THE TEXAS TENORS: DEEP IN THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS

Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 7:30 pm

ALLEN-BRADLEY HALL

Yaniv Dinur, conductor

The Texas Tenors

Marcus Collins

JC Fisher John Hagen

The 3-Bottle Band

Josh Hanlon, piano

Larry Hanson, guitars

Peter Generous, drums

THE TEXAS TENORS

DEEP IN THE HEART OF

CHRISTMAS

Billboard #1 Recording Artists and 3-time Emmy Award Winners

THE TEXAS TENORS in

DEEP IN THE HEART OF CHRISTMAS featuring THE 3-BOTTLE BAND

PROGRAM TO BE ANNOUNCED FROM STAGE

The MSO Steinway Piano was made possible through a generous gift from MICHAEL AND JEANNE SCHMITZ

The length of this concert is approximately 2 hours. All programs are subject to change. Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra can be heard on Telarc, Koss Classics, Pro Arte, AVIE, and Vox/Turnabout recordings. MSO Classics recordings (digital only) available on iTunes and at mso.org. MSO Binaural recordings (digital only) available at mso.org.

Guest Artist Biographies

MARCUS COLLINS “The Contemporary Tenor”

Marcus Collins was born in a small town and began to sing at the age of four. He first learned how to sing by emulating his favorite radio artists like Garth Brooks and George Michael before training classically in college. Along with numerous talent shows, fairs, and cruise ships, Collins has also performed in New York City with the cast of Hairspray, Off-Broadway’s Altar Boyz as Matthew, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and as Jinx in Forever Plaid

Beyond music, he has worked extensively as an actor with appearances in over 100 episodes of network television, 25 films, and numerous commercials including P.S. I Love You, Across the Universe, 30 Rock, Terminator: The Sarah Conner Chronicles, Sex and the City, recurring roles on One Life to Live and As the World Turns, and the lead character in the video game Alone in the Dark Collins’s is proud to bring a contemporary element to The Texas Tenors and would like to thank everyone who voted for the group, America’s Got Talent, and his family for their love and support. Marcus Collins’s website is MarcusCollins.us.

JOHN HAGEN “The Tenor”

John Hagen has been described as “astonishing ... a superb tenor of deep musicality,” making his Lincoln Center debut in New York City in Teatro Grattacielo’s mounting of Mascagni’s Guglielmo Ratcliff. Hagen created three tenor roles in the world premiere of The Lost Dauphane for Pamiro Opera airing on PBS.

Hagen has performed a vast array of operatic roles ranging from Alfredo in La traviata to the title role in Otello for Cleveland Opera on tour. His favorite Broadway roles include Billy Bigelow in Carousel and Che in Evita. Hagen has received many awards and accolades throughout his career including finalist in the New Jersey Opera Association of Verismo Opera competition held at Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Opera Auditions Regional Finalist, and winner of numerous competitions mounted by the National Association of Teachers of Singing.

Hagen is highly regarded for his performances of the Verdi Requiem and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, performing these works with more than a dozen symphonies including the Austin, Corpus Christi, Omaha, Nebraska, and Cedar Rapids symphonies. Hagen has taught voice and vocal pedagogy at Wartburg College and at his alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa.

Guest Artist Biographies

JC FISHER “The Romantic Tenor”

JC Fisher has entertained audiences around the world for the past 15 years. In high school, he had a passion for sports and enjoyed singing in church. He discovered a deeper love of singing at Wichita State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in music.

Fisher performed various roles, including Rodolfo in La bohème, Tamino in The Magic Flute, Ernesto in Don Pasquale, Henrick in A Little Night Music, and even Miss America’s duet partner at the 1997 Miss Kansas Pageant.

After college, Fisher traveled to Lucca, Italy, where he sang in the Puccini Festival under the direction of acclaimed Italian maestro Lorenzo Malfatti. He then created a home base in Katy, Texas, before sailing the high seas aboard over 75 cruise ships worldwide with his one-man show. This allowed JC to create a program with many different genres of music and world-class arrangements, which eventually led to his idea of forming The Texas Tenors with his two best friends. His most memorable performance though turned out to be from college, where he found the young woman who would become his wife. Jennifer Vannatta, Miss Kansas 1998, married Fisher in 2004. They have three children: Jackson, Jenson, and Jennings.

2022.23 SEASON

KEN-DAVID MASUR

Music Director

Polly and Bill Van Dyke Music Director Chair

EDO DE WAART

Music Director Laureate

YANIV DINUR Resident Conductor

CHERYL FRAZES HILL

Chorus Director

Margaret Hawkins Chorus Director Chair

TIMOTHY J. BENSON Assistant Chorus Director

FIRST VIOLINS

Ilana Setapen, Acting Concertmaster, Charles and Marie Caestecker Concertmaster Chair

Jeanyi Kim, Acting Associate Concertmaster (2nd Chair)

Alexander Ayers

Yuka Kadota

Ji-Yeon Lee**

Dylana Leung Allison Lovera

Lijia Phang

Margot Schwartz Alexandra Switala**

SECOND VIOLINS

Jennifer Startt, Principal, Andrea and Woodrow Leung Second Violin Chair

Timothy Klabunde, Assistant Principal John Bian, Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)

Glenn Asch

Lisa Johnson Fuller

Paul Hauer

Hyewon Kim Shengnan Li*

Laurie Shawger Mary Terranova

VIOLAS

Robert Levine, Principal, Richard O. and Judith A. Wagner Family Principal Viola Chair

Samantha Rodriguez, Acting Assistant Principal, Friends of Janet F. Ruggeri Viola Chair

Alejandro Duque, Acting Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)

Elizabeth Breslin

Nathan Hackett

Erin H. Pipal

Helen Reich

CELLOS

Susan Babini, Principal, Dorothea C. Mayer Cello Chair

Nicholas Mariscal, Assistant Principal

Scott Tisdel, Associate Principal Emeritus

Madeleine Kabat

Peter Szczepanek Peter J. Thomas Adrien Zitoun

BASSES

Jon McCullough-Benner, Principal, Donald B. Abert Bass Chair

Andrew Raciti, Associate Principal Nash Tomey, Assistant Principal (3rd Chair)

Brittany Conrad Peter Hatch

Paris Myers

HARP

Julia Coronelli, Principal, Walter Schroeder Harp Chair

FLUTES

Sonora Slocum, Principal, Margaret and Roy Butter Flute Chair

Heather Zinninger, Assistant Principal Jennifer Bouton Schaub

PICCOLO

Jennifer Bouton Schaub

OBOES

Katherine Young Steele, Principal, Milwaukee Symphony League Oboe Chair

Kevin Pearl, Assistant Principal Margaret Butler

ENGLISH HORN

Margaret Butler, Philip and Beatrice Blank English Horn Chair in memoriam to John Martin

CLARINETS

Todd Levy, Principal, Franklyn Esenberg Clarinet Chair Benjamin Adler, Assistant Principal, Donald and Ruth P. Taylor Assistant Principal Clarinet Chair Taylor Eiffert

E FLAT CLARINET

Benjamin Adler

BASS CLARINET

Taylor Eiffert

BASSOONS

Catherine Van Handel, Principal, Muriel C. and John D. Silbar Family Bassoon Chair

Rudi Heinrich, Assistant Principal Beth W. Giacobassi

CONTRABASSOON

Beth W. Giacobassi

HORNS

Matthew Annin, Principal, Krause Family French Horn Chair

Krystof Pipal, Associate Principal

Dietrich Hemann, Andy Nunemaker French Horn Chair Darcy Hamlin Kelsey Williams**

TRUMPETS

Matthew Ernst, Principal, Walter L. Robb Family Trumpet Chair

David Cohen, Associate Principal, Martin J. Krebs Associate Principal Trumpet Chair

Alan Campbell, Fred Fuller Trumpet Chair

TROMBONES

Megumi Kanda, Principal, Marjorie Tiefenthaler Trombone Chair

Kirk Ferguson, Assistant Principal

BASS TROMBONE

John Thevenet, Richard M. Kimball Bass Trombone Chair

TUBA

Robyn Black, Principal

TIMPANI

Dean Borghesani, Principal Chris Riggs, Assistant Principal

PERCUSSION

Robert Klieger, Principal Chris Riggs

PIANO Melitta S. Pick Endowed Piano Chair

PERSONNEL MANAGER

Françoise Moquin, Director of Orchestra Personnel

LIBRARIAN

Paul Beck, Principal Librarian, Anonymous Donor, Principal Librarian Chair

PRODUCTION

Tristan Wallace, Technical Manager & Live Audio Supervisor Paolo Scarabel, Stage Technician & Deck Supervisor

* Leave of Absence 2022.23 Season

** Acting member of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra 2022.23 Season