Ravinia 2019, Issue 7, Week 14

Rod Caspers, co-producer and stage director Rod Caspers served as the executive director of university events at the University of Texas– Austin, creating and producing special events. Prior to that, he served as the executive director of creative services for the UT system, where he and colleagues received five Lone Star Emmy Awards for creating/producing the PBS series State of Tomorrow . In New York, Caspers served as associate director of GreenPlays, creating/ directing several new musicals and cabarets, and in Texas he produced/directed the Tex- as Performing Arts Center’s 20th-anniversary gala and the We’re Texas Milestone Celebra- tion. Caspers has directed numerous produc- tions, including Big River , The Secret Garden , Honk! , Ordinary People , Assassins , Close Ties , The Laramie Project , Holes , and The Rivers and Ravines . He also directed The Bat , Austin Lyric Opera’s adaptation of Strauss’s Die Fledermaus . Stage management credits include The Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring the Rockettes (seven seasons) and Jim Henson’s Musical World at Carnegie Hall with the New York Pops, the Muppets, and the casts of Avenue Q and Sesame Street . Caspers staged the original production of Conspirare’s Considering Matthew Shepard and, recently, a production with the Louisiana State University A Cappella Choir for the Na- tional Collegiate Choral Organization’s national conference. Elliott Forrest, co-director and projection designer Elliott Forrest is a Peabody Award–winning broadcaster, director, and producer. He is the director and projection designer of the PBS TV special of Considering Matthew Shepard and co-director of its live tour. Elliott is the afternoon host on New York’s WQXR, host of the radio concerts of the Chamber Music Society of Lin- coln Center, and has hosted more than 60 con- certs onstage at Carnegie Hall. He is the director and projection designer of the current national tour of An Evening with Itzhak Perlman . He has also produced, directed, and designed concerts for the Los Angeles and New York Philharmon- ics, Houston and Atlanta Symphony Orchestras, Philadelphia Orchestra, New Haven Symphony, Pasadena Pops, and the Little Orchestra Society at venues from the Hollywood Bowl to Lincoln Center. Forrest is the executive and artistic di- rector or ArtsRock.org of Rockland County, NY, which brings professional concerts and con- versations to its community. He has narrated performances of Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals , Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf , Stravin- sky’s Soldier’s Tale , and Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra . For 12 years, Forrest was on A&E Television as host of Breakfast with the Arts , and he appeared on the original Gong Show on NBC. He holds a BA in theater from the Uni- versity of Texas–Austin. CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON, composer, conductor, and piano As Conspirare’s founder and artistic director, Craig Hella Johnson is known for crafting mu- sical journeys that create deep connections be- tween performer and listener. A unique aspect of his programming is his signature “collage” style: marrying music of many styles from classical to popular to create moving experiences. Johnson is also music director of the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble and conductor emeritus of the Victoria Bach Festival. He has served as a guest conductor with Austin Symphony, San Antonio Symphony, Oregon Bach Festival, Harvard Uni- versity, and many other ensembles throughout Texas, the United States, and abroad. Through these activities, as well as Conspirare’s many re- cordings on the internationally distributed Har- monia Mundi label, Johnson brings internation- al recognition to the Texas musical community. Johnson was director of choral activities at the University of Texas–Austin from 1990 to 2001 and remains an active educator, teaching work- shops and clinics internationally. In fall 2012, he became the first artist-in-residence at the Texas State University School of Music. As a composer and arranger, Johnson works with G. Schirmer Publishing on the Craig Hella Johnson Choral Series, featuring specially selected composers as well as some of his own original compositions and arrangements. His music is also published by Alliance Music Publications. Johnson’s first concert-length composition, Considering Mat- thew Shepard , was premiered and recorded by Conspirare for a 2016 CD release. Johnson’s ac- complishments have been recognized with nu- merous awards: Chorus America granted him the Michael Korn Founders Award for Devel- opment of the Professional Choral Art in 2015, and the Texas state legislature named him Texas State Musician for 2013. Other honors include induction into the Austin Arts Hall of Fame in 2008, Chorus America’s 2009 Louis Botto Award for Innovative Action and Entrepreneur- ial Zeal, and the 2011 Citation of Merit from in- ternational professional music fraternity Mu Phi Epsilon. Johnson studied at St. Olaf College, The Juilliard School, and the University of Illinois, and earned his doctorate at Yale University. Conspirare gratefully acknowledges the following supporters of Considering Matthew Shepard : Season Sustaining Underwriter: Agent of Change Sponsors: Anonymous, Casey Blass & Lee Manford, Fran & Larry Collmann, Legacy of Sound, One Skye Foundation Inc, The Fetzer Institute, The Kodosky Foundation Advocate Sponsors: Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation, Eric Copper, Crutch and Danna Crutchfield, Beverly Dale, Bryan Dunkin, Mary Nell Frucella, Dee Garcia, Richard Hartgrove & Gary Cooper, Susan & Jack Robertson, DeDe Rogers, Toyota Motor N.A., Johanna & Mitch Vernick Catalyst Sponsors: Anonymous (3), Liz Armstrong, Jim Arth, Roxana Bacon, Mark Bierner, Ginger & Michael Blair, Marvin Brittman, Denise & Timothy Burke, Carl Caricari & Margaret Murray Miller, Chris & Dennis Cavner, Catherine Clark, Mela Sarajane Dailey & Peter Bay, Paula D’Arcy, Virginia & Robert Dupuy, Susanna & Richard Finnell, Sandy & Bill Fivecoat, Jim Ferguson & Art Sansone, Evelyn & Rick Gabrillo, Karen & Paul Galindo, Deborah Glusker, Glenda Goehrs, Danny Hamilton & Paul Hilliard, Dean Hansell & Eric Kugler, Lara & Robert Harlan, Carr Hornbuckle & Jack Leifer, James K. Ferguson Foundation, Ron Jernigan, Carolyn J. Keating, Tina & Dale Knobel, Angie & Steve Larned, Emily Little, Thomas Lukens, Ruth and Bob McGregor, Stefanie Moore & Todd Keister, Steven & Deeanne Paulson, Nancy Quinn & Tom Driscoll, Linda & Robert Ramsey, Gayle Roche, Nancy Scanlan, Sandi & Bob Tomlinson, Dr. Joni Wallace, Julia & Patrick Willis, and the individuals too numerous to list here. In addition, we offer a very warm thank-you to all the patrons from around the country who supported Conspirare’s musical offering at the interment of Matthew Shepard’s ashes at the Washington National Cathedral in October 2018. Support also comes from: SEPTEMBER 3 – SEPTEMBER 15, 2019 | RAVINIA MAGAZINE 115