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As music director of the National Memorial Day Concert and “ A Capitol Fourth ” on PBS , Maestro Everly proudly leads the National Symphony Orchestra in these patriotic celebrations on the National Mall , attracting hundreds of thousands attendees on the lawn and reaching millions of viewers annually .
Originally appointed by Mikhail Baryshnikov , Mr . Everly was conductor of the American Ballet Theatre for 14 years , where he served as music director . In addition to his ABT tenure , he teamed with Marvin Hamlisch on Broadway shows that Mr . Hamlisch scored . Mr . Everly conducted Carol Channing hundreds of times in Hello , Dolly ! in two separate Broadway productions .
A graduate of the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University , Maestro Everly is a recipient of the 2015 Indiana Historical Society Living Legends Award and holds an honorary doctorate of Arts from Franklin College in his home state of Indiana . He is a proud resident of the Indianapolis community for over 14 years and when not on the podium you can find Maestro Everly at home with his family , which includes Max the wonder dog .
Jack Everly last appeared with the BSO in January 2017 , conducting “ A Tribute to Ol ’ Blue Eyes .”
Benjamin Brecher
Mr . Brecher has appeared with the Santa Fe Opera , Opera de Montreal , Opera de Nice and Glimmerglass Opera , among others . On the concert stage , he has performed with the orchestras of Chicago , Chautauqua , Mexico City , Rome , Seattle , Budapest , Cincinnati , Ottawa and the National Symphony at Kennedy Center among others .
His 12 recordings include the 2010 release of Bernstein ’ s Candide and two live PBS concerts from Carnegie Hall : Ira Gershwin at 100 and The Music of Lerner and Loewe . His 2016 recording “ Forgotten Liszt ” was released on MSR Classics .
Recent engagements include performances at the Ravinia Festival , Don Giovanni with Opera Santa Barbara , the world premiere of the opera Shot !, the story of the assassination of President McKinley , Lucia di Lammermoor and Lakmé with California Opera . In 2017 , he embarks on a U . S . and European tour with his “ Forgotten Liszt ” repertoire .
A native of Toledo , Ohio , Mr . Brecher made his professional debut with Opera Theatre of St . Louis in Colin Graham ’ s production of Billy Budd . He attended the New England Conservatory and The Juilliard Opera Center . Mr . Brecher and his family live in Santa Barbara , California where he teaches voice at University of California Santa Barbara .
Christopher Layer
( Uilleann Pipes , Irish Flute , Pennywhistle and Scottish Highland Bagpipes ) Christopher Layer is founder and artistic director of the New Harmony Music Festival & School , in New Harmony , Indiana . Trained in both traditional and classical music , he has appeared as an orchestral soloist with the National , Detroit , Pittsburgh , Knoxville , Indianapolis , Milwaukee , Portland , Seattle , St . Louis and Baltimore symphonies among others . He contributed traditional music to the New York Public Theater ’ s production of Twelfth Night , performing onstage with the company .
As a teacher of the flute and pipes , Mr . Layer has worked for Scotland ’ s Feis Na Gael , in the Scottish Hebrides , The Augusta National Heritage Center , The Hamish Moore School of Piping and countless workshops and music festivals around the world . Over the last 15 years , Mr . Layer has toured as principal pipe soloist and flautist with the Trinity Irish Dance Company . Since 2003 , he has been artist-in-residence for the Moab Music Festival in Utah , and is the creator of the Moab Community Dance Band .
A native Hoosier and the son of two musicians , Mr . Layer played his first professional engagement at age 11 .
Patricia Noonan
Patricia Noonan recently appeared as Meg in the revised James Lapine-directed production of Sondheim ’ s Merrily We Roll Along and created the roles of Elizabeth Bennett in Jane Austen ’ s Pride and Prejudice at the Signature Theatre and Sophia in Death Takes a Holiday at the Roundabout . Other New York credits include Where ’ s Charley ? ( Patricia ) at City Center Encores , Signs of Life ( Lorelei ) at the Marjorie Deane and Hurricane at St . Clements . Ms . Noonan has also appeared regionally in The Secret Garden ( Lily ) at TheatreWorks Palo Alto , Carousel ( Julie Jordan ) at Barrington Stage and Sondheim at 80 concert at the Kennedy Center . She was in the original cast of Little House on the Prairie at the Guthrie and appeared in Ragtime ( Evelyn Nesbit ) and Man of La Mancha ( Antonia ) at the White Plains Performing Arts Center . Ms . Noonan is a graduate of Boston College where she was part of the Presidential Scholars Program .
Will Ray
Will Ray was recently in the closing Broadway company of Les Miserables where he performed the role of Jean Valjean . Before that , he was seen across the country in the First National Tour of Little House on the Prairie . Favorite musical theater roles include Chris in Miss Saigon , Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard and Lt . Cable in South Pacific . Mr . Ray has also been a featured soloist with such orchestras as the Tokyo Philharmonic , Cincinnati Pops and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra led by Maestro Jack Everly .
The O ’ Hare Irish Dancers
Tim O ’ Hare started the O ’ Hare School of Irish Dance in 1979 in Plymouth , MI , opened new schools in Cleveland and Akron in 1984 , and in 1996 , further expanded his school to Chicago . Many of O ’ Hare ’ s students have won championships in solo , group and dance drama
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