Details

Ticket Information $85 Dress Circle (A) $75 Terrace (B) $59 Orchestra (C) $49 Upper Circle (D) $36 Gallery (E) $24 Orchestra Front (F) Tickets subject to applicable service charges.

This performance is part of the Robbins Pops series.

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Program Info

Program

Artist Info

William Eddins, conductor

William Eddins is in his seventh season as Music Director of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. During his tenure, he has made it a priority that he conduct performances in nearly every subscription series the orchestra has presented, as well as a wide variety of special concerts and galas.

Bill Eddins began playing the piano at age five, but was bitten by the conducting bug while in his sophomore year at the Eastman School of Music. In 1989, he decided to begin conducting studies with Daniel Lewis at the University of Southern California. Assistant Conductorships with both the Minnesota Orchestra and the Chicago Symphony (the latter under the leadership of Daniel Barenboim) honed his skills even further.

Mr. Eddins has many interests outside music. He is fond of biking, tennis, reading, pinball, and cooking. He recently completed building his own recording studio at his home in Minneapolis, where he lives with his wife Jen (a clarinetist), and their sons Raef and Riley. While conducting has been his principal pursuit, he continues to perform on piano in Edmonton and elsewhere. He accepts a limited number of guest appearances each year. In 2008, he conducted a rare full staging of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess for Opéra de Lyon, which won him great acclaim, leading to a repeat engagement in Lyon in July and September 2010, as well as Edinburgh in August 2010, and in London in September 2010. During August 2009, Bill toured South Africa, conducting three gala concerts with soprano Renée Fleming and the kwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Ellis Hall, vocals & piano

Virtuoso multi-instrumentalist and vocalist, Ellis Hall possesses a style that commands attention in its diversity and depth. On stage at The Kennedy Center in front of President Clinton and Ray Charles, Mr. Hall was introduced, "Mr. Charles has asked that Ellis perform this evening. Though he is sightless, his vision is greater than ours." Formerly featured as lead vocalist and keyboardist with the soul-stirring group Tower of Power, he culminated his stint with co-production, arrangement, and songwriting prowess on their album Power. He is also recognized for his hit performance on the Kenny G. multi-platinum album Duotones, and the gold and platinum California Raisins albums. With his group Project Insight, comprised of visually impaired musicians, he appeared for the President’s Council for the Disabled, and also appeared at the Kennedy Center to celebrate President Clinton’s Western Inaugural Ball. His most recent credits include an appearance in the runaway hit comedy Big Momma's House, a 20th Century Fox feature film, and he sang the song Flip, Flop & Fly in the blockbuster Clay-mation animated comedy Chicken Run from DreamWorks. He has also done a variety of television appearances as well as many other film and television vocal performances including national and international radio and television commercials.