Guest Conductor: Edward Leonard

Edward Leonard has established an outstanding reputation for his versatility and interpretation of an extensive repertoire. As founder and Music Director of The Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh, he has led the organization to substantial artistic growth since its creation in 2014. His comfort in diverse repertoire results in a conducting prowess and artistic command that spans the centuries.

Leonard’s background as an Artistic Director and conductor extends form new works to masterpieces of the traditional canon, and under his leadership the Chamber Orchestra of Pittsburgh has commissioned a growing series of new works. Leonard has conducted the world premieres of pieces by Alyssa Wang, Marina Lopez, and Federico Garcia-DeCastro, as well as the Pittsburgh premieres of works by Amy Williams, Lou Harrison, and Jeffrey Nytch.

Mr. Leonard regularly serves as a guest conductor around the country, and his conducting engagements include work with the Canton Symphony Orchestra, the Allentown Symphony Orchestra, the Youth Chamber Connection Orchestra performing at the Chautauqua Institution, OvreArts New Music Ensemble, Savoyards Pittsburgh, the Midwest Chamber Ensemble, and the Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra. He also serves as a cover conductor for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Leonard studied with Juan Pablo Izquierdo at Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned his Master’s degree in Orchestral Conducting. While there, he prepared ensembles for conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Erich Kunzel, Thomas Baldner, and David Effron. For five summers he attended the prestigious Pierre Monteux School for Orchestra Conductors in Maine, where he studied with Michael Jinbo.

When not conducting, Edward loves spending time with his wife Erin and their four year old daughter Chloe, biking, and roasting coffee.

Program:

Christmas At The Movies
It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year
Winter Wonderland
Christmas Time Is Here
It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas
Carol Of The Bells
Tomorrow from “Annie”
My Favorite Things
Fantasy on “Greensleves”
The Christmas Song
Let It Go

– Intermission-

Sleigh Ride
Happy Holiday/It’s The Holiday Season
Merry Christmas, Darling
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Nutcracker Suite, Op. 71a:
– III. Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
– IV. Trepak
The Night Before Christmas (A Visit From Saint Nicholas)
The Glory of Christmas
The First Noel
Stille Nacht
O Holy Night

Guest Artist: Scott Coulter, Vocalist

Scott Coulter is one of New York’s most honored vocalists having received five MAC Awards (Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs), five Bistro Awards, and two Nightlife Awards for Outstanding Vocalist. he’s performed at most of NYC’s top rooms including Birdland, 54 below, The Oak Room at the Algonquin, and Feinstein’s at The Regency where he spent a record-setting eight months performing the revue 11 O’Clock Numbers At 11 O’Clock which he also co-created, directed and musically arranged. His self-titled debut CD won the 2003 MAC Award for Outstanding Recording and was chosen as the best recording of the year by TheatreMania and Cabaret Scenes magazines. Scott was director and star of A Christmas Carol: The Symphonic Concert in its world premiere with the Baltimore Symphony and reprised his performance in the Emmy-nominated PBS production which premiered in December 2013. He is an Emmy-nominee himself for his performance in American Song at NJPAC. Scott regularly performs in concert both as a solo artists and with a variety of legendary performers including Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz, Tony-winner Ben Vereen, and Grammy-winner Sheena Easton, and has performed with symphonies all over the world including San Francisco, Baltimore, Seattle, Pittsburgh, San Diego, Phoenix, Detroit, Winnipeg, St. louis, and Calgary. Schwartz has said, “one of the greatest things that can happen to a composer is to have his music interpreted by Scott Coulter.”

Scott is creator, arranger, and director fo several touring shows (symphonic and non-) including Music of the Knights, The Wonderful Music of Oz, Blockbuster Broadway!, and, for The ASCAP Foundation, Jerry Herman: The Broadway Legacy Concert. As a director, his credits include many shows for The Town Hall in NYC and Broadway By The Way for The Berkshire Theatre Festival and Broadway by the Bay. Along with Michael Kerker and ASCAP, he’s a regular producer/director of Michael Feinstein’s Standard Time at Carnegie Hall. Scott recently wrote the book for the new musical Got To Be There, which celebrates the life and music of songwriter Elliot Willensky. Scott, along with Dave Gaebler, is a co-producer of the Jessica Hendy/Brianna Barnes musical “Walking With Bubbles” which received a 2023 Drama Desk Award nomination and won an Off-Broadway Alliance Award. The show’s cast album is produced by Coulter and Vibecke Dahle Dellapolla. Coulter and Gaebler are also on the producing teams of the Broadway musicals “Water for Elephants” and “Suffs” (Tony Award-winner for Best Book of a Musical and Best Score). 

Scott is founder/owner of Spot-On Entertainment and Spot-On Arts Academy and is a resident director of programming at 54 Below (Broadway’s Supper Club) in NYC. He is the artistic director of the Pocono Mountains Music Festival and founder of the Pocono Pops! Scott is a proud graduate of the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music which honored him with the CCM Young Alumni Award in 2010 and CCM’s Distinguished Service Award in 2020.

Guest Artist: John Boswell, Pianist

John Boswell has served as musical director for Judy Collins, Andy Williams, Bob Newhart, Scott Coulter, Maude Maggart, Faith Prince, Carmen Cusack, Babbie Green, Jason Graae, and a host of other fine talents. John played the role of “moose” in the national tour of Crazy For You and has appeared on The Tonight Show, Today Show, CBS This Morning, Regis And Kathie Lee, General Hospital, and was the piano playing hands of Nancy McKeon on the sitcom The Facts of Life. Regular concerts with symphonies include Music of the Knights, Simply The BestL The Music Of Tina Turner, Jerry Herman: The Broadway Legacy Concert, Blockbuster Broadway!, Sheena Easton and Scott Coulter in The Spy Who Loved Me, Bette Babs & Beyond, and Disco Inferno: The Sounds of the ’70s. John has been heard singing in the shows Three Men and a Baby… Grand, Cinema Toast, Broadway Today, Wiseguys, and the New York cult hit CASHINO. Broadway/Off Broadway credits include Crazy For You, The Secret Garden, LIZA! Steppin’ Out At Radio City Music Hall, Back To Bacharach, and David and The Kathy And Mo Show: Parallel Lives. His monthly concerts in 2017 at The Gardenia in Los Angeles have been crowd pleasers. John has eight CDs of original piano music and a ninth on the way. While a student at UCLA, John received the Frank Sinatra Award for popular instrumentalist. 

Guest Artist: Jessica Hendy, Vocalist

Jessica Hendy is widely recognized as one of Broadway’s best belters. She played the role of Grizabella in Cats in both the original Broadway run and the 2016 revival cast, becoming the only person in history to have appeared in both Broadway incarnations of that smash hit musical. Other Broadway credits include Aida (Amneris), and Amour. She has toured Nationally and in Canada in Cats (Grizabella), and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator). She is a Drama Desk Award nominee and winner of the Off-Broadway Alliance Award for her one-woman musical “Walking With Bubbles” which had its world premiere in New York City earlier this year. She received rave reviews for her one-woman cabaret “A Life To Call Your Own”, and a Bistro Award for the revue “Get Your Tickets Now”.

NYC Pre-Broadway workshops include Dance Of The Vampires, Aida, and The Molly Maguires. She played Diana Goodman in the regional premiere of the Pulitzer Prize winning musical Next To Normal, and The Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati. She has had the pleasure to work with many theatres around the country including Pittsburgh CLO and North Shore Music Theatre in Miss Saigon (Ellen), and Helen Hayes Perf Arts Center in Songs For A New World with Jason Robert Brown. Ms. Hendy’s performance as ‘Jeanne’ in The Great American Trailer Park Musical at The Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati earned her an ACCLAIM Award for Best Actress. She regularly appears with symphonic orchestras around the world in a variety of concerts including “Music of the Knights”, “Rock ‘N Radio”, and “Blockbuster Broadway!” Ms. Hendy is a proud graduate of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.