Norview High School has always had a lot of entertaining students. Here are some who went on to make entertaining others a career.
Norview has always been known for having beautiful young ladies. Several have won beauty pageants. Debbie Shelton '66 made a career from this.
In 1970, Shelton competed in the Miss Virginia USA pageant to spite her then boyfriend. She won the title and represented Virginia in the Miss USA 1970 pageant held in Miami, Florida in May 1970. At the pageant, Shelton won the Miss Pixable award and was subsequently crowned Miss USA 1970. She was crowned by former titleholder Wendy Dascomb, also of Virginia; this was the first time that a state had won the Miss USA title back to back. Shelton then went on to the Miss Universe contest in Miami, Florida in July where she placed first runner-up to Marisol Malaretof Puerto Rico. She described competing at Miss Universe as "perhaps her greatest experience" During her reign, Shelton travelled across the United States and internationally, including visits to Japan, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Puerto Rico. For winning Miss USA, she received $5,000 in cash, a $5,000 mink coat and made another $5,000 from personal appearances.
Shelton was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. She graduated from Norview High School and attended Old Dominion University. She was a junior studying art at the time she won the Miss USA title. Prior to winning her first pageant title, Shelton was enrolled in a pre-medical curriculum. After college, she moved to New York City where she studied acting, modeled, and appeared on television commercials.
In March 1974, she appeared on the cover of Playboy Magazine. She later starred in the 1984 film Body Double and made frequent guest appearances on television series such as Fantasy Island, The A-Team, T. J. Hooker, The Fall Guy, Cheers, The Love Boat, Riptide, and Get a Life. In 2008, she was cast to play a rich housewife in the American television series Nip/Tuck. Her most notable television performance is the role of Mandy Winger, one of J. R. Ewing's more memorable mistresses in Dallas. After the character left the show, an outpouring of fan mail convinced the producers to bring the character back.[8] Shelton appeared in the series from 1984 to 1987. She also had a role on The Yellow Rose, a "critically acclaimed flop".
In 1991 and 1992, Shelton returned to the Miss USA stage, offering commentary during the pageant.
During 2012, Shelton made a guest appearance on the newly revived Dallas - she portrayed her old character Mandy Winger for JR Ewing's memorial service.
In 1970, Shelton competed in the Miss Virginia USA pageant to spite her then boyfriend. She won the title and represented Virginia in the Miss USA 1970 pageant held in Miami, Florida in May 1970. At the pageant, Shelton won the Miss Pixable award and was subsequently crowned Miss USA 1970. She was crowned by former titleholder Wendy Dascomb, also of Virginia; this was the first time that a state had won the Miss USA title back to back. Shelton then went on to the Miss Universe contest in Miami, Florida in July where she placed first runner-up to Marisol Malaretof Puerto Rico. She described competing at Miss Universe as "perhaps her greatest experience" During her reign, Shelton travelled across the United States and internationally, including visits to Japan, Spain, Portugal, Brazil and Puerto Rico. For winning Miss USA, she received $5,000 in cash, a $5,000 mink coat and made another $5,000 from personal appearances.
Shelton was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Norfolk, Virginia. She graduated from Norview High School and attended Old Dominion University. She was a junior studying art at the time she won the Miss USA title. Prior to winning her first pageant title, Shelton was enrolled in a pre-medical curriculum. After college, she moved to New York City where she studied acting, modeled, and appeared on television commercials.
In March 1974, she appeared on the cover of Playboy Magazine. She later starred in the 1984 film Body Double and made frequent guest appearances on television series such as Fantasy Island, The A-Team, T. J. Hooker, The Fall Guy, Cheers, The Love Boat, Riptide, and Get a Life. In 2008, she was cast to play a rich housewife in the American television series Nip/Tuck. Her most notable television performance is the role of Mandy Winger, one of J. R. Ewing's more memorable mistresses in Dallas. After the character left the show, an outpouring of fan mail convinced the producers to bring the character back.[8] Shelton appeared in the series from 1984 to 1987. She also had a role on The Yellow Rose, a "critically acclaimed flop".
In 1991 and 1992, Shelton returned to the Miss USA stage, offering commentary during the pageant.
During 2012, Shelton made a guest appearance on the newly revived Dallas - she portrayed her old character Mandy Winger for JR Ewing's memorial service.
Earnest Winborne '75 is a 35-year veteran television producer and director. In 2010, he launched NoMoreDownLow.TV - an entertainment news show dedicated to speaking the truth and dispelling the negative stereotypes of same gender loving people of color and their allies.
Winborne's career path has led him to work with television's biggest stars on the most successful programs in the nation’s top television markets. His career began with stints at local television affiliates in Richmond, Baltimore, Boston and Washington, D.C. His unique career path has allowed him to receive producer credits on a wide variety of television formats, ranging from live talk shows, news and public affairs programs, documentaries, telethons, lifestyle and entertainment magazines, concerts, dance shows and other music specials.
He has also worked as an associate producer with The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago and as producer and field director for The View in New York. For the better part of the last 15 years, Winborne has covered the red-carpet events of Hollywood as a field producer/director for entertainment news magazines Extra, Access Hollywood and E! News.
Winborne's career path has led him to work with television's biggest stars on the most successful programs in the nation’s top television markets. His career began with stints at local television affiliates in Richmond, Baltimore, Boston and Washington, D.C. His unique career path has allowed him to receive producer credits on a wide variety of television formats, ranging from live talk shows, news and public affairs programs, documentaries, telethons, lifestyle and entertainment magazines, concerts, dance shows and other music specials.
He has also worked as an associate producer with The Oprah Winfrey Show in Chicago and as producer and field director for The View in New York. For the better part of the last 15 years, Winborne has covered the red-carpet events of Hollywood as a field producer/director for entertainment news magazines Extra, Access Hollywood and E! News.
Vincent Eugene Craddock '53 (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly. He is a member of both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Vincent Eugene Craddock was born in Norfolk, Virginia. His musical influences included country, rhythm and blues and gospel music. He showed his first real interest in music while his family lived in Munden Point, Princess Anne County (now Virginia Beach), Virginia, near the North Carolina line, where they ran a country store. He received his first guitar at the age of twelve as a gift from a friend.
His father, Ezekiah Jackson Craddock, volunteered to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard and patrolled American coastal waters to protect Allied shipping against German U-boats during World War II. His mother, Mary Louise Craddock, maintained a general store at Munden Point. Craddock's parents moved the family and opened a general store and sailors' tailoring shop in Norfolk.
Having spent his youth in the Norfolk area, Craddock dropped out of school at seventeen and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1952. Craddock's parents signed the forms allowing him to join the Navy. He completed boot camp and joined the fleet as a crewman aboard the fleet oiler USS Chukawan although he spent two weeks training period in the repair ship USS Amphion before returning to the Chukawan. Craddock never saw combat but completed a Korean War deployment. He sailed home from Korean waters aboard battleship USS Wisconsin, but was not part of the ship's company.
Craddock planned a career in the Navy and, in 1955, used his $612 re-enlistment bonus to buy a new Triumph motorbike. In July 1955, while in Norfolk, a motorcycle crash shattered his left leg. He refused to have it amputated. The leg was saved, but the crash left him with a limp and pain. He wore a steel sheath around the leg for the rest of his life. Most accounts relate the accident as the fault of a drunk driver who struck him, although some claim Craddock had been riding drunk. Years later in some of his professional music bios, there is no mention of an accident, but it was claimed that he was wounded in combat in Korea. He spent time in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital and was medically discharged from the Navy shortly thereafter.
Craddock became involved in the local music scene in Norfolk. He changed his name to Gene Vincent, and formed a rockabilly band called the Blue Caps (a term used in reference to enlisted sailors in the U.S. Navy).[4] The band included Willie Williams on rhythm guitar, Jack Neal on upright bass, Dickie Harrell on drums, and lead guitarist, Cliff Gallup. He and his band were named Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps. He also collaborated with another rising musician, Jay Chevalier of Rapides Parish, Louisiana.
Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps soon gained a reputation playing in various country bars in his native Norfolk, Virginia. There, they won a talent contest organized by local radio DJ "Sheriff Tex" Davis, who became his manager.
In 1956 he wrote "Be-Bop-A-Lula", which drew comparisons to Elvis Presley[1] and which Rolling Stone magazine lists as No. 103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Local radio DJ "Sheriff Tex" Davis arranged for this to be demo-ed and this secured him a contract with Capitol Records. He signed a publishing contract with Bill Lowery of The Lowery Group of music publishers in Atlanta, Georgia. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" was not on Vincent's first album and was picked by Capitol producer Ken Nelson as the B side of his first single. Prior to the release of the single, Lowery pressed promotional copies of "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and sent them to radio stations throughout the country. By the time Capitol released the single, "Be-Bop-A-Lula" had already gained attention from the public and radio DJs. The song was picked up and played by other U.S. radio stations (obscuring the original "A-side" song), and became a hit and launched Vincent as a rock 'n' roll star.
After "Be-Bop-A-Lula" became a hit (peaking at No. 5 and spending 20 weeks on the Billboard Pop Chart, and No. 5 and 17 weeks in the Cashbox Chart), Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps were unable to follow it up with the same level of commercial success, but released critically acclaimed songs like "Race with the Devil" (No. 96 in Billboard and No. 50 in Cashbox) and "Bluejean Bop" (No. 49 in Billboard, and another million selling disc).
Cliff Gallup left the band in 1956 and Russell Williford joined as the new guitarist for the Blue Caps. Williford played and toured Canada with Vincent in late 1956 and left in early 1957. Gallup came back to do the next album, left again, then Russell came back and exited before Johnny Meeks entered the band. The group had another hit with 1957's "Lotta Lovin'" (highest position No. 13 and spending 19 weeks in Billboard, and No. 17 and 17 weeks in Cashbox). Vincent was awarded gold records for two million sales of "Be-Bop-A-Lula",and 1.5 million sales of "Lotta Lovin'". The same year he toured the east coast of Australia with Little Richard and Eddie Cochran, drawing audiences totaling 72,000 to their Sydney Stadium concerts. Vincent also made an appearance in the film, The Girl Can't Help It with Jayne Mansfield, performing "Be-Bop-A-Lula" with The Blue Caps in a rehearsal room.
"Dance to the Bop" was released by Capitol records on October 28, 1957.[8] On November 17, 1957 Vincent and His Blue Caps performed the song on the nationally-broadcast Ed Sullivan Show. The song spent nine weeks on the Billboard charts and peaked at No. 23 on January 23, 1958 and No. 36 and 8 weeks in Cashbox, and would be Vincent's last American hit single.[10] The song was used in the movie Hot Rod Gang for a dance rehearsal scene featuring dancers doing West Coast Swing.
Vincent and His Blue Caps also appeared several times on 'Town Hall Party', California's largest country music barn dance held at the Town Hall in Compton, California. 'Town Hall Party' drew in excess of 2,800 paid admissions each Friday and Saturday with room for 1,200 dancers. The show was also on from 8:30 to 9:30 pm over the NBC Radio network. It was also shown on KTTV, channel 11 from 10 pm to 1 am on Saturday nights. Appearances were on October 25, 1958, as well as July 25 and November 7, 1959. Songs performed were: "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "High Blood Pressure", "Rip It Up", "Dance to the Bop", "You Win Again", "For Your Precious Love", "Rocky Road Blues", "Pretty Pearly", "High School Confidential", "Over The Rainbow", "Roll Over Beethoven" and "She She Little Sheila".
On December 15, 1959, Vincent appeared on Jack Good's TV show Boy Meets Girl, his first appearance in England. He wore black leather, gloves, and a medallion, and stood in a hunched posture. Good is credited with the transformation of Vincent's image. After the TV appearance he toured France, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK performing in his US stage clothes.
On April 16, 1960, while on tour in the UK, Vincent, Eddie Cochran and songwriter Sharon Sheeley were involved in a high-speed traffic accident in a private hire taxi in Chippenham, Wiltshire. Vincent broke his ribs and collarbone and further damaged his weakened leg. Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis. Cochran, who had been thrown from the vehicle, suffered serious brain injuries and died the next day. Vincent returned to the States after the accident.
Promoter Don Arden had Vincent return to the UK in 1961 to do an extensive tour in theatres and ballrooms with Chris Wayne and the Echoes. Due to the overwhelming success of this tour, Vincent subsequently moved to Britain in 1963. The accompanying band, Sounds Incorporated, a six-piece outfit which included three saxophones, guitar, bass and drums, later went on to play with the Beatles at their Shea Stadium concert.
He toured the UK again in 1963 with the Outlaws, featuring future Deep Purple guitar player Ritchie Blackmore, as a backing band. Vincent's alcohol problems marred the tour, resulting in problems both on stage and with the band and management.
Vincent died on October 12, 1971 from a ruptured stomach ulcer while visiting his father in California,[3] and is interred in the Eternal Valley Memorial Park, Newhall, California.
He was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997. The following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Vincent has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1749 N. Vine Street. In 2012, his band, the Blue Caps, were retroactively inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee, alongside Vincent. On Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Vincent was honored with a Norfolk's Legends of Music Walk of Fame bronze star embedded in the Granby Street sidewalk.
Vincent Eugene Craddock was born in Norfolk, Virginia. His musical influences included country, rhythm and blues and gospel music. He showed his first real interest in music while his family lived in Munden Point, Princess Anne County (now Virginia Beach), Virginia, near the North Carolina line, where they ran a country store. He received his first guitar at the age of twelve as a gift from a friend.
His father, Ezekiah Jackson Craddock, volunteered to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard and patrolled American coastal waters to protect Allied shipping against German U-boats during World War II. His mother, Mary Louise Craddock, maintained a general store at Munden Point. Craddock's parents moved the family and opened a general store and sailors' tailoring shop in Norfolk.
Having spent his youth in the Norfolk area, Craddock dropped out of school at seventeen and enlisted in the United States Navy in 1952. Craddock's parents signed the forms allowing him to join the Navy. He completed boot camp and joined the fleet as a crewman aboard the fleet oiler USS Chukawan although he spent two weeks training period in the repair ship USS Amphion before returning to the Chukawan. Craddock never saw combat but completed a Korean War deployment. He sailed home from Korean waters aboard battleship USS Wisconsin, but was not part of the ship's company.
Craddock planned a career in the Navy and, in 1955, used his $612 re-enlistment bonus to buy a new Triumph motorbike. In July 1955, while in Norfolk, a motorcycle crash shattered his left leg. He refused to have it amputated. The leg was saved, but the crash left him with a limp and pain. He wore a steel sheath around the leg for the rest of his life. Most accounts relate the accident as the fault of a drunk driver who struck him, although some claim Craddock had been riding drunk. Years later in some of his professional music bios, there is no mention of an accident, but it was claimed that he was wounded in combat in Korea. He spent time in the Portsmouth Naval Hospital and was medically discharged from the Navy shortly thereafter.
Craddock became involved in the local music scene in Norfolk. He changed his name to Gene Vincent, and formed a rockabilly band called the Blue Caps (a term used in reference to enlisted sailors in the U.S. Navy).[4] The band included Willie Williams on rhythm guitar, Jack Neal on upright bass, Dickie Harrell on drums, and lead guitarist, Cliff Gallup. He and his band were named Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps. He also collaborated with another rising musician, Jay Chevalier of Rapides Parish, Louisiana.
Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps soon gained a reputation playing in various country bars in his native Norfolk, Virginia. There, they won a talent contest organized by local radio DJ "Sheriff Tex" Davis, who became his manager.
In 1956 he wrote "Be-Bop-A-Lula", which drew comparisons to Elvis Presley[1] and which Rolling Stone magazine lists as No. 103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Local radio DJ "Sheriff Tex" Davis arranged for this to be demo-ed and this secured him a contract with Capitol Records. He signed a publishing contract with Bill Lowery of The Lowery Group of music publishers in Atlanta, Georgia. "Be-Bop-A-Lula" was not on Vincent's first album and was picked by Capitol producer Ken Nelson as the B side of his first single. Prior to the release of the single, Lowery pressed promotional copies of "Be-Bop-A-Lula" and sent them to radio stations throughout the country. By the time Capitol released the single, "Be-Bop-A-Lula" had already gained attention from the public and radio DJs. The song was picked up and played by other U.S. radio stations (obscuring the original "A-side" song), and became a hit and launched Vincent as a rock 'n' roll star.
After "Be-Bop-A-Lula" became a hit (peaking at No. 5 and spending 20 weeks on the Billboard Pop Chart, and No. 5 and 17 weeks in the Cashbox Chart), Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps were unable to follow it up with the same level of commercial success, but released critically acclaimed songs like "Race with the Devil" (No. 96 in Billboard and No. 50 in Cashbox) and "Bluejean Bop" (No. 49 in Billboard, and another million selling disc).
Cliff Gallup left the band in 1956 and Russell Williford joined as the new guitarist for the Blue Caps. Williford played and toured Canada with Vincent in late 1956 and left in early 1957. Gallup came back to do the next album, left again, then Russell came back and exited before Johnny Meeks entered the band. The group had another hit with 1957's "Lotta Lovin'" (highest position No. 13 and spending 19 weeks in Billboard, and No. 17 and 17 weeks in Cashbox). Vincent was awarded gold records for two million sales of "Be-Bop-A-Lula",and 1.5 million sales of "Lotta Lovin'". The same year he toured the east coast of Australia with Little Richard and Eddie Cochran, drawing audiences totaling 72,000 to their Sydney Stadium concerts. Vincent also made an appearance in the film, The Girl Can't Help It with Jayne Mansfield, performing "Be-Bop-A-Lula" with The Blue Caps in a rehearsal room.
"Dance to the Bop" was released by Capitol records on October 28, 1957.[8] On November 17, 1957 Vincent and His Blue Caps performed the song on the nationally-broadcast Ed Sullivan Show. The song spent nine weeks on the Billboard charts and peaked at No. 23 on January 23, 1958 and No. 36 and 8 weeks in Cashbox, and would be Vincent's last American hit single.[10] The song was used in the movie Hot Rod Gang for a dance rehearsal scene featuring dancers doing West Coast Swing.
Vincent and His Blue Caps also appeared several times on 'Town Hall Party', California's largest country music barn dance held at the Town Hall in Compton, California. 'Town Hall Party' drew in excess of 2,800 paid admissions each Friday and Saturday with room for 1,200 dancers. The show was also on from 8:30 to 9:30 pm over the NBC Radio network. It was also shown on KTTV, channel 11 from 10 pm to 1 am on Saturday nights. Appearances were on October 25, 1958, as well as July 25 and November 7, 1959. Songs performed were: "Be-Bop-A-Lula", "High Blood Pressure", "Rip It Up", "Dance to the Bop", "You Win Again", "For Your Precious Love", "Rocky Road Blues", "Pretty Pearly", "High School Confidential", "Over The Rainbow", "Roll Over Beethoven" and "She She Little Sheila".
On December 15, 1959, Vincent appeared on Jack Good's TV show Boy Meets Girl, his first appearance in England. He wore black leather, gloves, and a medallion, and stood in a hunched posture. Good is credited with the transformation of Vincent's image. After the TV appearance he toured France, the Netherlands, Germany and the UK performing in his US stage clothes.
On April 16, 1960, while on tour in the UK, Vincent, Eddie Cochran and songwriter Sharon Sheeley were involved in a high-speed traffic accident in a private hire taxi in Chippenham, Wiltshire. Vincent broke his ribs and collarbone and further damaged his weakened leg. Sheeley suffered a broken pelvis. Cochran, who had been thrown from the vehicle, suffered serious brain injuries and died the next day. Vincent returned to the States after the accident.
Promoter Don Arden had Vincent return to the UK in 1961 to do an extensive tour in theatres and ballrooms with Chris Wayne and the Echoes. Due to the overwhelming success of this tour, Vincent subsequently moved to Britain in 1963. The accompanying band, Sounds Incorporated, a six-piece outfit which included three saxophones, guitar, bass and drums, later went on to play with the Beatles at their Shea Stadium concert.
He toured the UK again in 1963 with the Outlaws, featuring future Deep Purple guitar player Ritchie Blackmore, as a backing band. Vincent's alcohol problems marred the tour, resulting in problems both on stage and with the band and management.
Vincent died on October 12, 1971 from a ruptured stomach ulcer while visiting his father in California,[3] and is interred in the Eternal Valley Memorial Park, Newhall, California.
He was the first inductee into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame upon its formation in 1997. The following year he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Vincent has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 1749 N. Vine Street. In 2012, his band, the Blue Caps, were retroactively inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by a special committee, alongside Vincent. On Tuesday, September 23, 2003 Vincent was honored with a Norfolk's Legends of Music Walk of Fame bronze star embedded in the Granby Street sidewalk.
Rob Fisher ‘70 is an internationally recognized music director, conductor and pianist, and a leading figure in American music and musical theatre. He has been a guest of virtually every major orchestra in the country as conductor or pianist.
With the New York Philharmonic, he has conducted the acclaimed concert versions of Carousel and My Fair Lady as well as Mr. Keillor at 70. Other recent highlights include debuts with the Boston and Chicago Symphonies and appearances with the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and National symphonies. At Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, he led gala performances of Guys and Dolls and The Sound of Music. He conducted The New York Pops on many occasions, sharing concerts with the late Skitch Henderson. As a pianist, Fisher has been soloist for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F with orchestras across the country.
In addition to collaborating in concert with such artists as Renée Fleming, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O’Hara, Victoria Clark, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and David Hyde Pierce, he has conducted Patti LuPone’s engagements with the Pacific, Phoenix, Atlanta, Fort Worth, and Chicago symphonies. He conducted the San Francisco Symphony in the Emmy-winning concert production of Sweeney Todd starring Patti LuPone and George Hearn. At the Chicago Lyric Opera, he led the record-breaking production of The Sound of Music.
Fisher was founding music director and conductor of the New York City Center Encores! series from its inception in 1994 until 2005. The series earned a 2000 Tony Award, and in 1997, Fisher was given the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Special Achievement. He continues to be a regular guest music director for the series. Fisher has made numerous recordings for Encores!, including the Grammy Award-winning Chicago cast album. He is supervising music director for Chicago productions worldwide.
Fisher was music director for the New York Shakespeare Festival’s revival of Hair in Central Park, and was music supervisor for its Tony-winning run on Broadway. He served as music supervisor for the recent Tony-winning Broadway revival of Anything Goes. His Carousel with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall was broadcast on PBS Live From Lincoln Center and earned him an Emmy nomination. He was music director and conductor for “Ira Gershwin at 100,” a gala concert at Carnegie Hall, which was broadcast on PBS “Great Performances,” and he appeared twice on the PBS series “In Performance at the White House” during the Clinton administration.
Fisher has a long association with Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series as a producer and music director, creating tributes to the Gershwins, Bernstein, Cole Porter, and Kander and Ebb. The Porter program was also presented at the Ravinia Festival, and the Kander and Ebb evening was broadcast on Live From Lincoln Center. He has also made many appearances as music director for the Lyrics and Lyricists series at New York’s 92nd Street Y, often with his friend Sheldon Harnick as host. Fisher conducted the 2011 world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's Rappahannock County at the Virginia Opera, followed by performances in Richmond, VA and Austin, TX.
For four seasons, Fisher was music director for Garrison Keillor's “American Radio Company,” and remains a frequent guest on “A Prairie Home Companion.” A native Virginian, he lives in Manhattan and upstate New York.
With the New York Philharmonic, he has conducted the acclaimed concert versions of Carousel and My Fair Lady as well as Mr. Keillor at 70. Other recent highlights include debuts with the Boston and Chicago Symphonies and appearances with the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and National symphonies. At Carnegie Hall with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, he led gala performances of Guys and Dolls and The Sound of Music. He conducted The New York Pops on many occasions, sharing concerts with the late Skitch Henderson. As a pianist, Fisher has been soloist for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F with orchestras across the country.
In addition to collaborating in concert with such artists as Renée Fleming, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O’Hara, Victoria Clark, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and David Hyde Pierce, he has conducted Patti LuPone’s engagements with the Pacific, Phoenix, Atlanta, Fort Worth, and Chicago symphonies. He conducted the San Francisco Symphony in the Emmy-winning concert production of Sweeney Todd starring Patti LuPone and George Hearn. At the Chicago Lyric Opera, he led the record-breaking production of The Sound of Music.
Fisher was founding music director and conductor of the New York City Center Encores! series from its inception in 1994 until 2005. The series earned a 2000 Tony Award, and in 1997, Fisher was given the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Special Achievement. He continues to be a regular guest music director for the series. Fisher has made numerous recordings for Encores!, including the Grammy Award-winning Chicago cast album. He is supervising music director for Chicago productions worldwide.
Fisher was music director for the New York Shakespeare Festival’s revival of Hair in Central Park, and was music supervisor for its Tony-winning run on Broadway. He served as music supervisor for the recent Tony-winning Broadway revival of Anything Goes. His Carousel with the New York Philharmonic at Avery Fisher Hall was broadcast on PBS Live From Lincoln Center and earned him an Emmy nomination. He was music director and conductor for “Ira Gershwin at 100,” a gala concert at Carnegie Hall, which was broadcast on PBS “Great Performances,” and he appeared twice on the PBS series “In Performance at the White House” during the Clinton administration.
Fisher has a long association with Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series as a producer and music director, creating tributes to the Gershwins, Bernstein, Cole Porter, and Kander and Ebb. The Porter program was also presented at the Ravinia Festival, and the Kander and Ebb evening was broadcast on Live From Lincoln Center. He has also made many appearances as music director for the Lyrics and Lyricists series at New York’s 92nd Street Y, often with his friend Sheldon Harnick as host. Fisher conducted the 2011 world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon's Rappahannock County at the Virginia Opera, followed by performances in Richmond, VA and Austin, TX.
For four seasons, Fisher was music director for Garrison Keillor's “American Radio Company,” and remains a frequent guest on “A Prairie Home Companion.” A native Virginian, he lives in Manhattan and upstate New York.