 1992, and Gymnopedie Films, a film production company since 2003.

TODD REID, drums

Todd has been an active jazz musician since childhood, sitting in with jazz groups beginning at age nine. After graduating from the Cincinnati College’s Conservatory of Music with a Bachelor of Music in Jazz & Studio Music (1983) and a Masters of Music in Percussion (1986), Todd moved to New York City, where he worked with such jazz artists as Gerry Mulligan, Dr. Billy Taylor, Jim McNeely, “Big Nick” Nicholas, Bucky Pizzarelli, Mike Richmond, vocalist Marlene VerPlank, and numerous others. In 1992, Todd moved to Denver and settled into the jazz scene, working in the house band at El Chapultepec, and has appeared and recorded with jazz artists Jon Hendricks, Mose Allison, David Liebman, Bob Dorough, Eddie Daniels, David “Fathead” Newman, Richie Cole, Lew Tabackin, Curtis Fuller, Charles McPherson, Eddie Harris, Nick Brignola, Rickey Woodard, Teddy Edwards, Red Holloway, Bobby Shew, Carl Saunders, Purnell Steen, Javon Jackson, Roberta Gambarini, Darius Rucker, and a host of others. As a Senior Instructor in the Music and Entertainment Industry Studies Department at the University of Colorado-Denver, Todd teaches Drumset, Electronic Digital Instruments, and Upper-level Music History classes in Electronic Music and Jazz. He also coaches the CU Denver Mobile Device and Electro/Acoustic Ensembles. Todd is very active on the Colorado jazz scene, and is in demand as both a clinician and performer in the U.S. and Europe.

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT BIOGRAPHIES

ED STEPHEN, guitar

Ed Stephen is originally from New York and has been playing professionally since the age of 13. He holds a B.A. in music from Hofstra University, and a Masters in Music from C.W. Post College in New York. While finishing his graduate studies, he taught the program for guitar at C.W. Post College. He also taught guitar at Nassau Community College, NY, and at the University of Colorado at Denver. Over the years, Ed has worked with diverse musicians and groups including Pops Concerts with the Denver Symphony Orchestra, which featured artists including Michel Legrand, Oscar Peterson, Carol Lawrence, and Ferrante & Teicher. He has performed at venues and festivals in various parts of the world including Ireland, Argentina, and the Caribbean, and in the US cities of Los Angeles and Sacramento, California, Medford, Oregon, New York City, and Denver, Evergreen, Vail, Snowmass, Greeley in Colorado. Ed currently works with several bands in the Denver area which include: Joni Janak and Centerpiece (a Vocal Jazz Group); The Five Points Ambassadors with Purnell Steen; Sazon with Norma Tell; Perfect Harmony with Steve Patterson and Shirley Yook; The Denver Jazz Gathering with Vern Baumer; and The Jim West Trio.

MYRA WARREN, vocals

Colorado native Myra Warren, whose career began in the mid-1980’s in Denver’s infamous Five Points, has a stunningly beautiful voice that resonates with a warmth and deep understanding of both lyrics and melody. It has been said of Myra that she doesn’t just sing a song. When she sings, she tells a story! Myra has performed with a host of esteemed Colorado musicians, along with performances at the Five Points Jazz Festival, the City Park Jazz Festival, the Estes Park Jazz Festival, and numerous private functions. She has recorded CDs with The Bobby Greene Trio, produced by Ron Jolly, and with Purnell Steen & LeJazz Machine. Among her many credits, Myra is featured as the Band Singer in the Netflix movie Our Souls at Night (starring Robert Redford and Jane Fonda) which premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2017. In a scene filmed at Denver’s Brown Palace Hotel, Myra sings What A Diff’rence A Day Made, the popular song written by Mexican songwriter María Grever.

TAMARA BANKS, host

Emmy Award winning journalist Tamara Banks lives her motto: “One Person Can Make a Difference.” Banks is a freelance TV correspondent/producer, talk show host, and documentary filmmaker, focusing on social justice, and dedicated to creating transformative social change through excellence in journalism. Her areas of expertise include social justice and political issues across the U.S. and internationally, particularly in South Sudan and Darfur. She also shines light on other parts of the globe where there is little or no news coverage about crimes against humanity and genocide. Her documentary short film, “The Long Journey Home” about former slaves stolen by the Janjaweed during a civil was in Sudan, was featured in the 2009 Hollywood Film Festival, “HollyShorts.” Banks is currently the host of “From Moment to Movement: with Tamara Banks,” platform for Black voices to be heard, uncensored and unfiltered on PBS12. Banks has covered some of the biggest stories in recent U.S. history from the Columbine High School and

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT BIOGRAPHIES

Aurora Movie Theater shootings, to the 2008 Democratic Convention in Denver, the devastating 2010 earthquake in Haiti, and the war in Iraq. Most recently, Banks covered the Ahmaud Arbery Murder Trial in Georgia and she worked on a documentary on how Black women have caused a seismic shift in American politics. She also continues to travel to Uganda to interview child soldiers, as well as to Rwanda where she reports on that country’s post-genocide challenges and successes. She’s also the Executive Producer for independent film, “Runnin’ with My Girls,” which takes a look at the number of women of color running for public office since the 2016 election. Her work has been featured on numerous news networks including PBS, CNN, ABC News, HDNet’s World Report, BBC, NPR, Al Jazeera America, Al Jazeera, WB 2 News, FOX News, as well on as a number of radio stations and newspapers over the past 20 plus years. Banks is currently based in Atlanta, GA, where she continues to be on the frontlines of some of the most important stories across the country and around the world.

Website ~ TamaraMBanks.com Email ~ Tbanks@nabj.org; tamarataz@msn.com

THE REVEREND DOCTOR JAMES PETERS HUMANITARIAN AWARD WINNERS

CHARLES EDWARD BURRELL, SR.

Called the “Jackie Robinson of Classical Music,” 102-year-old Charlie Burrell is well-known in the Colorado music community, and especially to the Colorado Symphony.

Charles Edward Burrell was born in Toledo, Ohio, on October 4, 1920, and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Aged twelve, listening on a crystal radio set, he heard renowned conductor Pierre Monteux conducting the San Francisco Symphony. Though at that age he didn’t know anything about symphony orchestras, the performance so inspired him that he became determined to one day “play in that band.” At thirteen, he raised his hand when his class was asked “Who would like to play in the school orchestra?” The only instrument left in the storeroom was an aluminum string bass. It was love at first sight. Young Charlie had to buy a Little Red Flyer Wagon (for 15 cents) to haul it to and from school, and stacked wooden Coca Cola crates to stand on just to be able to reach the neck of this large instrument!

Charlie attended Detroit’s famous Cass Tech High School, receiving lessons in classical bass from members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Told that as a Negro, he could never be hired by the Detroit Symphony, upon graduation Charlie started his musical career playing jazz at a club called “B.J.’s” in Detroit’s Paradise Valley. At age 19, he graduated from Wayne State University in Detroit where he excelled in his studies. He was informed that he could play classical music, but never teach in the Detroit School System.

In 1940, Charlie enlisted in the then-segregated U.S. Navy and was stationed with an all-Black unit at Great Lakes Naval Base near Waukegan, Illinois. Already a versatile musician, he played several instruments with the Navy Band. Because Negro sailors were not allowed to be seen, they could only play Reveille and Taps. The rest of the day was free time, which was spent practicing and sleeping. In the evenings, he and renowned jazz musicians Clarke Terry (trumpet/ flugelhorn) and Al Gray (trombone) would take the train to Chicago to play in the local clubs until the wee hours of the morning.

PUBLIC BENEFIT CONCERT BIOGRAPHIES

After his honorable discharge from the Navy, Charlie returned to Detroit where the only employment for a Negro was factory work or some menial job. In 1949, he moved to Denver to be near his mother’s family. Using his VA benefits, he secured a job as a janitor at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital. While riding the streetcar home from work one day, he met a man carrying a curved leather case. He asked if it was by chance a case for a string bass. The man was John VanBuskirk, principal bassist with the Denver Symphony, who encouraged Charlie to apply there for a position. Following a five-hour audition with Maestro Saul Caston, Charles Edward Burrell, Sr. became the first Black musician in the World to be hired under contract to play with a symphony orchestra!

Charlie played with the Denver Symphony for ten years. Continuing his quest for excellence, in 1959 he drove to Los Angeles to study with the Principal Bassist of the Boston Pops. Again, fate intervened. He learned that the San Francisco Symphony was looking for a bass player. Charlie drove to San Francisco to audition and was offered a contract. The Orchestra somehow learned of Charlie’s childhood dream and called Maestro Pierre Monteux out of retirement to conduct Charlie’s debut with the orchestra. Twenty-seven years later, his dream had come true! He was also the first Black faculty member at the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he gave weekly lessons to his thirteen-year-old prodigy cousin, the late George Duke. The San Francisco earthquake of 1965 prompted Charlie to leave California and return to Denver, where he was immediately rehired by the Denver Symphony. In 1989, the Denver Symphony was reorganized as the Colorado Symphony, and Charlie continued to play there until retiring in 1999.

Shortly after his 1965 return from San Francisco, Charlie met fellow musician and cellist Melanie White, who had just been hired by the Denver Symphony. Melanie was enthralled with Charlie’s use of pizzicato, and asked him to give her lessons. In time, their mutual respect turned to marriage, second marriages for both of them. Their love story was founded on a common love for their instruments, and for music. Meanwhile, Charlie attended the University of Denver where he quickly earned his Bachelor of Arts degree and a Teaching Certificate.

Charlie has played at the highest level in both the classical and jazz/blues genres. In addition to playing for 50 years with two world-class symphony orchestras, he was a regular at the Rossonian and other Black music venues in Denver’s historic Five Points neighborhood. Today, Charlie is the only living musician to have played with Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis, Benny Goodman, and a host of other jazz and blues greats who helped make Denver the “Harlem of the West.”

Charlie was not only a double bass player, but also a teacher and mentor to many famous musicians. These include bassist Tony Knight of the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, Major Holly, the late great Ray Brown, jazz pianist George Duke, his cousin Purnell Steen, and his niece, jazz vocalist and five-time Grammy Award Winner Dianne Reeves. Charlie and Dianne have both been inducted into the prestigious Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

Written by John Shackford, assisted by Purnell Steen and Vohn Regensburger.