Basso Buffo Kevin Glavin’s career highlights have included Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Don Magnifico in La Cenerentola with San Francisco Opera; the title role in Don Pasquale, Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeri, Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia, Don Inigo Gomez in Ravel’s L’Heure Espagnole, and the Sacristan in Tosca with New York City Opera; the title role in Don Pasquale with Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Colorado, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and L’Opéra de Montréal; Bartolo in Il Barbiere di Siviglia with Seattle Opera, Florida Grand Opera, Washington Opera, the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Florentine Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Vancouver Opera, the Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), and the Teatro Teresa Carreño (Caracas); Mustafà in L’Italiana in Algeriwith Glimmerglass Opera, Opéra de Québec, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia; Don Magnifico in La Cenerentolawith the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Baltimore Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, Opera Columbus, L’Opéra de Montréal, and the Teatro Municipal de Santiago; Dulcamara in L’Elisir D’Amore with Florida Grand Opera, Pittsburgh Opera, and Arizona Opera; Sulpice in La Fille du Regiment with Edmonton Opera; General Boum in Offenbach’s La Grande Duchesse and Benoit / Alcindoro in La Boheme with the Opera Company of Philadelphia; Scirocco in L’Étoile with Cincinnati Opera; Bartolo in Le Nozze di Figaro with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Vancouver Opera, and the Opera Company of Philadelphia; Brighella in Wagner’s Das Liebesverbot with Glimmerglass Opera; Leporello in Don Giovanni, Don Alfonso in Cosi Fan Tutte, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Benoit / Alcindoro in La Boheme, and Pistola in Falstaff with Pittsburgh Opera; King Louis XVI in The Ghosts of Versailles with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis; the Sacristan in Tosca with Lyric Opera of Kansas City; and Frank in Die Fledermaus with Baltimore Opera.

Additional highlights have included Holiday Concerts with the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Seattle Symphony, and the National Symphony Orchestra conducted by Marvin Hamlisch at the Kennedy Center.

Lori grew up in Houston, Texas and began singing at age 5.  She nurtured her love for music by singing in church and school choirs, then moved to Nashville, Tennessee to attend Belmont University as a music major.  While a student there, she not only landed her first recording contract, but secured a spot as a background vocalist for Gospel Music Artist, Michael W. Smith.  She spent the next 4 years touring as part of Smith’s band, writing songs, and recording.  Additionally, as a session singer, Lori sang background vocals on numerous albums from Country, to Pop, to Gospel.

Later, Lori became a one half of the pop duo “Wilshire” and the band relocated from Nashville to Los Angeles.  The band’s unique sound quickly caught on, landing them a record deal with Columbia Records and Warner-Chappell Publishing.  The duo wrote their hit single, “Special,” which climbed the Billboard Top 20 chart.  They toured with artists like “Train” and “Seal,” as well as performing live on Late Night, The Sharon Osbourne Show, Wayne Brady, and Pepsi Smash.

Today, Lori’s voice can be heard on national commercials for brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Claritin.  She has most recently performed with symphonies in Houston, Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Detroit, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Valerie Simpson is half of the songwriting-performing-producing entity formerly known as Ashford and Simpson. Their award winning collaborations began 4 decades ago and she along with her late husband Nick Ashford have penned classic hits such as, “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” “You’re All I Need to Get By,” “Reach Out and Touch Somebody’s Hand,” “I’m Every Woman,” “Ain’t Nothing Like the Real Thing,” “Solid,” “Your Precious Love,” “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” and “Let’s Go Get Stoned” among others.

She serves on the board of the ASCAP Foundation where an award has been established to aid struggling songwriters called the REACH OUT AND TOUCH Award which honors Nick Ashford. Valerie owns and runs a popular New York Westside Music Club and Restaurant called The Sugar Bar where young writers-singers-musicians have a platform to perform. Valerie has toured with Dave Koz and a special guest this year with Paul Shaffer & the Worlds Most Dangerous Band. Her Music is in constant demand and four Ashford & Simpson songs are now featured in the Broadway hit MOTOWN-The Musical, which is touring the country. “IM EVERY WOMAN” is featured in THE BODYGUARD the play which is currently on tour. Most recently, Valerie, as performer, was also featured in New York’s CHICAGO, The Musical on Broadway for a limited engagement in the role of Mama Morton–adding yet a new, exciting dimension to a diversified career.

Brass Transit was formed in 2008 and brought together 8 of the most talented and accomplished award-winning musicians. Their sole purpose was to pay tribute to one of the world’s greatest and most successful pop/rock groups of all time, CHICAGO.

Since then, the group has toured North America dazzling audiences with their flawless performances and spectacular attention to every detail of the CHICAGO songbook. Hit like: “Saturday in the Park,” “25 or 6 to 4,” “If You Leave Me Now,” “You’re The Inspiration” have left crowds in awe and on their feet more than once during a show, evoking comments like “Spine-Tingling,” “Brought me back to my youth,” and “Perfect in every detail.” Bass Transit goes far beyond just imitating the songs, they embody the music.

They recently produced their first CD taking top hits from the ‘70s and recording them with horns in the CHICAGO style. The result is a fresh approach to some of the greatest hits of that era. They have also just recently scored their show for full Symphony with luscious orchestral arrangements that are truly spellbinding.

Brass Transit will bring you back to the most memorable times of your life.

For 33 years Paul Shaffer served as David Letterman’s musical director and sidekick  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv8kfNRE5u4 .

Paul began his career in 1972 as musical director of the Toronto production of “Godspell.”  He played piano in “The Magic Show” on Broadway in 1974, then spent the next five years with the original “Saturday Night Live,” where he played keyboards, composed special musical material and, in 1980, became a featured performer.

In 1977, he took a brief break from the show to star in the CBS comedy series “A Year at the Top,” produced by Norman Lear and Don Kirshner.  After his return to “Saturday Night Live,” he collaborated with Gilda Radner on the songs for her Broadway show, in which he also appeared.  He served as musical director for the Blues Brothers – John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd – for their triple platinum album and national tour. His guest starring television appearances include “Ed”, “The Sopranos”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Schitt’s Creek” and “How I Met Your Mother”. Paul starred with Bill Murray in and was musical director for the Netflix special “A Very Murray Christmas”, directed by Sofia Coppola, for which he received his fourth EMMY® nomination. He continues his erstwhile series of “mini-residencies” at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas , performing at the iconic Cleopatra’s Barge  https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/david-letterman-makes-surprise-appearance-at-paul-shaffers-vegas-show-1140778.  He recently performed with the Kalamazoo Symphony and the Nebraska Jazz Orchestra, and has upcoming appearances with the Pittsburgh, Cincinatti, and Winnipeg symphonies. His new series of prime time radio specials, “Paul Shaffer + 1” is airing on on SiriusXM, and will be premiering this fall on AXS TV. Guests include Joe Walsh, Donald Fagen, Graham Nash, Buddy Guy, and Smokey Robinson.

In addition to recording his own albums, Coast to Coast (1989) and The World’s Most Dangerous Party (1993), Shaffer has recorded with such diverse artists as Diana Ross, Yoko Ono, and Robert Plant’s Honeydrippers.  He composed the LATE SHOW theme song and, with Paul Jabara, wrote the Number One global ’80s dance hit “It’s Raining Men,” performed by the Weather Girls and re-recorded by Geri Halliwell for the “Bridget Jones’s Diary” soundtrack, topping the British pop charts in 2001.  In 2002, he received his first GRAMMY®, Best Country Instrumental, for the Earl Scruggs and Friends album, and co-produced an avant-garde jazz album for his mentor, Tsziji Munoz. His latest album, Paul Shaffer & The World’s Most Dangerous Band, features such diverse guest vocalists as Valerie Simpson, Darius Rucker, Jenny Lewis, Dion, Shaggy, and Bill Murray: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSuB4Su6wCM  ,    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTeT9TkC1r8 .

His feature film roles include Artie Fufkin in Rob Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap.”  He also appeared in the Mike Nichols-directed “Gilda Live,” the Bill Murray movie “Scrooged,” and with John Travolta in “Look Who’s Talking Too.”  He is heard as the voice of Hermes in Disney’s animated feature “Hercules” and the television series based on the film.  He produced the gold-selling soundtrack for and appeared in “Blues Brothers 2000”, and composed original songs for the movie “Strangers with Candy.” He composed the theme songs for both David Letterman’s new Netflix series and Bill Murray’s new Facebook series, and is currently producing the music for Sofia Coppola’s latest film “On The Rocks” starring Bill Murray.

Shaffer has served as musical director and producer for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony since its inception in 1986.  He led the band for the “We Are the World” finale of Live Aid.  Shaffer hosted CBS’s 1994 New Year’s Eve special from New York’s Times Square and was musical director of the closing concert at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games.  He appeared with the Blues Brothers at the 1996 Super Bowl halftime show and was musical director of the 1999 Concert of the Century at the White House, featuring Eric Clapton, B. B. King, Gloria Estefan, ‘N Sync and others, to aid music programs in public schools.  He was Paul McCartney’s musical director for  “Concert for New York” and appeared with Faith Hill on the “America: A Tribute to Heroes” telethon, both of which honored and raised money for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

“Paul Shaffer’s This Day in Rock,” is a daily interstitial feature nationally syndicated by Envision Radio  http://www.paulshaffersdayinrock.com .  Paul’s best-selling memoir, We’ll Be Here For The Rest of Our Lives, is published by Random House https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LfYdZNghCk  . His new television series, “Paul Shaffer Plus One”, debuted in September on AXS-TV https://deadline.com/2019/06/paul-shaffer-plus-one-music-interview-show-premiere-date-axs-tv-1202635635/  — the extended radio version airs on SiriusXM. And he appeared as “Skeleton” on the current season of the Masked Singer the #1 TV show in the country.

Shaffer holds two honorary doctorate degrees, was inducted into the National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame, and awarded a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.  In 2008, Paul received the Order of Canada, Canada’s highest civilian honor.  He lives in the New York area with his wife and two children.

Fox TV extended career overview: https://www.fox5vegas.com/video/paul-shaffer-reflects-on-his-music-career/video_47067fef-f024-56df-bc4c-73cb1454ffc4.html

Craig A Meyer has traversed all four corners of the entertainment industry, making strong impressions in theatre, film, television and music.

On Broadway, Meyer created the role of Clinton Badger in MGM’s classic Meet Me In St Louis and toured nationally in Cats as Skimbleshanks, The Red Caboose in Starlight Express, and Mike Nulty in Irving Berlin’s White Christmas.

Atlanta performances include appearances at the Tony Award winning Alliance Theatre in the critically acclaimed Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris for which he also served as the choreographer. The production was honored with a Suzi Bass Award for Best Musical Production in 2008. Meyer was thrilled to win the Suzi Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Musical.  Meyer’s creative contribution to the original production of Brel…was recognized with a Suzi nomination for Outstanding Choreography.

Regionally, he has starred in Forever Plaid (Frankie), A Class Act (Lehman Engel), Crazy For You (Bobby Child), 42nd Street (Billy Lawlor), The All Night Strut and the West Coast Premiere of The Thing About Men (Man).

Television and film appearances include guest-starring roles on “Necessary Roughness”, “Will & Grace”, “Good Morning Miami”, “Family Law”, “General Hospital”, and “Fernwood 2nite” as well as working with Alan Menken on Disney’s Aladdin, and with Tim Rice and Elton John on The Lion King. Film credits include Leatherheads with George Clooney and Renee Zellweger, Joyful Noise with Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah and Identity Thief with Jason Bateman and Melissa McCarthy.

In music, Meyer has toured internationally and recorded with music legends Barry Manilow and Frankie Valli, and has headlined for Princess Cruises around the world.

Throughout Meyer’s busy career, he was repeatedly approached about his striking resemblance to Elton John and his uncanny ability to sound like the rock and roll legend. Meyer was eventually persuaded to expand his repertoire and began impersonating Sir Elton John.

Today, he is considered to be the best Elton John tribute artist in the market whose strong vocals, striking resemblance and amazing talent on the piano has audiences everywhere remembering when rock was young.

This spectacular musical journey celebrates the decades of chart topping hits by Sir Elton John, including: “Benny and the Jets”, “Philadelphia Freedom”, “Crocodile Rock,” “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” and “Candle in the Wind.”

A celebration of the character, costumes and charisma of the famed pianist and singer, Meyer’s fully produced show has captivated audiences throughout the United States and abroad.

Conductor (abbreviated credits)

Evanescence Synthesis Live Blu-ray DVD Release
Lindsey Stirling – Summer Tour 2018 with Orchestra (North America)
Fornite United Recording, Los Angeles
Evanescence Synthesis Live Tour 2017-2018 (North America, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Russia)
Pokémon Symphonic Evolutions Tour (North America, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, South America)
The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses Tour (North American, United Kingdom, South America)

Mary Poppins Live Kansas City Symphony
ReCore (Microsoft) Air Studios, London
League of Legends
Frozen Live
Lego Jurassic World Slovak Radio Hall, Slovakia
Star Trek Slovak Radio Hall, Slovakia
Pixar in Concert Various cities
Resident Evil 7 Capitol Studios, Los Angeles
Need for Speed Sony, Los Angeles
Voice from the Stone Air Studios, London
Aliens: Colonial Marines Ocean Way, Nashville
The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia Skywalker Sound, Marin County
Piranha 3-D Prague TV studio, Prague
Marvel’s: The Punisher: War Zone Bastyr Church, Seattle
Never Back Down Bastyr Church, Seattle

Gary Mauer was seen on Broadway as the Phantom in the Hal Prince production of The Phantom of the Opera, a role he previously performed on the National tour. Previously he starred in the Broadway production of The Phantom of the Opera, performing the romantic leading role of Raoul. In addition, Mr. Mauer performed in the Broadway production of Les Miserables in the role of Enjolras, the revolutionary leader, a role he also performed with the National Tour in the US and Singapore. In addition, he performed the leading role of Gaylord Ravenal in the National Tour of Show Boat, opposite his wife, Elizabeth Southard. Mr. Mauer was also a featured soloist in the world tour of “The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber,” with Michael Crawford, bringing him to Japan, Australia, England, Scotland and culminating back in the US, where he performed for two weeks at the famous Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Regionally, his numerous credits include Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar, Frederick in The Pirates of Penzance, Anthony in Sweeney Todd, Tony in West Side Story, Whizzer in March of the  Falsettos and Danny in Baby.

A graduate of the University of Arizona, Mr. Mauer has performed with symphony orchestras all over the world including the Brazil Symphony Orchestra in Rio de Janeiro the Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony (with Marvin Hamlisch), Hong Kong Philharmonic, Colorado Symphony, Utah Symphony and Opera, Buffalo Philharmonic, Phoenix Symphony, San Diego Symphony, among many others. Mr. Mauer has performed numerous times with Peter Nero and the Philly Pops and toured with Mr. Nero in Spain. Gary was the guest soloist in many concerts with the late Marvin Hamlisch. He is the tenor soloist in the popular BRAVO Broadway!

Heralded as “superb” by the San Francisco Classical Voice, violinist/violist Alex Granger enjoys a wide variety of performance opportunities from solo recital appearances to studio recordings, and performances with some of Los Angeles’ most exciting ensembles. An experienced performer of music by living composers, Alex has premiered over 50 works in the past 5 years as a soloist, concertmaster, and chamber musician, working directly with some of the world’s foremost composers.

Recent festival appearances include the Breckenridge Music Festival, the Eastern Sierra Summer Festival, the Carlsbad Music Festival, and a world premiere of Lucas Floyd’s Violin Concerto at the Hot Air Festival in San Francisco. Alex is a faculty member of Porterville Strings, a founding member of the Ubuntu String Quartet, and a graduate of the Biola Conservatory of Music and USC’s Thornton School of Music where he studied with Henry Gronnier, Bing Wang, and Midori Goto.

Alex joined the Long Beach Symphony viola section in 2019 and resides in Huntington Beach with his wife, Chiai, and their sweet little dog, Ella.