Southeastern Wind Symphony to feature Broadway's Ivan Rutherford in concert April 25
Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: April 18, 2013 
HAMMOND – Former Broadway Star and famed actor Ivan Rutherford will highlight the spring
performance of the Southeastern Louisiana University Wind Symphony Thursday (April
25) at 7:30 p.m. in the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.
Rutherford, who has performed the role of Jean Valjean in "Les Misérables" over
2,000 times on Broadway and on national tours, will join the symphony in performances
of "Stars," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," and "Bring Him Home," all from the popular
musical.
Southeastern Director of Bands and Conductor Glen Hemberger said the concert
will be dedicated to the memory of Joey Drago of Hammond, who died last December.
Drago was the assistant director of production at the Columbia Theatre for 10 years
and an enthusiastic supporter of the Wind Symphony.
Hemberger said the concert will begin with Frank Ticheli's "Amazing Grace" as
a tribute to Drago.
Tickets for the concert are available through the Columbia Theatre Box Office,
(985) 543-4371, or online at columbiatheatre.org. Tickets are $12 for adults, $7 for
Southeastern faculty and staff, and $3 for Southeastern students with a student ID.
Most recently, Rutherford has performed in "Les Misérables" in regional theatres
across the country. He was honored with the role during the 10th anniversary company
of "Les Misérables" in New York; playing alongside Andrea McArdle at the Ogunquit
Playhouse in Maine and performing with Lea Salonga on Broadway in the 20th anniversary
"Les Miz" revival.
Rutherford was nominated for "Best Actor" for his portrayal of Valjean at the
first annual Nationall Broadway Theatre Awards held in New York. Other prominent roles
he has performed include The Caliph in "Kismet," Tony in "West Side Story," Lt. Joe
Cable in South Pacific for which he received the Drama-Logue Award, and 2nd Officer
Charles Lightoller in the Broadway production of "Titanic."
The concert will include a solo by Jonathan Lyons, senior music education major
from Ponchatoula. Lyons, who will play Movement One of the Concerto for Alto Saxophone
and Wind Ensemble by David Maslanka, is the winner of the Kappa Kappa Psi Concerto
Competition.
Also on the progam will be Southeastern vocal students Jordan Leggett, Kristina Temple,
Krista Filopoulos and Bethany Putman, performing selections from "Les Misérables"
with the symphony. Highlights include "A Heart Full of Love," "On My Own," "I Dreamed
a Dream," and "One Day More."
The concert also will include a performance of Percy Grainger's "Lincolnshire
Posy," a masterwork of the band repertoire that the symphony recently performed in
the famed Chicago Orchestra Hall as one of four symphony's selected to participate
in the Percy Grainger Wind Band Festival.
