Ravinia 2021 - Issue 2

CHRIS WITZKE (ABRAMS); MICHAEL KUSHNER (JAMES); COURTNEY BARRON (SHELÉA) TEDDY ABRAMS, conductor The widely acclaimed music director of the Louisville Orchestra and the Britt Festival Orchestra, Teddy Abrams was a protégé of Michael Tilson Thomas from age 11 and sub- sequently studied conducting with Otto-Wer- ner Mueller and Ford Lallerstedt at the Curtis Institute and with David Zinman at the As- pen Music Festival, the youngest conducting student ever accepted at both institutions. He was also a member of the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra for seven seasons and earned a bachelor’s degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he studied piano with Paul Hersh. From 2008 to 2011, Abrams was the conducting fellow and assistant conductor of the New World Sym- phony, which has conducted in Miami Beach and Washington, DC, as well as at Carnegie Hall. Also an award-winning composer and passionate educator, his 2009 education con- certs with the New World Symphony—featur- ing the premiere of one of his own orchestral works—were webcast to hundreds of schools throughout South Florida. A tireless advocate for the power of music, Abrams has fostered interdisciplinary collaborations with organiza- tions across Kentucky, including the Louisville Ballet, the Center for Interfaith Relations, and the Speed Art Museum, as well as with the Or- egon Shakespeare Festival and Folger Shake- speare Library. His 2017 rap-opera The Great- est: Muhammad Ali celebrated Louisville’s hometown hero with an all-star cast that in- cluded Rhiannon Giddens and Jubilant Sykes. Abrams recently collaborated with Jim James, vocalist and guitarist of My Morning Jacket, on the song cycle The Order of Nature , which they premiered with the Louisville Orchestra in 2018 and recorded on Decca Gold. After serving as assistant conductor of the Detroit Symphony (2012–14), he has had extensive engagements as a guest conductor, including with the Los Angeles Philharmonic; National, Colorado, Houston, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, San Francisco, Utah, and Vancouver Sympho- nies; Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra; and the Florida Orchestra. Abrams recently debuted with the Luxembourg Philharmonic and Roy- al Scottish National Orchestra, and he had a lead role in the Kennedy Center Honors cel- ebration of Tilson Thomas. Teddy Abrams is making his Ravinia and Chicago Symphony Orchestra debuts. MORGAN JAMES, vocalist Morgan James is a Juilliard-trained sing- er, actress, songwriter, and recording artist based in New York City. In concert, she has appeared with the New Zealand Sympho- ny, Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic, Britt Festival, Breckinridge Music Festival, Utah Sympho- ny, and Colorado Symphony performing her solo Bernstein show. Additionally, James has been featured in four productions of Bern- stein’s Mass —at Ravinia with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as well as with the Lou- isville Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orches- tra (including a cast recording on Deutsche Grammophon), and the Baltimore Sympho- ny Orchestra at Carnegie Hall and the Ken- nedy Center (recorded on Naxos). She has also performed extensively across the United States and Canada as a soloist in orchestra pops concerts. As an independent recording artist, James has released two albums of soul music, Memphis Magnetic and Reckless Aban- don , as well as multiple covers of complete al- bums. She has also recorded two albums with Epic Records— Hunter , a disc of original soul and R&B, and Morgan James Live , a celebra- tion of Nina Simone. On Broadway, James has been in five original companies back to back, including The Addams Family , Wonderland , Godspell , and Motown: The Musical , as well as Kristin Chenoweth’s For the Girls . With Postmodern Jukebox and on her own chan- nel, James has accumulated more than 250 million views with her music videos. Morgan James made her Ravinia debut in the 2018 production of Bernstein’s Mass and is making her first return to the festival. SHELÉA, vocalist Blending traditional pop, jazz, R&B, and soul, Sheléa uses her voice to bring a contemporary edge to classics, and a classic touch to con- temporary pop standards. Having earned comparisons to Whitney Houston and Alicia Keys, she has performed twice at the White House as well as at such venues as Carnegie Hall, the Library of Congress, and the Ken- nedy Center, and in 2020 she marked her acting debut starring as Dorinda Clark in the Lifetime biopic The Clark Sisters: The First Ladies of Gospel . Sheléa began developing her ear for vocal harmony from her earliest years, writing songs for her sisters at age 4 and be- ginning piano lessons at age 7, and gained her first recording experience while at Oak- wood University, where she earned a BA in music with emphasis on piano. Her first big break came as a guest vocalist on the Gram- my-nominated Take 6 album The Standard — the recording caught the attention of Stevie Wonder, who invited her to be a backing vo- calist on his Songs in the Key of Life Revis- ited tour. A recommendation from Wonder led to Sheléa’s first performance at the White House, in honor of Burt Bacharach and Hal David winning the Gershwin Prize, and she returned to join a concert in tribute to Ray Charles. She has toured extensively with Da- vid Foster, singing from the catalogues of Na- talie Cole, Chaka Khan, Whitney Houston, Toni Braxton, and more, as well as with Kirk Whalum for his Gospel According to Jazz holiday shows. Having guested on numerous televised specials, Sheléa performed her own PBS special in 2019, with songs ranging from Aretha Franklin hits to originals. Sheléa first appeared at Ravinia as a featured singer with David Foster in 2018 and is making her first return to the festival. BRIAN STOKES MITCHELL, vocalist A fixture on Broadway’s stages with two Tony Awards to his name, actor and vocalist Brian Stokes Mitchell began his career on television as Dr. Justin “Jackpot” Jackson on Trapper John, MD , portraying the character for the entire run of the series. A versatile musician since beginning piano lessons at age 6, he be- gan to learn composing, arranging, and or- chestration in his teens and studied scoring further privately and through UCLA, leading him to score and conduct several episodes of the series. That talent has also extended into his discography of more than 20 albums, with Mitchell producing and arranging the music for his three solo recordings, including 2012’s Simply Broadway and his latest, Plays With Music . Mitchell earned his first Tony Award, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, in 2000 for his star turn as Fred Graham in Kiss Me, Kate , having pre- viously been nominated for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker Jr. in Ragtime . He earned further Tony nominations in 2001 in the ti- tle role of King Hedley II and in 2003 as Cer- vantes in Man of La Mancha . His Broadway credits also include Kiss the Spider Woman (1993) , Jelly’s Last Jam (1992), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010), and Shuffle Along (2016). Mitchell earned his sec- ond Tony Award in 2016 in recognition of his charitable work with The Actors Fund, and he was also inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame that year. With concert repertoire span- ning jazz, opera, pops, country, and musical theater, he has been featured on a variety of stages, including numerous appearances at Carnegie Hall, where he has sung Porgy and Bess with the San Francisco Symphony, South Pacific with Reba McEntire, and his solo pro- gram, which he continues to tour across the US. Brian Stoke Mitchell first performed at Ravinia in 2006 and tonight makes his fifth appearance at the festival. RAVINIA MAGAZINE • JULY 24 – AUGUST 15, 2021 56 CHRIS WITZKE (ABRAMS); MICHAEL KUSHNER (JAMES); COURTNEY BARRON (SHELÉA)