Oct 17 2008
Biographies
Lex de Azevedo has had one of the most diverse careers in the music industry as a composer, pianist, producer, arranger and conductor. Beginning as a producer for Capitol Records, Lex produced several #1 hit singles among numerous other successful recordings. Following Capitol Records, he served as the musical director on a number of television shows, including The Sonny and Cher Show, Michael Jackson & The Jackson Five, and The Osmonds. Turning to feature-length motion pictures, Lex’s career spans from the classic Where The Red Fern Grows to the animated musical feature Swan Princess. He has written five stage musicals, including Saturday’s Warrior and My Turn on Earth, and produced his own record albums across a wide musical spectrum, from the jazz of Mountains and Moab to the new contemporary classical works of Variations on a Sacred Theme and The Life of Christ oratorio series.
Lex was nominated for two Golden Globe awards for his music in the feature-length animated movie Swan Princess. Both soundtracks from Saturday’s Warrior and My Turn on Earth have achieved Gold Record status. He has scored over 36 episodes of the animated Bible Stories and American Hero Classics series for Warner-Nest Entertainment. During his career, Lex has composed over 40 choral works and produced over 160 jingle packages for radio stations all over the United States. He has served as guest conductor of some of the world’s most prominent symphony orchestras, including conducting the London National Philharmonic in 14 recordings.
Lex has been president of Embryo Records, Director of Artists & Repetoire for the Bonneville Broadcasting System and currently works with his daughters, Emilie and Rachel as the President of Two Little Hands Productions and producer/composer of the hit Public Television series, Signing Time, which began airing on PBS stations in January ’06.
As a composer, Lex is currently is working on two new extended choral works, Hymn To America, which he hopes to premier in Fall of ’09 and Allelulia, Part IIin the Life of Christ series.
George Dyer made his professional debut in 1996 with New York City Opera at the Lincoln Center as Ralph Rackstraw in HMS Pinafore. Since then he has sung in Opera Houses and Concert halls across the United States and in many countries throughout the world.
He most recently sang the role of Romeo in “Romeo et Juliette” with Hawaii Opera Theatre, Lex De Azevedo’s “Hosanna” in Washington, DC, a highly acclaimed concert at the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona, Monteverdi’s “Vespers” at the Cathedral of the Madelene in SLC, Mendelson’s “Elijah” at Gardner Hall at the University of Utah, “Highlights from Gilbert and Sullivan” with Utah Symphony and Opera at the Deer Valley Festival along with concerts for the German/American Society, Payplus Software in San Diego and the annual “Holiday Pops Concert” with the West Valley Symphony and Choral and the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. as well as the “Mozart Requiem” with Utah Symphony.
George made his directorial debut in “Power in His Touch” , a Christian Musical by Collete Call, in Salt Lake City, Utah in March.
Upcoming engagements include Belmonte in “Abduction from the Seraglio” with Hawaii Opera Theater in Feb. ‘09, two concerts of French Music with the Sun Valley Opera Society in February, St. John’s Passion at Libby Gardner Hall in May, as well as keeping up on his growing concert engagements. You may keep up on George’s upcoming concerts and events by visiting georgedyer.com.
He has appeared in concert with The Utah Symphony, Liverpool Royal Philharmonic, Jerusalem Symphony, Krakow Symphony, Estonia National Orchestra and Hartford Symphony, among others.
George has also been a guest soloist with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir on various national broadcasts of “Music and the Spoken Word” as well as at the 200th birthday commemoration of the Prophet Joseph Smith, which was broadcast live to 63 countries around the World
He has performed in two (2) “Liken the Scriptures” movies, “Daniel and the Lions” as King Darius, and in “Samuel the Lamanite” as the heartless Dr. Dormin and the wicked Chancellor Nimrod. (I play a REALLY good bad guy!)
He has filmed two made-for-TV concerts in Jerusalem for acclaimed composer Lex De Azevedo’s Oratorios entitled “Gloria: The Life of Christ-part 1″ and “Hosanna: The Life of Christ-part 3″.
He also has 3 solo cd’s out under the Shadow Mountain Label (Deseret Book) entitled “Wondrous Love”, “Then Sings My Soul” and “A New Song”.
George currently lives in Kaysville, Utah with his wife Clarisse and their 4 children.
Catherine Hyde Stambaugh has performed throughout the world, in New York City and in many regional theatres. One of her highlights was being in the Broadway touring company of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber singing the role of Christine from the Phantom of the Opera opposite Michael Crawford. She was invited to perform as a soloist and sing with England’s leading man in musical theatre, Michael Ball, in his “This is the Moment” concert at Abravanel Hall. She is involved in various recording projects which include commercials, trailers and various movie soundtracks. She is the founder and director of the Lehi Children’s Choir which is now in its seventh year of operation. She is married to Kevin Stambaugh and they have four children, Zachary, Baden, Jocelyn and Tyler.
Catherine is thrilled to be singing the music of “Gloria” again. The last time she had this opportunity was at the filming of it in Israel when her first son, Zachary, was just 6 weeks old.
Christopher Higbee has sung in the shower for most of his life and has been told he sounds pretty good. With that bit of feedback, Christopher ventured out of the shower to perform in various and sundry halls around the world such as Carnegie Hall in New York City, The Mohammed V Mosque in Casablanca, Morocco, The Grand Ole Opry in Nashville and his own local church - just to name a few. Christopher graduated from Brigham Young University with a BFA in Musical Dance Theater (Fortunately the Music and the Theater stuck - Not so much with the Dance). Mr. Higbee has a pretty good following in Utah due to the fact that most of his seven brothers and sisters, his parents and his in-laws live here. Some others may have been fortunate enough to see him in one of his rare appearances as Jack in BYU’s “Into the Woods” or as Archibald Craven in Hale Center Theater’s “Secret Garden.” Still others may know him from his role as Nathan Hershkowitz in the Western Premier of Stephen Schwartz’s “Rags” or as he originated the role of Robert Pierce in “Trail of Dreams” right here in Utah. Christopher loves Christmas - and not just because it includes part of his name. He loves it because he can’t imagine a world with out our Savior, Jesus Christ. He also can’t think of a better way to celebrate his birth and life than by signing the words of the prophets and apostles as they spoke of his birth in the Bible. Christopher thanks Lex for writing some truly magnificent music and for allowing him to sing it. He also wonders where he’d be without his phenomenal wife and family and thanks them for their support and patience.
Greg Pearson, born and raised in Lake Village, Arkansas, is building a formidable career as an opera singer in and out of his native Arkansas. He completed his Bachelor of Music in vocal performance at University of Arkansas (Monticello) and achieved his Master of Music in vocal performance at University of Nevada (Las Vegas). While pursuing his degrees Mr. Pearson starred in a variety of operas including the roles of Figaro in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) and Bob in Old Maid and the Thief (Menotti).
Following his graduation from University of Nevada Mr. Pearson was accepted into the Young Artists Program of Utah Symphony and Opera. A recent review of his rendition of Starek in Jenufa (Janacek) stated that Mr. Pearson is “one of Utah Opera’s most reliable supporting singers.” (Salt Lake Tribune, 24 January 2005). Other roles sung in main stage productions at Utah Symphony and Opera include Larkens in Girl of the Golden West (Puccini), Dr. Lomax in Cold Sassy Tree (Floyd), and Saretski in Eugene Onegin (Tchaikowsky).
Mr. Pearson has also sung leading roles at Anchorage Opera and constantly to returns to Opera Wildwood in his native Arkansas. As stated in a review of his Scarpia in Tosca this past season, “Pearson, a dominating presence as Scarpia, is a terrific baritone who sets the tone in the first act.” (Arkansas Times, 19 June 2005) Other Wildwood roles include Sparafucile in Rigoletto (Verdi), Basilio in Il Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), Schaunard in La Bohème (Puccini), and Frank in Die Fledermaus (Strauss).
Among his many symphonic performances Mr. Pearson has sung before 40,000 people at Utah Symphony and Opera’s annual Fourth of July celebration and at a number of other events. He has also sung with the Jerusalem (Israel) Symphony with renowned Utah composer Lex De Azevedo in his oratorio Hosanna, the Last Days of Christ, as well as Christmas concerts and Messiah (Handel) singalongs with Mount Timpanogos (Utah) Chamber Orchestra, Mobile Symphony and his native Arkansas Symphony. In addition to future operatic engagements in Utah and Arkansas, Mr. Pearson intends to pursue his doctorate.
Currently, Mr. Pearson has been teaching at Salt Lake Community College, since 2003, in the areas of Private Voice and Music Appreciation.
Mindy Smoot Robbins most recently played Maria in the Sound of Music at Tuacahn. She also played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady in 2007, Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun in 2002, and Liesl in The Sound of Music in 2001. Previously, Mindy toured with the Broadway Company of Les Miserables, covering the role of Eponine. Other credits include Walt Disney World’s Hoop Dee Doo and Kids of the Kingdom, Tokyo Disney’s Peco’s Goofy, BYU’s Young Ambassadors and Lagoon’s Music USA. She has been a guest performer for the opening ceremonies of the Olympic World Senior Games. Mindy has recorded for Disney, with Mandy Moore and on numerous radio commercials. She has performed with Colm Wilkinson, Jason Alexander, Sutton Foster and Sam Harris. Mindy guest-starred on the national television series, Touched by an Angel, and has been seen on national television commercials. She graduated from BYU with a BFA in Music Dance Theatre where she is currently teaching voice in the school of music. Mindy is the director of the Robbins Music Theatre Academy in Alpine, Utah. (www.robbinsmta.com) where she is able to share her passion for performing with her students. She is a member of Actor’s Equity Association the National Association of the Teachers of Singing.