Overture Magazine - 2015-2016 Season November-December 2015 | Page 35

program notes {
Damon Gupton

An accomplished
conductor and actor,
Damon Gupton held
the post of assistant
conductor of the Kansas City Symphony
from 2006 to 2008. Mr. Gupton received
his bachelor’s of music education degree
from the University of Michigan. He
studied conducting with David Zinman
and Murry Sidlin at the Aspen Music
Festival and with Leonard Slatkin at
the National Conducting Institute in
Washington, D.C. Mr. Gupton served as
American conducting fellow of the Houston Symphony for the 2004–2005 season,
and his conducting appearances include
the Cleveland Orchestra, Orchestra of St.
Luke’s, National Symphony Orchestra,
and Detroit Symphony.
Mr. Gupton graduated from the
drama division of The Juilliard School
in New York. He has had roles in television, film, and on stage, including the
Broadway production of Bruce Norris’
Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winning
Clybourne Park, Superior Donuts, Inked
Baby, Meg’s New Friend, An American
Daughter, True History and Real Adventures, and Treason.
Currently, he stars in the new NBC
series The Player. Other television credits
include Rake with Greg Kinnear, The
Divide on AMC, The Newsroom, Prime
Suspect on NBC, Law and Order, Law
and Order Criminal Intent, Conviction,
The Unusuals, Third Watch, Hack, Drift
and Deadline.
He was in Whiplash, 2014 and appears
on the television drama Empire.
On film, he has appeared in Unfaithful,
The Loretta Claiborne Story, Helen at Risk,
Before The Devil Knows You’re Dead, The
Last Airbender, and This is Forty.
Damon Gupton last conducted the BSO
for the Star Spangled Spectacular at
Oregon Ridge in July 2014.

Brian Stokes
Mitchell

Dubbed “The Last
Leading Man” by
the New York Times,
Brian Stokes Mitchell has enjoyed a rich
and varied career on Broadway, television
and film, along with appearances in the
great American concert halls.
Mr. Mitchell has performed selections
from Porgy and Bess with Michael Tilson
Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony
at Carnegie Hall and works by Aaron Copland and various contemporary composers
with the L.A. Philharmonic under the
batons of Leonard Slatkin and John Mauceri at the Hollywood Bowl. Mr. Mitchell
has also performed Broadway tunes at
Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center
in Washington, DC with the late Marvin
Hamlisch, and jazz and standards with
Maestro John Williams at Disney Hall
and with the Boston Pops. Mr. Mitchell’s
recording, Simply Broadway, was one of
USA Today’s “Best Albums of 2013.”
Mr. Mitchell’s Broadway career includes
performances in Man of La Mancha (Tony
nomination and Helen Hayes Award), Kiss
Me Kate (Tony, Drama Desk and Outer
Critics Circle Awards), Ragtime (Tony
nomination), August Wilson’s King Hedley
II (Tony nomination), Kiss of the Spider
Woman, Jelly’s Last Jam, David Merrick’s
Oh, Kay! and Mail, which earned him
a Theatre World award for outstanding
Broadway Debut.
Mr. Mitchell’s long television career
began with a seven-year stint on Trapper
John, MD. Numerous film and TV
appearances include the feature films
One Last Thing and Jumping the Broom,
recurring roles on Crossing Jordan, Frasier,
Glee and PBS’ Great Performances. Most
recently, Mr. Mitchell appeared in Mr.
Robot on the USA Network.

Matthew Kleiser ‘17

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This is Brian Stokes Mitchell’s first
performance