Patriotic Pops

A Memorial Day weekend tradition! Join Principal Pops Conductor John Morris Russell and your BPO in a red, white, and blue musical salute to our nation and the men and women whose sacrifices paved the way to freedom.

Program:

John Morris Russell, conductor
Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield, vocals
Jay Dref, vocals

Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus
Adam Luebke, BPC Music Director

STEPHENSON  Fanfare for Democracy
LAVALLEE/arr. Fenwick  O Canada
SMITH/arr. Skrowaczewski  The Star-Spangled Banner
SOUSA  Washington Post March
COHAN/arr. Cacavas  Star Spangled Spectacular
COHAN/arr. Rob Mounsey  Over There
BLAKE/arr. Mounsey  I’m Just Wild About Harry from Shuffle Along
COOK/arr. Mounsey  Swing Along
HOLST/arr. Geoff Knorr  I Vow to Thee My Country
LEE GREENWOOD/arr. Rebecca Pellett  God Bless the USA
PETER BOYER  Rolling River
HOWE & STEFFE/arr. Wilhousky  Battle Hymn of the Republic

–INTERMISSION–

JOHN WILLIAMS  Call of the Champions
NEIL DIAMOND/arr. Pellett  America
MEERPOL & ROBINSON/arr. Alexander  The House I Live In
BENNY ANDERSSON, TIM RICE, & BJÖRN ULVAEUS/arr. John Purifoy  Anthem from Chess
EUROPE/arr. Tim Berens  Hey There! (Hi There!)
arr. Lowden  Armed Forces Salute
JOHN WILLIAMS  Hymn to the Fallen from Saving Private Ryan
WARD/arr. Berens  America the Beautiful

Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield:

Tatiana “LadyMay” Mayfield is a jazz/soul vocalist, musician, composer, and educator from Fort Worth, Texas. LadyMay has performed in various venues and festivals throughout the U.S. and abroad, which have earned her rave reviews from listeners and musicians in addition to numerous awards. In 2023, LadyMay was named as an awardee for the “Next Jazz Legacy” program created by NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington, in partnership with the Berklee Institute of Jazz and Gender Justice and New Music USA, with funding from the Mellon Foundation. Through this program, she will be mentored by pianist-vocalist-composer Patrice Rushen and jazz/soul harpist-composer Brandee Younger.

Other highlights of her career include performing with the legendary Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, having a number one song on the UK Soul Chart, performing and teaching in Zhuhai, China, and being the first woman and African American person to receive a M.M. in Jazz Composition from the University of Texas in Arlington. LadyMay has recorded three albums: From All Directions (2009), A Portrait of LadyMay (2012), and The Next Chapter (2018). She has also provided vocals in various styles for several artists’ albums, television shows, and films.

As an educator, Mayfield will join the faculty in the Lamont School of Music at the University of Denver in Denver, CO as the Assistant Professor of Contemporary Popular Music in the fall of 2023. She has also taught at the University of Texas at Arlington, University of North Texas, and Dallas College-Cedar Valley Campus.

Jay Dref:

American tenor Jay Dref inspires audiences with his rich, passionate vocals. Born and raised in Buffalo, Jay graduated from the prestigious Juilliard School before launching his professional career as a classical crossover artist.

Most recently, Jay has been touring with legendary soprano Sarah Brightman. He was the featured tenor on her U.S. 2021 Christmas Symphony Tour, and continued to tour internationally with Ms. Brightman in 2022 with concerts in Southeast Asia, Mexico, Las Vegas, Greece, and Turkey. He is looking forward to continuing this remarkable collaboration throughout the rest of 2023.

Jay collaborated with the songwriting team of Lauren Christy and Stephan Moccio on his first single, “Taxi in the Rain”. Having worked with artists such as Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, and Shakira, among others, they publicly praised Jay as the “best of the best” and a “really special singer”. In 2020 he released an original duet with Italian soprano Angelica Volpi – “L’amore è un Attimo” – which remains a popular choice on his digital music platforms.

Jay has performed for celebrities at private events, and was a special guest of Bing Crosby’s son at a concert celebrating his famous father. He has also appeared at Live in the Vineyard, a national event for radio programmers held by invitation only in Napa Valley, California.

Musically fluent in five languages – English, French, Italian, German, and Russian – Jay’s transcendent voice resonates with listeners all over the world.

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