Auditorium Theatre 2019-2020 Too Hot - Jazz-Gospel Messiah

10 | TOO HOT TO HANDEL | JANUARY 18+19, 2020 BIOGRAPHIES Bill Fraher (Too Hot Choir Director ) is a native of rural Illinois who has been making music since he was a child and conducting choirs since high school. He has served as pianist, organist, music director, and worship director at churches in St. Louis, Oakland, San Francisco, and the Chicago area. He was director of music at Chicago’s historic Old St. Patrick’s Church from 1991 to 2013. During that time, the music program expanded to include numerous liturgical choirs as well as a number of concert choirs that delighted audiences not only at Old St. Patrick’s Church, but at Chicago’s Symphony Center; Galway, Ireland’s Arts Festival; and the National Concert Hall of Ireland in Dublin. During his tenure, commissioned works came from Ireland’s Shaun Davey, Noel Eccles, and Liam Lawton and from Chicago’s Rory Cooney, Gary Fry, Scott Stevenson, and Ben Wedge. Fraher continues to be involved at Old St. Patrick’s Church as director of concert choirs and programs. He is also music and artistic director, creator, and producer of Siamsa na nGael : A Celebration of the Celtic Arts, now in its 25 th year. This is Fraher’s 15 th year as director of Chicago’s Too Hot Choir. Singers are welcomed from throughout the Chicago metropolitan area — from Hoffman Estates to Crown Pointe and Gary, IN; from Broadview to Lakeview; from Hyde Park to Lincoln Park to Oak Park; from Aurora to Harvey to Joliet; from the west side of the city to the north and south sides. If you would like to be a part of this wonderful, hardworking group of singers or for more information on any of the programs Fraher is involved in, please contact him at BillFraher52@gmail.com. Chris Mahieu ( Rehearsal Pianist ) studied classical piano at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music. Since then, his interests have led him to jazz and other styles of piano. He is an active performer in Chicago in both jazz and classical settings and has performed at venues including Chicago Jazz Fest, Jazz Showcase, the Green Mill, and Symphony Center. Outside of music, Mahieu is also a Registered Nurse and the father of two wonderful kids, ages 1 and 2. Marin Alsop ( Concept ) is the Music Director of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and the Conductor of Honour at the São Paulo State Symphony Orchestra. She is the Chief Conductor of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. She is an inspiring and powerful voice in the international music scene, a music director of vision and distinction who passionately believes that “music has the power to change lives.” She is recognized throughout the world for her innovative approach to programming and for her deep commitment to education and to the development of audiences of all ages. Alsop is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. Bob Christianson ( Co-arranger and Orchestrator ) is a musician, composer, arranger, and conductor. He scored HBO’s Sex and the City series and the series Wildlife Emergency for Animal Planet, and was nominated for an Emmy for his music for ABC Sports. Christianson received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY at Potsdam (Crane School of Music) and completed his graduate work in composition at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. After college, he started out in New York City as a musical director and conductor for Broadway shows, including Godspell , The Magic Show , and Gilda Radner — Live from New York. In the concert arena, he has had the good fortune to work on several projects with longtime friend Marin Alsop, his favorite being Too Hot to Handel with co-arranger Gary Anderson. 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 .