Christopher James News

Acclaimed singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist  Rhiannon Giddens will join Resident Conductor Christopher James Lees and the Charlotte Symphony for the CSO’s annual Gala on Saturday, November 5, 2022.

I’ve heard much praise about the quality of the vocal writing of Jake Heggie from singers who adore the way his music caresses their voices. But THREE DECEMBERS, performed this past weekend at the Berkshire Opera Festival at Pavilion Theatre, PS21 in Chatham, New York, was the first time I heard a complete dramatic work by the composer. As characters from FOLLIES by Sondheim--a composer whose music echoes in Heggie’s score--said about showing up at the reunion that frames that musical, “I’m so glad I came.”

Christopher James is an American composer, producer (Paula Cole, Renée Fleming, Val Gardena) and ex-CEO of Universal Music Group’s Classical and Jazz division. An accomplished classical pianist, he earned a B.A. in Music and German Literature at Lewis and Clark College in his hometown of Portland, Oregon.

The full, 38-member company of Tom Stoppard's Olivier Award-winning Best New Play, Leopoldstadt has officially been announced, including Broadway veterans Caissie Levy and Brandon Uranowitz. Check out the entire cast, the show schedule and how to get tickets!

Berkshire Opera Festival opens its 2022 summer season with a compelling new production of Jake Heggie's intimate THREE DECEMBERS on July 21 and 23 at PS21 in Chatham, NY, conducted by Christopher James Ray and directed by Beth Greenberg. This contemporary American opera is based on Tony Award-winning playwright Terrence McNally's original script for Some Christmas Letters.

People interested in mythology can find statues and paintings of mythological creatures in Manhattan's museums. The Greek and Roman gods, however, have now given birth to a new comedy show at the PIT that finds humor in myths moved to Manhattan.

This spring and summer, the Charlotte Symphony (CSO) is  bringing live music to communities throughout the Charlotte region – for free! Highlights  include the Orchestra’s debut at Little Rock A.M.E. Zion Church, outdoor concerts at five local  parks, and chamber music performances at Amity Presbyterian Church and the recently opened  Five Points Plaza. 

The plays are divided up into weekly offerings of three plays and, for only the second time, an additional fifth week offering — a feature called YPF Plus (YPF+). The play Venus, and What Else is Nocturnal is nearly ready for professional production and will bridge The Blank’s YPF and Living Room Series programs.

The Charlotte Symphony welcomes a talented and  diverse array of guest conductors and artists in 2022–23, a season that celebrates the  Symphony’s greatest strengths and reaffirms its core commitments: serving the community with  increased access to live symphonic music and educational opportunity, and presenting world class performances of the greatest works, ranging from standards of the repertoire to music by  today’s most talented composers. 

Opera San José will close its 2021–2022 season with West Side Story, Arthur Laurents, Leonard Bernstein, Stephen Sondheim, and Jerome Robbins’s classic American tale of two star-crossed lovers and the prejudices that keep them apart.

The BERKSHIRE OPERA FESTIVAL has announced its 2022 season in Great Barrington and Pittsfield, MA, and for the first time in Chatham, NY. The only company of its kind in the region, BOF produces opera at the highest level under the vision of esteemed co-founders Brian Garman (Artistic Director) and Jonathon Loy (Director of Production).

Morehouse College Glee Club will return to Charlotte to  share the stage with the Charlotte Symphony on Friday, March 4, 2022, at 7:30 p.m. at the Belk  Theater.

The Charlotte Symphony will make its debut at the Sandra Levine Theatre in the Sarah Belk Gambrell Center for the Arts and Civic Engagement at Queens University of Charlotte with a program showcasing the unique healing power of music on Sunday, April 3, 2022, at 3:00 p.m.

Fiery flamenco joins brilliant singing to ignite Bizet’s iconic opera, Carmen, in a vibrant Opera San José production conducted by Music Director Joseph Marcheso, with reimagined stage direction by Lillian Groag and a new collaboration with the acclaimed Flamenco Society of San José.

Fiery flamenco joins brilliant singing to ignite Bizet’s iconic opera, Carmen, in a vibrant Opera San José production conducted by Music Director Joseph Marcheso, with reimagined stage direction by Lillian Groag and a new collaboration with the acclaimed Flamenco Society of San José. Dance, singing, and drama come together to tell the tale of a defiant heroine whose rebellious quest for freedom defies societal expectations  and seals her tragic fate.

Opera San José will close its 2021–2022 season with West Side Story, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim's classic American tale of two star-crossed lovers and the prejudices that keep them apart.

Fiery flamenco joins brilliant singing to ignite Bizet's iconic opera, Carmen, in a vibrant Opera San José production conducted by Music Director Joseph Marcheso, with reimagined stage direction by Lillian Groag.

The Blank Theatre's Living Room Series has announced a reading of The Lucky Ones by Lia Romeo on Monday, January 10, at 8pm. Directed by Christopher James Raymond, the cast will feature (in alphabetical order) Robyn Cohen, Lizzie Peet, and Adam J. Smith.

The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra announced  today that it will launch a new Youth Ensemble, serving musicians around the ages of 8–16, starting in February 2022 at First Baptist Church-West. Led by Eric Thompson, the Charlotte  Symphony Youth Ensemble will introduce young musicians to the experience of performing  within an ensemble while receiving personalized training from CSO conducting staff and  musicians at each rehearsal. 

THE SEEING PLACE THEATER has announced their production of Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, WIT, directed by Brynn Asha Walker. WIT will play a three-week limited engagement at The Seeing Place at The Paradise Factory (64 East 4th Street, NYC 10003).