Nathan T. Gunn (born November 26, 1970)^[1] is an American operatic baritone.

Gunn was born in South Bend, Indiana.^[2]

He has appeared in many of world's well-known opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Houston Grand Opera, Seattle Opera, Dallas Opera, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Opera, Royal Opera House (Covent Garden), Paris Opera, Bayerische Staatsoper, Glyndebourne Festival, and the Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels. He has also appeared at the Mostly Mozart Festival.

While he is noted for his vocal prowess and acting, Gunn has received almost more fame for his physique, a peculiar feat for an opera singer.^[3] In 2008, he was featured in People magazine's list of "The Sexiest Men Alive."^[4]

Was was appointed a tenured professor of voice at the University of Illinois, beginning in the fall semester of 2007. His wife, Julie Jordan Gunn, who holds a doctorate in accompaniment from University of Illinois, was also appointed an associate professor in accompaniment at the University of Illinois.

Roles[link]

• Paul in Amelia
• Title role in Billy Budd
• Title role in Hamlet
• Lancelot in Camelot
• Guglielmo in Così fan tutte
• Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia
• The Count in Le nozze di Figaro
• Marcello in La bohème
• Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos
• Papageno in Die Zauberflöte
• Zurga in Les pêcheurs de perles
• Prince Andrei in War and Peace
• Valentin in Faust
• Riolobo in Florencia en el Amazonas
• Clyde in An American Tragedy
• Buzz Aldrin in Man on the Moon by Jonathan Dove
• Created the role of Father Cayetano Delaura in Love and Other Demons (2008)

Notes[link]

1. ^ U.S. Public Records Index Vol 1 (Provo, UT: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc.), 2010.
2. ^ Metropolitan Opera International Radio Broadcast Information Center. Nathan Gunn, Baritone
3. ^ Opera barihunks hit a muscular note
4. ^ People Magazine's sexiest men alive

External links[link]

• Official website
• About Nathan Gunn
• Sony BMG Masterworks' Nathan Gunn Podcasts

This article about an American opera singer is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Gunn may refer to:

General uses [link]

• Gunn High School, high school in Palo Alto, California
• Gunnr, one of the valkyries in Norse mythology
• Gunn diode, diode used in high-frequency electronics
• Clan Gunn, Highland Scots clan of Norse origin
• Floyd M. Gunn Jr. High School, a junior high school in Arlington, Texas
• Gunns, Tasmanian company

Places [link]

• Gunn City, Missouri
• Lake Gunn, New Zealand
• Gunn, Northern Territory, outer suburb of Darwin, in the City of Palmerston Local Government Area
• Gunn Valley, a mountain valley in the Chilcotin District of the Central Interior of British Columbia, Canada
• Gun Lake (British Columbia), a lake in the Bridge River Country of the British Columbia Interior, also formerly spelled Gunn Lake

People [link]

• Alexander Gunn, Canadian politician
• Anna Gunn, Actress
• Anton Gunn, American politician
• Battiscombe Gunn, egyptologist
• Ben Gunn, fictional character in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island
• Ben Gunn (guitarist), British guitarist with The Sisters of Mercy
• Brian Gunn, television and film writer
• Bryan Gunn, Scottish footballer
• Chanda Gunn, 2006 Winter Olympics bronze medalist
• Charles Gunn, fictional character from the television series Angel
• David Gunn (disambiguation)
• Donald Gunn, Manitoba politician
• Genni Gunn, Canadian novelist, poet, and translator
• Graham Gunn, Australian politician
• J. B. Gunn, physicist, inventor of the Gunn diode
• James Gunn (disambiguation)
• Jason Gunn, New Zealand television personality
• Jeannie Gunn, ("Mrs Aeneas Gunn") Australian novelist
• John Gunn (disambiguation)
• Moira Gunn, radio host
• Moses Gunn, actor
• Neil M. Gunn, Scottish novelist, critic, and dramatist
• Nathan Gunn, opera baritone
• Richard Gunn (writer), writer
• Richard Gunn (boxer), boxer
• Ronald Campbell Gunn, botanist
• Ross Gunn, American physicist
• Sean Gunn, actor
• Tim Gunn, designer
• Thom Gunn, British poet
• Trey Gunn, bass guitarist with the band King Crimson
• William Gunn (disambiguation)

Television and film [link]

• Peter Gunn, 1958-1963 American television series about a private detective of the same name
  • Gunn (film), 1967 film based on the television series
  • Peter Gunn (1989 film), 1989 TV film based on the television series
• Charles Gunn, fictional character from the popular TV series Angel

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Kristin Chenoweth
Chenoweth at the 2008 Primetime Emmy Awards
Born	Kristi Dawn Chenoweth (1968-07-24) July 24, 1968 (age 43) Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, author
Years active	1991 – present
Website
http://www.kristin-chenoweth.com/

Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968) is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999), for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked (2003). Her best-known television role is Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing. As Olive Snook on the ABC comedy-drama Pushing Daisies, she won a 2009 Emmy Award. Chenoweth stars in the ABC TV series GCB, which premiered in March 2012.

An Oklahoma native, Chenoweth sang gospel music as a child and studied opera before deciding to pursue a career in musical theatre. In 1997, she made her Broadway debut in Steel Pier. Besides You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Wicked, Chenoweth's stage work includes five City Center Encores! productions, Broadway's The Apple Tree in 2006 and Promises, Promises in 2010, as well as Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions.

Chenoweth had her own TV series Kristin in 2001, and has guest starred on many shows, including Sesame Street and Glee, for which she was nominated for Emmy awards in 2010 and 2011. In films, she has played mostly character roles, such as in Bewitched (2005), The Pink Panther (2006) and RV (2006). She has also played roles in made-for-TV movies, done voice work in animated films and the animated TV series Sit Down, Shut Up, hosted several award shows and released several albums of songs, including A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas (2008) and Some Lessons Learned (2011). Chenoweth also penned a 2009 memoir, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages.

Early life[link]

Adopted as a baby, Kristi Dawn Chenoweth was born and grew up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, a suburb of Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has said that she is one-quarter Cherokee.^[1][2] At an early age, she performed gospel songs for local churches. A performing highlight of her childhood was a solo appearance at the Southern Baptist Convention national conference at the age of 12, where she performed the Evie song "Four Feet Eleven". The chorus begins, "I'm only 4 feet 11, but I'm going to Heaven" (Chenoweth is 4 ft 11 in (150 cm) in height).^[3][4]

After graduating from Broken Arrow Senior High, where she participated in school plays, Chenoweth attended Oklahoma City University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta (Beta Omicron) sorority.^[5][6] She earned a BFA degree in musical theatre^[7] and a master's degree in opera performance, studying under voice instructor Florence Birdwell, who also trained Miss America 1981, Susan Powell, and three-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara.^[5] It was Birdwell who suggested to Chenoweth that she add an "n" to her first name.^[8] While at OCU, Chenoweth competed in beauty pageants, winning the title of "Miss OCU" and was the first runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1991.^[3] In 1992, Chenoweth participated in a studio recording of The Most Happy Fella.^[9]

Chenoweth participated in a number of vocal competitions and was named "most promising up-and-coming singer" in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which came with a full scholarship to Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts.^[10] Two weeks before school started, however, she went to New York City to help a friend move. While there, she auditioned for the 1993 Paper Mill Playhouse production of the musical Animal Crackers and got the role of Arabella Rittenhouse. She turned down the scholarship and moved to New York to do the show and pursue a career in musical theatre.^[10]

Career[link]

For two decades, Chenoweth has appeared in theater, television, film and on the concert stage.

Theatre[link]

Chenoweth (holding her dog, Madeline Kahn "Maddie" Chenoweth) joins Laura Bush and celebrity models to raise awareness of heart disease in the Red Dress Collection Celebrity Fashion Show

After Animal Crackers, Chenoweth continued to appear in regional theatre productions, such as Babes in Arms and Phantom (as Christine; also touring in Germany in this role),^[11] also taking roles in Off-Broadway productions like Luisa in The Fantasticks,^[3] and Kristy in Box Office of the Damned (1994).^[11] In 1997, she appeared as Hyacinth in the Roundabout Theater Company production of Moliere's farcical Scapin, earning her first New York Times review, with Ben Brantley writing "Kristin Chenoweth's sob-prone ingenue ... [is] delightful".^[12] She made her Broadway debut in the spring of 1997 as Precious McGuire in the musical Steel Pier by Kander and Ebb, for which she won a Theatre World award.^[3] In 1998 she appeared in the City Center Encores! staged concert of the George and Ira Gershwin musical Strike up the Band as Anne Draper^[13] and the Lincoln Center Theatre production of William Finn's A New Brain.^[14]

In 1999, Chenoweth performed in the Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown as the title character's little sister, Sally, a character that was not present in the original production. She won the Tony, Drama Desk, Clarence Derwent, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.^[15] Later that year, she starred on Broadway in the short-lived comic play Epic Proportions,^[16] followed by starring as Daisy Gamble in the "Encores!" production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever in February 2000.^[17]

After this, Chenoweth split her time between stage and TV or film roles and released her first solo album, Let Yourself Go (2001). In 2002, she performed in the City Center Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash.^[18] In October  2003, she returned to Broadway (after the San Francisco tryout) in Wicked, the musical about the early years of the witches of Oz, in the joint-leading role of Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. She was nominated for a 2004 Tony Award as Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her performance, losing to her co-star Idina Menzel (who played Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West).^[19] Chenoweth was also nominated for the Drama Desk Award^[20][21] and the Drama League Award for this role.^[22] After playing Glinda for nine months, Chenoweth left Wicked, on July 18, 2004,^[23] soon joining the cast of The West Wing in Los Angeles.

Chenoweth played Cunegonde in the New York Philharmonic revival of Candide, directed by Lonny Price, in May 2004.^[24] The production was also broadcast on PBS's Great Performances. A performance of the rarely sung duet "We Are Women", between Cunegonde and the Old Lady (played by Patti Lupone), was included in the production.^[25][26]

From December 2006 to March 2007, she starred on Broadway as Eve in a revival of The Apple Tree with co-stars Brian d'Arcy James and former fiancé Marc Kudisch.^[27] She received nominations for the Drama Desk Award^[28] and the Drama League Award. She hosted that year's Drama Desk Awards ceremony.^[28]

Chenoweth played Elizabeth in a 2006 workshop of Mel Brooks's musical theatre adaptation of his film Young Frankenstein,^[29] but due to other commitments, she was unable to appear in the Broadway production.^[30] In 2008 she was scheduled to reprise her role as Cunegonde in an English National Opera production of Candide, but she had to pull out.^[31] She appeared in the Encores! semi-staged production of Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's Music in the Air in February 2009.^[32] Chenoweth was scheduled to return to The Metropolitan Opera in 2010 to play Samira in John Corigliano's opera The Ghosts of Versailles.^[33] The Met cancelled the expensive production in 2008 as the U.S. economy weakened.^[34]

Chenoweth starred as Fran Kubelik in the 2010 Broadway revival of the musical Promises, Promises, opposite Sean Hayes, which opened on April 25, 2010.^[35] The songs "I Say a Little Prayer" and "A House Is Not a Home" were added for her to sing.^[36] Chenoweth and Hayes remained in the cast until the show closed on January 2, 2011,^[37] although she missed performances from December 29, 2010 to January 1, 2011 to perform a New Year's Eve concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall on December 31, 2010.^[37][38]

Chenoweth took part in a reading of the musical On the Twentieth Century for the Roundabout Theatre Company in early 2011 with Hugh Jackman and Andrea Martin.^[39][40] She played televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker in a reading of a new musical called Rise in spring 2011.^[41]

Television work[link]

After a guest appearance on LateLine, a role in the short-lived television series Paramour (1999) and several roles in television films such as Annie (as Lily St. Regis), Chenoweth starred in her own NBC sitcom, the semi-autobiographical Kristin in 2001. It was short-lived, with thirteen episodes filmed, but only six episodes aired.^[42] Chenoweth appeared in the lead role of Marian in the 2003 television film, The Music Man, opposite Matthew Broderick.^[43] She also guest-starred on such shows as Frasier (2001), Sesame Street (2004) and Ugly Betty (2007).^[44]

In 2004, Chenoweth began playing the recurring role of media consultant Annabeth Schott in The West Wing.^[45][46] For her performance, she was nominated twice, along with the cast, for a Screen Actors Guild Award. She appeared in the final two seasons of the program, through 2006.^[47][46]

From 2007 to 2009, Chenoweth played Olive Snook in the television series Pushing Daisies. For her performance she received critical acclaim and was nominated two years in a row for an Emmy Award,^[48] winning in 2009 as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.^[49] The series was cancelled after two seasons.^[3]

In 2009, Chenoweth lent her voice to the animated comedy series Sit Down, Shut Up as Miracle Grohe, a science teacher who does not believe in science.^[7] The series lasted just thirteen episodes. Later that year, Chenoweth guest starred as April Rhodes in Glee, singing several songs, earning enthusiastic notices. The character is a former member of the glee club who never finished high school and ended up hitting rock bottom.^[50] A review in USA Today observed, "Her presence may not make much sense, but [if] it means hearing Chenoweth sing, we can put up with any explanation the show cares to offer."^[51][52] She received a Satellite Award for Outstanding Guest Star.^[53] In April 2010, Chenoweth returned to Glee as April Rhodes, singing more songs.^[54] The Los Angeles Times review commented, "the best part about 'Home' was undoubtedly the return of Kristin Chenoweth as April. ... From her spunky duet of 'Fire' with Schue, to the heart-achingly lonely coo of 'One Less Bell to Answer' which segued into a fantastic reprise of 'A House Is Not a Home' and of course her bone-chilling take on 'Home' ... I fell in love with her again."^[55] She was nominated for both 2010 and 2011 Emmy Awards for her performances on Glee.^[56][57] Chenoweth returned to Glee in "Rumours" in 2011.^[58]

In 2011, Chenoweth joined the cast of a pilot for ABC called Good Christian Bitches as a character named Carlene Cockburn.^[59] ABC picked up the show and changed the title to GCB.^[60] The series debuted in March 2012. Chenoweth guest starred in an episode of the sitcom Hot in Cleveland, titled "The Gateway Friend", on May 2, 2012.^[58]

Films[link]

Chenoweth made her film debut in the film Topa Topa Bluffs in 2002 playing the role of Patty.^[61] After several years away from film she returned to the big screen in the 2005 film version of Bewitched, directed by Nora Ephron. The film's star, Nicole Kidman, had attended a performance of Wicked and was so impressed with Chenoweth that Kidman asked Ephron to cast Chenoweth in the film.^{[citation needed]} Chenoweth played the part of Maria Kelly, the Kidman character's neighbor. In 2006, Chenoweth played supporting roles in five films, The Pink Panther, RV, Running with Scissors, Deck the Halls, and Stranger Than Fiction.

On February 24, 2008, Chenoweth sang "That's How You Know" from the film Enchanted at the 80th Academy Awards in the Kodak Theater.^[62] She also voiced Rosetta, the garden fairy in the 2008 animated film Tinker Bell.^[7] Later that year, Chenoweth appeared in the 2008 holiday romantic comedy film Four Christmases, playing the sister of Reese Witherspoon's character.

In 2009, Chenoweth starred as a "suicidal prostitute" in the indie drama Into Temptation, written and directed by Patrick Coyle. The film was screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival and since then has been released on DVD.^[63] Also in 2009, Chenoweth reprised her voice role of Rosetta in Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure and filmed the Disney comedy You Again (released in 2010). Chenoweth hosted the 15th Annual Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards which aired January 15, 2010, on VH1.^[64]

Other media[link]

Chenoweth often appears on Prairie Home Companion.^[65]

On August 27, 2008, Chenoweth released an internet video with Funny or Die titled Intervention with Kristin Chenoweth.^[66] The video parodied A&E's show Intervention, with Chenoweth starring as a singing, dancing interventionist. The song was composed by Andrew Lippa, Chenoweth's frequent musical director and composer for her concert songs as well as the composer of "My New Philosophy", which she sang in the revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The lyrics are by Amy Rhodes, who also wrote the clip.^[66][67] Chenoweth admitted that she was hesitant about performing the lyrics.^[67] In 2010, she appeared in a three-minute video short for Glamour Magazine entitled "iPad or Bust".^[68] Chenoweth posed for the cover and a photo spread in the March 2006 edition of FHM magazine.^[69]

In 2011, Chenoweth released her first televised music video on Country Music Television, directed by Roman White, "I Want Somebody".^[70] The video for the single peaked at #19 on CMT's Top Twenty Countdown.^[71]

Recordings and concerts[link]

Chenoweth at the Oxford Union, 2009

Chenoweth has a distinctive speaking voice, one she has compared to that of Betty Boop.^[72] She is a classically trained coloratura soprano, able to sing the note "F6" (also known as "F above High C").^[73]

Among other early recordings, Chenoweth participated in a studio cast recording of The Most Happy Fella in 1992. She was also in the cast recordings of A New Brain (1998) and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999) and a studio cast recording of 110 in the Shade (1999). In 2000, she was featured on the album Grateful: The Songs of John Bucchino. The next year, with Mandy Patinkin, she was featured on the album entitled "Kidults".^[9] Also in 2001, she released her debut album Let Yourself Go, which was a collection of standards from the musicals of the 1930s. One of the tracks featured a duet with Jason Alexander. In October 2002, Chenoweth performed songs from her solo album, Let Yourself Go, in concert for Lincoln Center's American Songbook concert series.^[74] The same year, she appeared as Fanny Brice in the Actor's Fund Benefit Concert of the musical Funny Girl in New York City. In 2003 in London, she performed a solo concert as part of the Divas at Donmar series for director Sam Mendes. Later that year, she sang Glinda in the cast recording of Wicked and the soundrack recording of Disney's The Music Man. In 2004, she released her second album As I Am, which was a Christian music album containing various spiritual songs. The album peaked at number 31 on the U.S. Christian Albums Chart. The same year, Chenoweth gave a concert at Carnegie Hall.^[9]

On January 19, 2007, Chenoweth performed a solo concert at The Metropolitan Opera in New York, only the third musical theatre star ever to present a solo concert at that location, following Barbara Cook and Yves Montand.^[75] The same year, she was featured in songs with Nathan Gunn on an album entitled Just Before Sunrise. The next year, she released her third solo studio album, entitled A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas. The album was much anticipated by both her fans and Chenoweth herself; she had expressed her desire in the past to produce a Christmas album. The album included a duet with John Pizzarelli and there are several modern holiday tunes, but many traditional carols as well including The Lord's Prayer. This album has been her best seller, reaching number 77 on the U.S. Billboard Albums Chart, climbing to number 7 on the U.S. Holiday Albums chart and to number 1 on the U.S. Heatseekers Chart. Among many other solo concerts around the U.S., Chenoweth performed her own concert in 2009 with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, at the Fox Theatre.^[76]

Starting in August 2010, during her nights off from Promises, Promises, she travelled to Nashville to record songs for her fourth recording, a country pop album.^[77] On September 13, 2011, the album, Some Lessons Learned, was released. The album contains songs by Diane Warren, Dolly Parton and Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott, among others. Chenoweth co-wrote two of the songs.^[78][79]

Special events and appearances[link]

Chenoweth and the cast of the Broadway musical Wicked performed the song "One Short Day" in the 2003 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.^[80] In the 2005 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Chenoweth performed the song "Oklahoma" while riding aboard the "Oklahoma Rising" float. The float was making the first of three annual appearances commemorating the state of Oklahoma's statehood centennial in 2007.^[81][82]

She was the star performer of the opening ceremony of the 2007 Tournament of Roses Parade. She sang "Our Good Nature," an original composition written to coincide with the Oklahoma centennial celebration and the theme of the parade.^[83] In the 2008 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, she performed the song "The Christmas Waltz" from her "A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas" album while riding aboard the "The Care Bears Winter Fun-Derland" float.^[84]

She sang with Il Divo as part of Il Divo's Christmas Tour 2009 on December 15, 16 and 17 in New York City and December 18 in Boston.^[85][86] Chenoweth has sung the U.S. national anthem at various sporting events, including the 2010 New York Yankees home opener^[87] and at Candlestick Park for the NFL's NFC Conference Championship on January 22, 2012.^[88][89]

Personal life[link]

Chenoweth sang the U.S. national anthem for the Yankees' Home Opener, 2010

In 2009, Chenoweth wrote a memoir entitled A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages,^[90] describing her adoption, her turn in Wicked and her time in Hollywood. She has stated that the book is not a "tell all", and instead focuses on "how I got where I am so far".^[91] The book was released on April 14, 2009.^[92] The book spent two weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.^{[citation needed]}

She has spoken publicly about her religious faith; she describes herself as a "non-judgmental, liberal Christian".^[93] Raised as a Southern Baptist, she later chose to have a personal connection to a faith that is not based in any one denomination.^{[citation needed]}

According to The New York Times, when Chenoweth "assured her theater fans that she supports gay rights her Christian base was outraged; she was disinvited from performing at a Women of Faith conference in September 2005."^[94][95] Chenoweth released an album in April 2005 called As I Am, a mixture of hymns and contemporary Christian music, with adult contemporary arrangements. To promote the album, she made an appearance on The 700 Club that upset some of her gay fans.^[7][96] She later said she thought that the "Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells of the world are scary" and that she regretted appearing on the show.^[97]

She dated producer/writer Aaron Sorkin.^[98] In Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the character of Harriet Hayes bears significant resemblances to Chenoweth, and the relationship between the Christian Hayes and "East coast liberal Jewish atheist" (her description) Matt Albie is modeled after that of Chenoweth and Sorkin. For example, Chenoweth's decision to appear on The 700 Club and her falling out with Women of Faith were depicted with the Hayes character.^[7][99]

Chenoweth has Ménière's disease, an inner-ear disorder that can cause vertigo, headaches and nausea, among other symptoms. She has said that, during some performances, she has had to lean on her co-stars to keep her balance and that it has caused her to miss performances.^[7]

In May 2010, Chenoweth wrote in response to an article in Newsweek by Ramin Setoodeh, an openly gay writer. Setoodeh thought that her Tony-nominated Promises, Promises co-star, Sean Hayes, "comes off as wooden and insincere" in playing the straight character Chuck, and that Jonathan Groff has a similar credibility problem in the TV show Glee. He questioned whether any openly gay actor could acceptably portray a straight character.^[100] Chenoweth called the article "horrendously homophobic" and criticized Setoodeh's view as rationalizing "the same kind of bullying" that gay youths face in high school. Chenoweth argued that audiences "come to the theater to go on a journey" and do not care about an actor's sexual orientation.^[101] The story was picked up by major media including The New York Times^[102] and the Los Angeles Times.^[103]

Credits[link]

Broadway[link]

Other theatre[link]

New York City Center Encores[link]

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

Singles[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

Chenoweth was awarded an honorary doctorate in Performing Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts on May 30, 2009, where she was the commencement speaker.^[120] In 2011, she won the GLAAD Vanguard Award.^[121]

Theater[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kristin Chenoweth

• Official website
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Movie Database
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kristin Chenoweth at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• FHM interview
• TonyAwards.com Interview
• Excerpt from A Little Bit Wicked
• Kristin Chenoweth at Emmys.com

By the age of thirty, Picker had earned numerous awards and honors including the Joseph H. Bearns Prize (Columbia University), a Charles Ives Scholarship and a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 1992, he received the prestigious Award in Music from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. From 1985–1990 Picker was the first composer-in-residence of the Houston Symphony. He has also served as composer-in-residence for such major international festivals as the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and the Pacific Music Festival. Tobias Picker will be inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in May 2012.^[2]

Tobias Picker’s music is published exclusively by Schott Music Corporation.^[3]

Works [link]

Instrumental music [link]

Picker’s symphonic music, including the tone poem Old and Lost Rivers, has been performed by major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic, The Munich Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, and the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. His piano concerto Keys to the City (written for the Centenary of the Brooklyn Bridge) is recorded on Chandos with his cello concerto and the orchestral work And Suddenly It’s Evening. Following this Chandos release, BBC Music Magazine proclaimed Picker’s recent music “one of the glories of the current musical scene.”^{[citation needed]} The Encantadas (for narrator and orchestra) features texts drawn from Herman Melville’s poetic descriptions of the Galápagos Islands and was recorded on Virgin Classics by the Houston Symphony Orchestra with narration by Sir John Gielgud. Other works include Tres sonetos de amor, settings of Neruda love poems in versions for baritone and orchestra and voice and piano, and The Blue Hula, a work for chamber ensemble. Picker’s complete orchestral catalogue includes three symphonies, four piano concertos and concertos for violin, viola, cello and oboe.

Picker has also composed numerous chamber works. In 2009, the American String Quartet commissioned and premiered his String Quartet No. 2 at Merkin Concert Hall in New York.^[4] In that same year, the pianist Ursula Oppens premiered Picker's Four Etudes for Ursula and Three Nocturnes for Ursula at Baisly Powell Elebash Recital Hall, also in New York.^[5] In 2011, Picker was featured in a Miller Theatre Composer Portrait Concert, featuring the Signal Ensemble, Sarah Rothenberg, and the Brentano String Quartet, who premiered his Piano Quintet "Live Oaks".^[6]

Operas [link]

• Emmeline (1996): The Santa Fe Opera gave the world premiere of Picker’s first opera, which was subsequently broadcast nationally on public television’s Great Performances series. The premiere recording was released by Albany Records.
• Fantastic Mr. Fox (1998): His second opera was an adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book commissioned and premiered by the Los Angeles Opera. Picker has written two more versions of this work: a version for Chamber Ensemble of seven instuments, premiered by Opera Holland Park in 2010.^[7] A version with reduced orchestration was written for the English Touring Opera, also in 2010.^[8]
• Thérèse Raquin (1999/2000): Picker's third opera (libretto by Gene Scheer) was commissioned by a consortium of companies including The Dallas Opera San Diego Opera, and the Opéra de Montréal. Picker then received a new commission from Opera Theatre Europe for a reduced-scale version of Thérèse Raquin, which was performed in March 2006 at the Linbury Studio of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
• An American Tragedy (2005/2006):^[9] Based on the novel by Theodore Dreiser, with a libretto by Gene Scheer, Picker's fourth opera was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera.^[10] The world premiere took place on December 2, 2005 and featured Patricia Racette, Nathan Gunn, Susan Graham, and Dolora Zajick in principal roles. The production was directed by Francesca Zambello and conducted by James Conlon.^[11]
• Dolores Claiborne In 2013, the San Francisco Opera will premiere a new opera by Picker, Dolores Claiborne, based on the novel by Stephen King with a libretto by J.D. McClatchy.^[12]

Stage Works [link]

Picker completed his first ballet, Awakenings, inspired by the novel by Dr. Oliver Sacks and commissioned by the Rambert Dance Company, in 2010. The piece was premiered by Rambert in Salford, UK in September 2010. Rambert toured the work around the UK with over 50 performances in the 2010-11 season.^[13]

Select Discography[link]

• Keys to the City (Wergo, 2008)
• Old and Lost Rivers (Virgin Classics)
• Songs and Encores (Bridge Records, 2006)
• Symphony No. 2, String Quartet No. 1 (First Edition, 2004)
• Keys to the City, And Suddenly It's Evening, and Cello Concerto (Chandos, 2003)
• Thérèse Raquin (Chandos, 2001)
• Emmeline (Albany Records, 1998)
• The Encantadas (Virgin Records, 1998)

Additional recordings of the composer’s music are available on Sony Classics, Virgin, Nonesuch Records, Ondine, Bridge and First Edition, among others.

Personal life[link]

Picker is diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome, and has mentioned that there are "tourettic" elements to his music. He also appeared in a BBC Horizon television documentary, titled Mad But Glad, about the link between Tourette's syndrome and creativity.^[14] He has been involved in mentoring programs for children with Tourette's.^[15][16]

Picker's partner since 1980 has been Lambda Literary award-winning author and neuroradiologist Aryeh Lev Stollman.^[10]

References[link]

External links [link]

• Tobias Picker's official website
• Tobias Picker at Schott Music
• Tobias Picker featured in Opera News
• Review of An American Tragedy (opera) by Alex Ross

Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell, after a performance with the San Francisco Symphony in California
Background information
Born	(1967-12-09) December 9, 1967 (age 44)
Origin	Bloomington, Indiana, United States
Genres	Classical music
Occupations	Violinist
Instruments	Violin
Years active	1980s–present
Website	www.joshuabell.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Stradivarius

Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.

Childhood[link]

Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist.^[1] Bell's parents were Shirley and Alan P. Bell, Professor Emeritus of Indiana University, in Bloomington, and a former Kinsey researcher.^[2] His father is of Scottish descent, and his mother is Jewish (his maternal grandfather was born in Israel and his maternal grandmother was from Minsk). Bell told The Jewish Journal, "I identify myself as being Jewish".^[1][3][4]

Bell began taking violin lessons at the age of four after his mother discovered that her son had taken rubber bands from around the house and stretched them across the handles of his dresser drawer to pluck out music he had heard her play on the piano. His parents got a scaled-to-size violin for their then five-year-old son and started giving him lessons. A bright student, Bell took to the instrument but lived an otherwise normal midwest Indiana life playing video games and excelling at sports, namely tennis and bowling, even placing in a national tennis tournament at the age of ten.^[5]

Bell studied as a boy first under Donna Bricht, widow of Indiana University music faculty member Walter Bricht.^[6] His second teacher was Mimi Zweig, and then he switched to the violinist and pedagogue Josef Gingold after Bell's parents assured Gingold that they were not interested in pushing their son in the study of the violin but simply wanted him to have the best teacher for his abilities. Satisfied that the boy was living a normal life, Gingold took Bell on as his student. By age 12, Bell was serious about the instrument, thanks in large part to Gingold's inspiration.

At the age of 14, Bell appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Riccardo Muti. He studied the violin at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and graduated from Bloomington High School North in 1984,^[7] In 1989, Bell received an Artist Diploma in Violin Performance from Indiana University. His alma mater also honored him with a Distinguished Alumni Service Award only two years after his graduation. He has been named an "Indiana Living Legend" and received the Indiana Governor's Arts Award.

Career[link]

Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato Bell, Awadagin Pratt, and Alisa Weilerstein perform Felix Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato, at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009. Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 49 – 4. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato Audio only version Cantabile (Paganini) Bell, Sharon Isbin perform Niccolò Paganini's Cantabile at the White House Evening of Classical Music on November 4, 2009. Cantabile (Paganini) Audio only version

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Bell made his Carnegie Hall debut in 1985 with the St. Louis Symphony. He has since performed with many of the world's major orchestras and conductors.^{[citation needed]} As well as the standard concerto repertoire, Bell has performed new works. Nicholas Maw's violin concerto is dedicated to Bell, who premiered it in 1993 and won a Grammy Award for his recording of the piece. He performed the solo part on John Corigliano's Oscar-winning soundtrack for the film The Red Violin and was also featured in Ladies in Lavender. Bell made an appearance in the movie Music of the Heart, a story about the power of music, with other notable violinists.^{[citation needed]}

Bell's instrument is a 300-year-old Stradivarius violin called the Gibson ex Huberman, which was made in 1713 during what is known as Antonio Stradivari's "Golden Era." This violin had been stolen twice from the previous owner, Bronisław Huberman; the last time the thief confessed to the act on his deathbed.^[8] Bell had held and played the violin, and its owner at the time jokingly told Bell that the violin could be his for four million dollars. Shortly thereafter, by chance, Bell came across the violin again and discovered it was about to be sold to a German industrialist to become part of a collection. According to Bell's website, Bell "was practically in tears."^[9] Bell then sold his previous violin, the Tom Tyler Stradivarius, for a little more than two million dollars and made the purchase of the Gibson ex Huberman for a little under the four million dollar asking price. As with his previous Stradivarius violin, Bell entrusts the upkeep of the Gibson ex Huberman to expert luthier Emmanuel Gradoux-Matt.^{[citation needed]} His first recording made with the Gibson ex Huberman was Romance of the Violin (for Sony Classical Records) in 2003. Bell's most recent CD is called At Home With Friends and was released September 29, 2009. It features Bell playing with artists of varied musical backgrounds, such as Chris Botti, Kristin Chenoweth, Regina Spektor, and Sting.

Bell is an artistic partner for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra (starting in the 2004–2005 season) and a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He also serves on the artists selection committee for the Kennedy Center Honors and is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[10]

Bell was awarded the Avery Fisher Prize on April 10, 2007, at Lincoln Center in New York City. The prize is given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement.^[11] On May 3, 2007, the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music announced that Bell had joined the faculty as a senior lecturer.^[12]

Bell collaborated with film composer Hans Zimmer by providing violin solos for the soundtrack of the 2009 film Angels & Demons, based on Dan Brown's 2000 novel of the same name.

On May 26, 2011, Bell was named Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.^[13][14]

Washington Post experiment[link]

In an experiment initiated by The Washington Post columnist Gene Weingarten, Bell donned a baseball cap and played as an incognito busker at the Metro subway station L'Enfant Plaza in Washington, D.C. on January 12, 2007. The experiment was videotaped on hidden camera; of the 1,097 people who passed by, only seven stopped to listen to him, and only one recognized him. For his nearly 45-minute performance, Bell collected $32.17 from 27 passersby (excluding $20 from the passerby who recognized him).^[8] The night before, he earned considerably more playing the same repertoire at a concert. Weingarten won the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for feature writing for his article on the experiment.^[15][16] The Washington Post posted the video on YouTube.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Bell resides in Gramercy Park, Manhattan.

Selected discography[link]

Soundtrack Albums[link]

• Flowers of War Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2012: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Angels & Demons Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2009

  Joshua Bell, solo violin

  Music composed by Hans Zimmer

• Defiance Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2008
• Ladies in Lavender Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2005: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• Iris Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, 2001: Joshua Bell, solo violin
• The Red Violin Joshua Bell, solo Violin

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Joshua Bell

• Official website
• Joshua Bell at Allmusic
• "Bell Man", by Mandy Katz; in-depth profile in moment magazine
• Interview on The Diane Rehm Show radio program
• Recording of Bell's performance in L'Enfant Plaza.
• Bach & friends Documentary
• Classical Archives Interview