Program Notes: An Evening with Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison

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PROGRAM to be selected from the following: RICHARD RODGERS / Orch. by Don Walker "The Carousel Waltz" from Carousel RICHARD RODGERS / Orch. Robert Russell Bennett "Getting to Know You" from The King and I "A Wonderful Guy" from South Pacific COLE PORTER / Orch. Robert Russell Bennett "So in Love" from Kiss Me Kate RICHARD RODGERS / Orch. Robert Russell Bennett "People Will Say We're in Love" from Oklahoma RICHARD RODGERS / Arr. C. Walden "The Lady is a Tramp" from Babes in Arms

Tuesday, November 27 | 7:30PM

AN EVENING WITH KELLI O’HARA & MATTHEW MORRISON A City Lights Special Concert

LIONEL BART / Arr. C. Walden "As Long as She Needs Me" from Oliver RICHARD RODGERS / Arr. and Orch. B Ellis South Pacific Medley ("Carefully Taught" / "Some Enchanted Evening") RICHARD RODGERS / Orch. Robert Russell Bennett "I Have Dreamed" From The King and I

INTERMISSION RICHARD RODGERS / Arr. Robert Russell Bennett Selections from The King and I FREDERICK LOEWE / Arr. C. Walden "On the Street Where You Live" from My Fair Lady JERRY ROSS / Arr. C. Walden "Hey There" from The Pajama Game ADAM GUETTEL / Arr. and Orch. B. Ellis "Il Mondo" from A Light in the Piazza

conductor Rob Fisher vocals Kelli O'Hara vocals Matthew Morrison

ADAM GUETTEL / Orch. Bruce Coughlin "Say it Somehow" from A Light in the Piazza

Performance at the Jacobs Music Center's Copley Symphony Hall

FREDERICK LOEWE "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady

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PERFORM A NCES MAGAZINE

STEPHEN SONDHEIM / Arr. Michael Starobin "What More Do I Need?" from Saturday Night

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PROGRAM NOTES | KELLI O’HARA & MATTHEW MORRISON – NOVEMBER 27

ABOUT THE CONDUCTOR ROB FISHER is an internationally recognized music director, conductor and pianist, and a leading figure in American music and musical theatre. He has been a guest of virtually every major orchestra in the country as conductor or pianist.

Fisher is currently represented on Broadway as the score supervisor and arranger for An American in Paris (Grammy® nomination). Additionally, he is represented as the music supervisor and arranger for Chicago: The Musical, which recently celebrated 20 years on Broadway.

With the New York Philharmonic, he has conducted the acclaimed concert versions of Carousel (Emmy nomination for Best Music Director) and My Fair Lady as well as Mr. Keillor at 70. Other recent highlights include debuts with the Boston and Chicago Symphonies and appearances with the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the San Francisco, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and National symphonies. At Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, he led gala performances of Guys and Dolls and The Sound of Music. He conducted The New York Pops on many occasions, sharing concerts with the late Skitch Henderson. As a pianist, Fisher has been soloist for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F with orchestras across the country. In addition to collaborating in concert with such artists as Renée Fleming, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O’Hara, Victoria Clark, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell and David Hyde Pierce, he has conducted Patti LuPone’s engagements with the Pacific, Phoenix, Atlanta, Fort Worth and Chicago symphonies. He conducted the San Francisco Symphony in the Emmy-winning concert production of Sweeney Todd starring Patti LuPone and George Hearn. At the Chicago Lyric Opera, he led the record-breaking production of The Sound of Music. Fisher was founding music director and conductor of the New York City Center Encores! series from its inception in 1994 until 2005. The series earned a 2000 Tony Award, and in 1997 Fisher was given the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Special Achievement. He continues to be a regular guest music director for the series. Fisher has made numerous recordings for Encores!, including the Grammy® Award-winning Chicago cast album. He is supervising music director for Chicago productions worldwide. Fisher was music director for the New York Shakespeare Festival’s revival of Hair in Central Park, and was music supervisor for its Tony-winning run on Broadway. He served as music supervisor for the recent Tony-winning Broadway revival of Anything Goes. His Carousel with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall was broadcast on PBS Live from Lincoln Center and earned him an Emmy nomination. He was music director and conductor for

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Ira Gershwin at 100, a gala concert at Carnegie Hall, which was broadcast on PBS Great Performances, and he appeared twice on the PBS series In Performance at the White House during the Clinton administration. Fisher has a long association with Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series as a producer and music director, creating tributes to the Gershwins, Bernstein, Cole Porter and Kander & Ebb. The Porter program was also presented at the Ravinia Festival, and the Kander & Ebb evening was broadcast on Live from Lincoln Center. He has also made many appearances as music director for the Lyrics and Lyricists series at New York’s 92nd Street Y, often with his friend Sheldon Harnick as host. Fisher conducted the 2011 world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's Rappahannock County at the Virginia Opera, followed by performances in Richmond, VA and Austin, TX. Rob Fisher is known to A Prairie Home Companion fans from his four years as Music Director for Garrison Keillor’s broadcasts (198993) and as the leader of the Coffee Club Orchestra during that time. Fisher has remained a frequent guest ever since, and is also a frequent collaborator and arranger for the DiGiallonardo Sisters. A native Virginian, he lives in Manhattan and Connecticut. n

ABOUT THE ARTISTS KELLI O’HARA recently received her first Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy or Drama Series for her portrayal of Katie Bonner in the hit web series The Accidental Wolf. On Broadway, O’Hara’s portrayal of Anna Leonowens in the critically acclaimed revival of The King and I garnered her the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Grammy®, Drama League and Outer Critics nominations. She then reprised her Tony-winning role while making her West End debut this past summer for which The Times hailed her as “Broadway musical’s undisputed queen” adding “Kelli O’Hara does not just play Anna, she owns the part.” Other Broadway credits include The Bridges of Madison County (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, OCC nominations), Nice Work If You Can Get It (Tony, Drama Desk, Drama League, OCC nominations), South Pacific (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations), The Pajama Game (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC nominations), The Light in the Piazza (Tony & Drama Desk nominations), Sweet Smell of Success, Follies, Dracula, and Jekyll & Hyde.

Regional/Off Broadway credits include Far From Heaven (Playwrights Horizons and WTF), King Lear (Public Theater), Bells Are Ringing (City Center Encores), Sunday in the Park with George (Reprise), and My Life With Albertine (Playwright’s Horizons). O’Hara received a 2018 Webby nomination for her role in the hit web-series thriller The Accidental Wolf and appears in the second season of Netflix’s series 13 Reasons Why. Other film and television credits include Sex & The City 2, Martin Scorsese’s The Key to

P ERFO RM AN C ES MAG A Z I N E

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PROGRAM NOTES | KELLI O’HARA & MATTHEW MORRISON – NOVEMBER 27 Reserva, Showtime’s Master of Sex, CBS All Access’s The Good Fight, Blue Bloods, Alexander Hamilton, N3mbers, and the animated series Car Talk. In 2015, O’Hara made her Metropolitan Opera debut in The Merry Widow. She returned to the opera this past spring as Despina in Così fan tutte. Her concerts have gained international acclaim, spanning from New York’s Carnegie Hall all the way to Tokyo. She is a frequent performer on PBS’s live telecasts and the Kennedy Center Honors. Along with two Grammy® Award nominations, her solo albums, Always and Wonder in the World are available on Ghostlight Records.

throughout season 13 and 14 of ABC’s show Grey’s Anatomy.

O’Hara will star in the Broadway revival of Kiss Me Kate in spring 2019. n

In 2012, Morrison starred in the Lionsgate film, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, which was based on the book of the same name, directed by Kirk Jones.

MATTHEW MORRISON is a versatile actor who is recognized for his work on-stage and on-screen. He has been nominated for Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.

Morrison’s most recent Broadway credit is starring as “J.M Barrie” in the musical Finding Neverland through January 2016. The Broadway production is an adaptation of the 2004 film written by David Magee. Morrison received two Drama Desk nominations for his role, and won the category of Favorite Actor in a Musical in the Broadway.com Audience Awards. Morrison has performed as a guest star on the CBS hit show The Good Wife, where he played the role of U.S. Attorney, Conor Fox, through the series finale. Morrison performed as a guest star

In 2015, Morrison wrapped the final season of Fox’s musical comedy series Glee, where he starred as the director of the glee club, “Mr. Schuester.” The show was created by Ryan Murphy and received the Golden Globe award Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical in 2010 and 2011. In June 2013, Morrison released his latest studio album, Where It All Began, which is a Broadway standards record that was produced by the legendary Phil Ramone.

Morrison studied musical theater, vocal performance and dance at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. He made his debut on Broadway in Footloose but his big break came when he was cast as heartthrob Link Larkin in the hit Hairspray. Morrison was later nominated for a Tony Award for his role in The Light in the Piazza, and received a Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Musical for 10 Million Miles. He also starred in the Tony-winning revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center Theater in New York. In addition to his film, television, music and theater credits, Morrison launched Sherpapa in 2017, with friend and colleague Zach McDuffie. The lifestyle and retail company provides heirloom quality goods and collections for new dads, which encourages shared experiences and family adventure. Morrison currently resides in New York. n

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

SUPPORT SAN DIEGO'S MILITARY FAMILIES THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

FREE MILITARY APPRECIATION CONCERT

Saturday, DECEMBER 15, 2018 | 2:00PM Copley Symphony Hall at the Jacobs Music Center

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To make a gift to sponsor military family tickets, please contact Paige Kobdish at 619.615.3901 or gifts@sandiegosymphony.org

PERFORM A NCES MAGAZINE

To mail your gift, please send to: San Diego Symphony Attn: Military Concert 1245 7th Avenue, San Diego, CA 92101

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