The Park City Institute

PRESENTS

Songs We Love

Songs We Love was first presented as the 2016 Season Opener at Jazz at Lincoln Center.  Songs We Love is a journey through the first 50 years of jazz song. Under the musical direction of Riley Mulherkar, 3 guest vocalists will join an all-star band made up of New York’s rising stars. Combining their distinct talents, the group will sing their way through four decades of music, beginning with the early blues and jazz of the 1920s and ending in the early 1950s. Iconic singers to be explored include Ma Rainey, Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland.

Theater

The Eccles Center is the largest theater in Park City, Utah with 1,269 seats. It is home to Park City Institute's Main Stage Season from October through April each year, presenting a broad range of world-class performing arts from international dance companies to Broadway icons to beloved author/humorists to virtuosos in a host of musical styles from Chamber Music to rock'n'roll.

Health and Safety

The Park City Institute and the Park City School District have taken measures to assure the health and safety of our patrons, staff, and performers. We are constantly adjusting our COVID protocols based on the recommendations of the CDC, and directives of local and state health departments. Permanent changes include, updated HVAC, touch-less restroom faucets, electronic ticketing, electronic programs, enhanced cleaning, and all volunteers and staff to be fully vaccinated.

We recognize that being fully vaccinated and wearing a mask are the best ways to prevent the spread of the virus. If you don’t feel well or have a cough or a fever we ask that you remain home.

Jazz at the Lincoln Center Presents

The Jazz at Lincoln Center Presents touring initiative provides an opportunity to present great jazz programming, featuring up-and-coming musicians who have been identified as rising stars by JALC.  The initiative also allows for the expansion of the mission of JALC “to entertain, enrich and expand a global community for jazz through performance, education, and advocacy.” 

About JALC

Jazz at Lincoln Center is dedicated to inspiring and growing audiences for jazz. With the world-renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and a comprehensive array of guest artists, Jazz at Lincoln Center advances a unique vision for the continued development of the art of jazz by producing a year-round schedule of performance, education, and broadcast events for audiences of all ages. These productions include concerts, national and international tours, residencies, weekly national radio programs, television broadcasts, recordings, publications, an annual high school jazz band competition and festival, a band director academy, jazz appreciation curricula for students, music publishing, children’s concerts and classes, lectures, adult education courses, student and educator workshops, a record label, and interactive websites. Under the leadership of Managing and Artistic Director Wynton Marsalis, Chairman Clarence Otis, and Executive Director Greg Scholl, Jazz at Lincoln Center produces thousands of events each season in its home in New York City, Frederick P. Rose Hall, and around the world. For more information, visit jazz.org.

The Players

BANDLEADER, TRUMPET

Riley Mulherkar 

Trumpeter and bandleader Riley Mulkerhar has been recognized as a “smart young trumpet player” by The New York Times, praised by The Wall Street Journal as an artist “to keep an eye on,” and is a 2020 recipient of Lincoln Center’s Emerging Artist Award for his work as “an original bandleader, composer, arranger, educator, community activist and advocate for jazz and the arts.” Riley works with a number of leading artists of our time, including Wynton Marsalis, Anna Deavere Smith, and Alan Cumming, and is a founding member of The Westerlies, a new music brass quartet that creates the rarest of hybrids: music that is both “folk-like and composerly, lovely and intellectually rigorous” (NPR Music). Riley also serves as Artistic Director for Jazz at Joye in Aiken, bringing leading young talent to the historic city of Aiken, South Carolina.

VOCALISTS

Brianna Thomas

Born and raised in Peoria, Illinois, Brianna grew up surrounded by music. Under the guiding hand of her talented father, at the age of eight she won her first of thirteen trophies from various district and regional talent shows and was soon performing for a variety of black tie affairs and as a guest on local radio stations, eventually touring Europe with the Peoria Jazz All-Stars. Brianna is the youngest person ever to be inducted into Peoria’s African-American Hall of Fame at the age of thirteen in 1996. Brianna’s singing is deeply enriched by an understanding of the masterful voices of jazz past, including Sarah Vaughn, Nancy Wilson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dianne Reeves. She has performed at the Montreux , North Sea, and Umbria Jazz Festivals and in venues ranging from the Bahamas to Geneva, Switzerland. Brianna was a resident in both the 2001 and 2002 Betty Carter Jazz Ahead programs, an international artist-in-residence program with a focus on original compositions at the Kennedy Center. Legendary trombonist Curtis Fuller hails her as  “a marvelous new artist who has all it takes to reach the top of the jazz profession and music in general.”

Shenel Johns

With a voice that embodies grace and passion and a personal style that sways effortlessly from jazz to R&B to gospel, Shenel has emerged as one of the shining stars of her generation. A native of Hartford, Connecticut, Johns has been performing since she was fourteen years of age, and has developed a distinctive, eclectic style that has increasingly caught the attention of her peers and some of the industry’s top performers. Johns received a B.A. in music management from the Jackie McLean Institute at the Hartt School of Music and studied performance with such jazz legends as Rene McLean, Jimmy Greene, and Nat Reeves. She has shared the stage with music royalty including Curtis Fuller, Hank Jones, Dionne Warwick, and Sheila Jordan, and has performed and recorded with an impressive array of leaders in the field. In 2016, Johns completed a musical residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center Doha in Qatar and, several months later, honored Billie Holiday as part of Jazz at Lincoln Center’s New York production of Billie and the Boys. She has also paid tribute to another of her idols, Lena Horne, at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s famed Appel Room. Most recently, Johns was the winner of the Riga Jazz Stage Competition in Riga, Latvia, and was featured in the Hartford Jazz Festival’s Ella Fitzgerald Tribute

Tyreek McDole

Tyreek McDole made his vocal debut at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2018 Essentially Ellington National Competition, where he won the Outstanding Vocalist Award presented by Wynton Marsalis. Tyreek found a “home” with swinging baritones and is often likened to legends such as Billy Eckstine, Andy Bey and the illustrious Joe Williams. Tyreek has performed alongside acts such as Theo Croker, Gary Bartz, Mike King, Mike Ode, Eric Wheeler, the Springfield Symphony Jazz Orchestra and the Orlando Jazz Orchestra, to name a few. He has performed at venues such as The Blue Note, Birdland, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Detroit Symphony Orchestra House, Mezzrow’s Jazz Club, and others. The 23-year-old is currently studying Jazz Performance at The Oberlin Conservatory of Music  with LaTanya Hall, Gary Bartz, Gerald Cannon, Eddie Henderson, Billy Hart, Dan Wall, Sullivan Fortner, and Weedie Braimah and will graduate in Spring 2023.

MUSICIANS

Andy Clausen (Trombone)

Andy Clausen is a New York-based trombonist, composer, producer, and educator. A graduate of The Juilliard School, Andy has served as principal conductor and Artistic Director for Jazz at New York Youth Symphony since 2016, and in 2021 joined the faculty of The New School as an Artist in Residence and professor of trombone and composition. As a composer, Andy has worked in a variety of formats, from orchestral and large ensemble commissions, classical and jazz chamber music projects, to numerous film, television, radio, and podcast productions. Andy has appeared at such wide-ranging venues as Carnegie Hall, The Hollywood Bowl, Red Rocks, Coachella, The Kennedy Center, Newport Folk Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, SFJAZZ, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Pitchfork Music Festival, Radio City Music Hall, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert.

Barry Stephenson (Bass):

New York City-based acoustic/electric bassist and composer Barry Stephenson has been acclaimed as “one of the most sought-after bassists on the scene today.” Released in 2020, Barry’s The Iconoclast was nominated for the NAACP Image Award® for Outstanding Jazz Album (Instrumental), and was notably the only independently-produced album in a category that included work by Jon Batiste, George Burton, Christian Sands, and Immanuel Wilkins.  Barry has performed and toured extensively with TV personality, musician, and bandleader Jon Batiste and Stay Human, including regular appearances on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and performances at a variety of festivals, including the Monterey, Montreaux, Montreal, Newport, North Sea, Umbria, and Playboy Jazz festivals. He has also performed at rock festivals including Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. Barry has been featured on recent episodes of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Godfather of Harlem.  Barry has performed with many internationally-recognized jazz, blues, and soul artists, including Nicholas Payton, David Sanborn, Seal, the late Freddie Cole, Diane Schuur, the late Henry Butler, Mark Whitfield, Cyrille Aimee, Etienne Charles, and Theo Croker.

Lucas Pino (Tenor Saxophone)

Tenor Saxophonist Lucas Pino works frequently as a sideman for artists including Gideon van Gelder, Richard Boukas, David Lopato, Bryan Carter, Rafal Sarnecki, Nick Finzer, and Jeremy Siskind. His past performance experience also includes Dave Brubeck, Curtis Fuller, Benny Golson, Jimmy Heath, Christian McBride, Carl Allen, Benny Green and David Sanborn. Lucas has performed in Australia, Poland, Spain, Britain, The Netherlands, Brazil, and Costa Rica, as well as throughout the United States and Canada. He has appeared at venues including The Blue Note, Dizzy's Club Coca Cola, The Jazz Standard, Yoshi's, The Jazz Kitchen, The Rex, and Chicago Symphony Hall. As a leader, he has maintained a monthly residency at Smalls with the No Net Nonet since March 2013. Originally from Phoenix, Arizona, Lucas grew up singing hymns in church, and in the choir at school. He started playing saxophone at age 10, and the first music he ever listened to was jazz. As a high school junior, Lucas won the DownBeat award for Best Instrumental Soloist in 2004. He attended the Brubeck Institute from 2005-2007, where he studied closely with Dave Brubeck. Lucas finished his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Jazz Performance at The New School in 2009, and then attended Juilliard, where he received a Master of Music in 2011.  Lucas' major influences on the saxophone include Stan Getz, Lucky Thompson, John Coltrane, Michael Brecker, and Chris Cheek. Compositionally, he is heavily influenced by the sound of big band, and composers including Wayne Shorter, Maria Schneider, Walt Weiskopf, and Thad Jones.

Mathis Picard (Piano)

Mathis Picard is a French-Malagasy pianist, composer, producer, and bandleader who currently resides in New York City. Rooted in the tradition of live acoustic performance while incorporating the latest technology, Mathis creates his own musical style influenced by his multi-national background. Mathis, who began playing the piano at the age of 3, was immediately passionate about music's healing quality and now focuses on sharing that passion globally. Mathis currently leads a solo project, a trio project and his orchestra, The Sound Orchestra.  Mathis has had the honor of working with artists such as Ron Carter, Lillias White, Wynton Marsalis, Christian McBride, Lee Ritenour, Daniel J. Watts, DJ Kindness, Braxton Cook, Veronica Swift, Etienne Charles, and more.

TJ Reddick (Drums)

TJ is an American musician and educator, as well as a graduate from The Juilliard School. He currently resides in New York City, which has led to collaborations with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Chick Corea, Jon Batiste, Nicholas Payton, Alicia Olatuja, Will Downing, Mwenso and the Shakes, and many more. He has performed at many venues including Radio City Music Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Hall, Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Balboa Theatre, Adrienne Arsht Center, Smalls, The Blue Note, Smoke, the Marciac Jazz Festival, Belize Jazz Festival, Jacksonville Jazz festival, Jacksonville Bethel Baptist Church, Greater Refuge Temple, Mattox Revival Center, and City Tabernacle. TJ believes art shapes and gives color to the world we live in, and that art plays an integral role in building communities.

The 2022-23 Main Stage Series is made possible with the generous support from the following individuals and organizations:

Katherine Bergmann
Beano Solomon

Allison and Benjy Boxer, Bob Shallenberg, Eileen & Pete Kintner, Holly Etlin, Jan Manning, Jodi & Doug Berman, Joy & Bruce Soll, Mark Gottung, Michael & Erin Ruzek, Patricia Lebow, Robin Hauser, Randi & Brian Schwartz, Mindy & Randy Wolpert, St. Regis Deer Valley, The Park City Community Foundation, The Promontory Foundation, The Doubletree Hotel, Summit County Cultural RAP Tax, WESTAF, Park City Chamber of Commerce, and the Utah Division of Arts & Museums