Ravinia 2024 Issue 5

DILLON KONDOR Dillon Kondor is an or- chestrator and guitarist in New York. His TV/ film credits include NBC’s Jesus Christ Su- perstar Live (with John Legend and Sara Bareilles), Kennedy Center Honors with the cast of Hamilton , Marvelous Mrs. Maisel , Schmigadoon , Fosse/Verdon , Vivo , Tick-Tick-Boom , Spirited , Lyle Lyle Crocodile , and Dear Evan Hansen . After graduating Man- hattan School of Music with a master’s in classi- cal composition, Kondor started playing guitar on Broadway while also writing, performing and recording with his own band. He toured as the guitarist for Blood, Sweat & Tears from 2014 to 2017. Kondor’s orchestrations have been performed by the Nashville Symphony, Virgin- ia Symphony, and the NY Pops, where he also plays guitar. He lives in Tarrytown with his wife (Sarah), daughter (Violet), and dachshund (Maude). GEORGE MOORE George Moore is a pro- ducer, composer, and arranger based in Lon- don, UK. Since graduat- ing from the jazz piano program at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Moore has worked in a wide range of musical contexts on both sides of the Atlantic, with artists including Tom Misch, Snoh Aalegra, YEBBA, Adam Lambert, and Stormzy, whose song “Firebabe” (co-writ- ten and produced by Moore) was nominated for Song of the Year at the 2024 BRIT Awards. Moore also worked as piano tutor to Rami Malek for his Oscar-winning performance in Bohemian Rhapsody . Orchestration credits in- clude arrangements for multiple concerts at the BBC Proms, NAO’s Grammy-nominated album Saturn , Mahalia, Olivia Dean and the Heritage Orchestra. RYAN SHIRAR Ryan Shirar is a New York City–based con- ductor who is also an ac- complished pianist and orchestrator. Trained classically, he is diversely capable in styles ranging from masterworks to pop to Broadway. Shirar is currently the music director and arranger for The Four Phantoms, whose televised special aired recently on PBS. He has performed globally at venues includ- ing Lincoln Center, New York’s Town Hall, the Aspen Music Festival, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and with orchestras including Plymouth Philharmonic, Signature Symphony, Lexing- ton Philharmonic, and Cleveland Pops. Shirar made his Broadway debut in The Visit (2015), starring Chita Rivera, and recently was music director for Waitress at the Cape Playhouse. He also performs with Manhattan Concert Pro- ductions, which holds residencies at Carnegie Hall. His orchestrations are performed by a wide variety of orchestras across the country. Shirar received his master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Cincinnati-College Conserva- tory of Music. SHAAN RAMAPRASAD Shaan Ramaprasad is a producer and songwrit- er with credits including Chance the Rapper, Ted- dy Swims, A.R. Rahman, Cher, Mac Ayres, Jamila Woods, and Jordan Ward. In January, he contributed as a songwrit- er to 21 Savage’s Billboard number-one album American Dream . Ramaprasad has shared the stage as an arranger and violinist with hip-hop artist Wale at The Kennedy Center and with producer-artist Carrtoons at NPR’s Tiny Desk. While an engineering student at Vander- bilt University, Ramaprasad built a violin with WWII veteran and luthier JW Green, a story they shared on NBC’s Today Show . He thanks Matt Eyles and Jason Brauer for their orches- tration and transcription contributions to his arrangements. BENNETT GORDON HALL 11:00 AMSATURDAY, AUG. 31, 2024 FYÜTCH † † Ravinia debut FYÜTCH A Grammy-nominated musician, spoken-word artist, and visual storyteller, Harold “Fyütch” Simmons II blends hip-hop, soul, R&B, and pop in songs about self-love, community, Black and Indigenous history, and empathy. His song “Black Women in History” charted number one on Sirius XM Kids Place Live, and Fyütch recently released his debut album, Family Tree , which celebrates affirmation and family history and accomplishments. Through his music root- ed in social justice—having performed along- side artists like Pharrell and Kanye West with his high-school jazz and hip-hop band (Biscuits and Gravy) and, at age 7, won a public speaking contest that led him to share his speech at the US Capitol—Fyütch entertains, educates, and empowers the next generation to live brighter futures and lift the spirit wherever they go. In 2017, he merged his musical and teaching pas- sions, creating classroom-friendly songs that quickly went viral on YouTube, gaining recogni- tion from educators and parents alike. This led to him leveraging his talent for songwriting and poetry, to create his social justice-based curricu- lums. Fyütch is making his Ravinia debut. The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration Producers: David Lai, Ross Michaels, and Susannah Karron Executive Producers: Pat Houston, Donna Houston, and Primary Wave Music Music Director: David Lai Creative Director: Ross Michaels Creative Project Manager: Susannah Karron Video Editing for Concert Performance: Jordan Battiste and Ross Michaels Worldwide Representation: Ben Schiffer, WME Special Thanks: Dick Clark Productions, Sony Music Entertainment RAVINIA.ORG  • RAVINIAMAGAZINE 83