Berkowitz does Broadway
Veteran pops conductor leads Santa Rosa Symphony, 3 singers through treasured show tunes
By
DIANE PETERSONTHE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Published: Friday, February 6, 2009 at 4:22 a.m.
STEVE JENNINGS
Michael Berkowitz talks to the audience during a Santa Rosa Symphony pops concert during the 2007-2008 season.
Pops conductor Michael Berkowitz has spent a big chunk of his life working on Broadway shows with legends like composers Marvin Hamlisch, Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber and Stephen Sondheim.
Not only does he possess firsthand knowledge of their original tempos and phrasing, but the veteran drummer and conductor brings a wealth of wit to the job, warming audiences up with tales from the orchestra pit.
"I did 'Evita' when it first came to the U.S.," Berkowitz recalled in a phone interview from his home outside of New York City. "In those days, Webber was kind of a brash, full-of-himself kind of guy. . . . I saw him in June in London, and he's grown into a great lord-of-the-manor person, with ducks and geese and peacocks to worry about."
This Saturday and Sunday, Berkowitz will lead the Santa Rosa Symphony and three Broadway singers in "My Kind of Broadway," a parade of hits drawn from beloved shows like "Evita," "Wicked," "Chicago, "Cats" and "A Chorus Line."
The vocalists include Broadway duo Christina Saffran Ashford and Norman Large, and Valerie Perri, best known for her performance in the lead role of Eva Peron in "Evita."
Since it was launched in 2005, the Santa Rosa Symphony Pops Series has opened every season with Berkowitz at the helm. A favorite with the local audience, Berkowitz was named the symphony's principal pops conductor this season and is leading all three programs.
"Much of the success of this series can be attributed to his talent and popularity," said Alan Silow, executive director of the Santa Rosa Symphony.
The symphony doubled its pops concert series to a total of six concerts this season, adding a performance on Saturday night to the original Sunday afternoon slot.
In addition to his career as an international pops conductor, Berkowitz serves as music director for singer Liza Minnelli and leads his own big band -- the Gene Krupa Band, named after the famous jazz drummer -- from his own drum kit.
"We just did his 100th birthday celebration," Berkowitz said. "We did a tribute at the Iridium in New York and had two sold-out concerts."
With Minnelli, Berkowitz recently finished a five-week stint at The Palace Theatre in New York, where he conducted the live show as well as the studio album, "Liza's at The Palace," released this month.
Since conducting at the Orpheum and the Curran theaters in San Francisco in the '70s, Berkowitz has enjoyed visiting the Russian River region and hopes to relocate to Healdsburg in the "not too distant future." He turns 60 this month.
Here are a few of the veteran conductor's thoughts on the upcoming pops program, the state of Broadway, and beyond:
How does this program of Broadway music fit into your career?
I started working the orchestra pit when I was 14 years old. I had to be driven to gigs. The first show I ever did was "The Boyfriend," a Sandy Wilson work that Julie Andrews had done in London. I remember thinking, "This feels kind of natural." And I went on to have a lot of shows under my belt as a drummer and a conductor. So a large piece of me is Broadway.
The symphony's pops program expanded this year. Is this a sign of its success?
We want to grow the audience . . . but it takes a while for people to get used to having two concerts. You want to reach out to the community and try to let them know that the product is great, and they can count on having a good time.
How involved are you in planning the musical programs?
I planned this season, and this Broadway thing is great. In the past, the concerts I've done have been jazzy, big band things. Having done 53 Broadway shows, that's a whole segment of my career.
The next concert (March 21 and 22) is a Motown concert with (vocal ensemble) Spectrum and a full orchestra. This group of guys is amazing. They are just outta sight. So we're branching beyond just the big band and swing. And next season, there will be elements of all kinds of things.
Audiences love these programs, but sometimes the musicians look down their noses at them. How do you try to win them over?
The orchestras are generally much kinder than they used to be about pops, and the musicians in Santa Rosa are great. My number-one thing is to get the music played and to convey the style of the composer . . . so we do take it seriously. The next thing is, I don't bring easy music. The arrangements are the original ones.
And beyond that, you just hope that everybody gets into the spirit, and I try to keep it light. . . . You bring high-quality music, performers and programs, and have fun.
You started out as a drummer, then you moved to the podium with the help of mentors like conductor Johnny Green and arranger Nelson Riddle. What special attributes do you bring to the job?
The advantage would be the precise tempo and an awareness of the beat. A lot of people who play drums don't have ear training, but I play piano and have perfect pitch.
Basically, the technique has to be clear, and the stick has to convey the mood and what the piece is about. I'll use my hands for ballads . . . but for clarity's sake, it's better to use the stick.
Where is Broadway going these days?
Nobody has any idea where it's going. Part of the problem is that the music of Broadway used to be the music of the hit parade. Those were the songs you heard on the radio . . . but that traditional Broadway feel doesn't often work these days.
It's very expensive to do a show on Broadway. The costs are astronomical . . . It's a place where, if you're working on Broadway as a career, and my heart is still a part of that, you really do it for love more than anything else. . . .
There used to be one revival a year. Now everything is a revival, because people recognize the title, and producers are trying to play it safe.
But what are you going to do as a revival in 20 years?
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