Auditorium Theatre 2018-19 Issue 2 Too Hot to Handel

JANUARY 19+20, 2019 | TOO HOT TO HANDEL | 11 BIOGRAPHIES Gary Anderson (Co-arranger and Orchestrator) is an acclaimed composer, producer, and artist who has accumulated a wide range of work, from the world-known themes of ABC and CNN to the critically- acclaimed underscore for animations by Ralph Bakshi and Matt Groening. He has worked with legends from Frank Sinatra to Chaka Khan to Judy Collins. A summa cum laude graduate of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Anderson began his career with a four-year tenure as a full-time professor at the world-renowned school. He was awarded his alma mater’s Outstanding Achievement Award and was named one of the college’s 50 outstanding graduates, along with fellow alumni Quincy Jones, Arif Mardin, Alf Clausen, and Gary Burton. In network and cable television, his music can be heard on ABC, CNN, CBS, PBS, NBC, and (not to forget Bart Simpson’s favorite) the theme from The Itchy and Scratchy Show . Rackham Symphony Choir (Visiting Choristers) has provided both classical and contemporary choral masterpieces of the highest artistic quality to appreciative audiences throughout southeast Michigan since 1949. Under the visionary leadership of critically-acclaimed conductor Suzanne Mallare Acton, who serves as Rackham Symphony Choir’s Artistic and Music Director, the choir has expanded its rich tradition of musical performance. Noteworthy concerts include the choir’s signature piece, Too Hot to Handel , performed annually since 2001; The Holocaust Cantata , a collection of songs and readings taken from concentration camp prisoners; Richard Einhorn’s multimedia piece Voices of Light ; and Karl Jenkins’ The Armed Man : A Concert for Peace , performed with an original, award-winning film commissioned by the choir. Rackham Symphony Choir is proud to collaborate with numerous community organizations and artists, including the Sphinx Competition, Mosaic Youth Theatre, PuppetArt, the Cranbrook Peace Foundation, Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, and others. For more information on the choir, please visit RackhamChoir.org. KRISTIE KAHNS