Ravinia 2023 Issue 2

HEATHER HEADLEY Born in Trinidad, Heather Headley moved to the United States and settled in Indiana in her teens, and she soon immersed herself in the arts with musical theater and communi- cations studies at Northwestern University. Those studies quickly turned to star experi- ence, however, when she was invited to join the original Broadway cast of Elton John and Tim Rice’s Tony-winning musical adaptation of The Lion King as Nala. During that produc- tion, the writing duo cast Headley in the title role of their next musical. In 2000, she hit the stage as the Nubian princess Aida, winning both a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award. Two years later, Headley showed the versatil- ity of her voice with the release of her debut album, This Is Who I Am , a gold-selling collection that included two Billboard top-five dance tracks in “He Is” and “I Wish I Wasn’t.” She earned Grammy nominations as Best New Artist and for “I Wish I Wasn’t” while also winning a pair of Soul Train Awards for the album and “He Is.” Headley followed up in 2006 with In My Mind , which soared up to number five on Billboard ’s Hot 100 and featured her first number-one hit in the title track, and then in 2009 with Audience of One , which won her the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Gospel Album. Just after releasing Only One in the World in 2012, she returned to the theater stage as Rachel Marron in the original West End cast of The Bodyguard , earning an Olivier nomination. Broadway soon beckoned again, and in 2016 Headley joined the Tony-winning revival of The Color Purple in the star role of Shug Avery. Most recently she has turned to screen acting—in 2018 she had a recurring role as Gwen Garret on Chicago Med , and in 2020 she began starring as Helen Decatur on Sweet Magnolias . She also appeared in the 2021 Aretha Franklin biopic Respect as gospel singer Clara Ward. Heather Headley first appeared at Ravinia in 2007 and returned last summer in her Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut as part of “Yours, Stephen Sondheim,” a specially curated tribute to the late Broadway icon. Tonight’s Gala fundraising event directly supports Ravinia and its nonprofit music education programs. These include Reach Teach Play and the Lawndale Family Music School, whose singers are featured in tonight’s performance at Heather Headley’s invitation. We hope you will consider supporting these vital programs. Please scan this code to join us in bringing life-changing music education to Chicagoland students and families: RON COLVARD As a pianist, singer, arranger, and orchestrator, Ron Colvard is active across all genres of music, working on stage, film, and television. He regularly appears in concert alongside Tony and Gram- my winner Heather Headley as her conductor and music director, and he is frequently engaged in that role for staged events. In 2009, Colvard led the Los Angeles premiere of Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical starring John Larroquette at the Pantages Theater, hav- ing been the conductor and music director for the show for seven years prior at the Old Globe Theater in San Diego. Additionally at the Old Globe, he was the associate conductor for Dancing in the Dark starring Scott Bakula, and he was the assistant conductor with the first national tour of Hairspray . Colvard’s national tour credits also include work on Ain’t Too Proud , The Book of Mormon , Legally Blonde , Wicked , A Chorus Line , Jersey Boys , Avenue Q , Movin’ Out , Dirty Rotten Scoundrels with Norbert Leo Butz, and The King and I starring Stephanie Powers. In regional productions, he has worked on such other shows as Something Rotten , Chicago , Into the Woods , A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , Sophisticated Ladies , Once on This Island , and Man of La Mancha . Colvard has collaborated on numerous Disney projects as a music producer for Disney Parks Live Entertainment, and he has also worked with such artists as Neil Patrick Harris, Gloria Estefan, Sheryl Crow, and Carol Burnett, as well as Harry Connick Jr. on his album and television special When My Heart Finds Christmas . SINGERS FROM RAVINIA LAWNDALE FAMILY MUSIC SCHOOL Rooted in a mutual love for music, the Ravinia Lawndale Partnership provides access to the arts and opportunities for cultural enrichment to this under-resourced West Side community. Music instruction is offered to Lawndale residents at the tuition-free Ravinia Lawndale Family Music School. This neighborhood music school runs year round and annually serves over 150 children and community members of all ages in Lawndale. Residents attend weekly classes in violin, piano, guitar, and voice. Sistema Ravinia, the festival’s orchestral program that fosters social development for 4th–12th grade students in Chicago and Lake County public schools, recently expanded to serve the Lawndale community. In addition, Ravinia brings musicians to perform in community venues and provides free lawn passes to concerts at Ravinia. Kelley Bennett Sha Calhoun-Moses Daelyn Calloway Andrew Caston Deanna Green Emilio Grindheim Jacqueline Kelly Jade Maze Iletha Spells Hudson Valerie Stricklin Alan Vazquez Daniel Vazquez Cris Vazquez VOICES OF TRINITY MASS CHOIR BRYAN JOHNSON, executive director of worship and arts KEITH HAMPTON, assistant director of music Imani Abernathy Bert Allen Christina Armstrong Tia Baskerville Wayne Baskerville Lenzy Battle Julia Branson Marcia Bullock Tracy Curenton Jared Deane Joe DeArchiso-Ocloo Sharon Gilbert Sherrie Godbolt Rev Duan Hale Curtis Jackson Barry Jenkins Connie Kelly Nya Lampkin Ronald Lucas Herbert McCann Dawn McIntosh Mayah McIntosh Dwayne Murray Yukio Phillips Rhonda Pope Tena Sanders Letitia Sykes-Matthews Milan Townsend Susan Wade Deanna Walcott-Kemp Patricia Walker Ryann Werner RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 41

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