IC associate professor of music performance, Ho-Yin Kwok, conducts the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra
IC associate professor of music performance, Ho-Yin Kwok, conducts the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra
The Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra and Park Productions teamed up with IC alumnus John Riley '03 for a star-studded collaboration.
The orchestra, conducted by associate professor of music performance Ho-Yin Kwok, was invited by Riley to the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, New York on February 12, 2024 to play a one-night-only concert performance of A Girl I Know, a new musical written and composed by Riley.
John Riley, '03 - Ithaca College Alum and Playwright of A Girl I Know (Photo Submitted)
Riley graduated from IC in ’03 with a degree in music performance. It was there, spending countless hours in the practice rooms of James J. Whalen Center for Music, Riley says, that he learned how to make music. After graduating from IC, Riley earned a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh which led him to work and teach in South Korea. It was there, during the isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, he started composing the songs that would become the music in A Girl I Know.
Billed as a dark, psychological thriller, A Girl I Know follows Jeni—the show’s protagonist—as she’s betrayed right before her wedding. It is story of a stunning female, the men obsessed with her, and her beautifully twisted, fiercely protective mother.
Riley says he got the inspiration for the show after seeing a production of The Phantom of the Opera . He explains, “In July 2020, I saw the World Tour of Phantom in Korea. That was my moment I went from ‘I just want to write songs’ to ‘I want to do something with this.’ I wanted to make a female protagonist that was similar to the Phantom. The music I had written, that eventually became the music for this show, fit that style.”
The work eventually attracted interest from heavy-hitting Broadway talent. And that talent traveled to Syracuse to perform the play. It is extremely rare for top-level stars to travel to perform for one night. It is something that speaks to the exciting potential of the work.
The performance at the Landmark featured Adam Pascal, Tony-nominated for originating the role of Roger in Rent; Chloe Lowery, as the show’s protagonist, who is a lead singer in the Trans-Siberian Orchestra and has appeared in Rocktopia; Rob Evans, who originated the title roles in Jekyll & Hyde and was Jean Valjean in Les Mis é rables on Broadway; and Tony-nominated producer and actor Haley Swindal, who starred as the matron Mama Morton in Chicago.
Broadway legends perform A Girl I Know. Top Left: Chloe Lowery; Bottom Left: Haley Swindal and Right: Adam Pascal
Broadway legends perform A Girl I Know. Top Left: Chloe Lowery; Bottom Left: Haley Swindal and Right: Adam Pascal
"Everything I learned about music, I learned at IC. All my connections in the theater world in New York are through IC. I reached out to a voice professor I knew, and she introduced me to the casting director. IC has a good theater program, so there are connections there. Even some of the people at the Landmark are IC grads, and they want it to be successful because it's IC.”
John Riley, '03
It can take up to ten years for a piece to make it to Broadway, requiring grit and an audacious belief in the work. First, music and storyline need to be written, usually one and then the other. Next, the songs are performed in workshops where feedback is invited and the songs get re-written and, ideally, improved. Once the storyline and songs arrive at a level the playwright feels good about, the piece is performed live with singers and an orchestra, without a set or costumes. If all goes well, then the show will get a home in a local theater with sets and costumes before being shopped to the Broadway market. That crucial step with the live performance is what happened with the IC Orchestra at the Landmark.
This all came to be from the heart of Ithaca College. Riley explains, “Everything I learned about music, I learned at IC. All my connections in the theater world in New York are through IC. I reached out to a voice professor I knew, and she introduced me to the casting director. IC has a good theater program, so there are connections there. Even some of the people at the Landmark are IC grads, and they want it to be successful because it's IC”.
IC Symphony Orchestra On Stage with Broadway's Adam Pascal
IC Symphony Orchestra On Stage with Broadway's Adam Pascal
After assembling the performers and the venue, Riley needed an orchestra. Says IC Assistant professor Ho-Yin Kwok and the performance’s conductor, “John Riley received his musical education at Ithaca College, so he has been following our orchestra closely. He was watching a performance of the IC Orchestra last year. After that he reached out to me. It does speak volumes to the quality of music making here at IC.”
That caliber of professionalism is what the performance needed. The pressure was on because the performers were from out of town, creating a very condensed rehearsal schedule. Everything had to be on the money. Kwok explains, “This was a production in the most professional condition. It was a collaboration with A-list professional Broadway singers and with a very tight rehearsal schedule (only two rehearsals). Everything happened in four days, from the first reading of the score to the performance. It had to run as efficiently and as professionally as possible, and that would be very different from the multiple-week schedule that music students are usually subjected to. The fact that the students of the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra could rise to the challenge speaks volumes to the caliber of the program and its musicians.”
“This was a production in the most professional condition. It was a collaboration with A-list professional Broadway singers and with a very tight rehearsal schedule (only two rehearsals). Everything happened in four days, from the first reading of the score to the performance. It had to run as efficiently and as professionally as possible, and that would be very different from the multiple-week schedule that music students are usually subjected to. The fact that the students of the Ithaca College Symphony Orchestra could rise to the challenge speaks volumes to the caliber of the program and its musicians.”
Ho-Yin Kwok, IC associate professor of music performance and the show's conductor
Henry Suzuki, '25 of Park Productions behind the camera while filming for A Girl I Know (Photo by Park Productions)
A performance this significant to the future of the play also required documentation to help Riley bring it to the next step on its trajectory to Broadway. For that, Riley called on IC’s Park Productions—the production company of the Roy H. Park School of Communications—to document the show. Park Productions sent a team of students to record the evening in a four-camera shoot. Eventually, they will produce a full-length video of the performance with shorter clips for use on social media.
The opportunity proved a win for everyone. Riley was able to bring in the talent IC has to offer while the students gained experience they might not find anywhere else. Henry Suzuki ’25, a film, photography and visual arts major was on the shoot: "I had never filmed a concert or musical before, so this experience was a great opportunity to learn. I gained valuable insights into organizing and planning the shoot, adjusting camera settings for low and high-intensity lighting, and improving my understanding of camera movement and angles."
Ithaca College’s Symphony Orchestra is one of the many musical ensembles where students can hone and develop their talents.
IC’s offers opportunities to study Music Performance, Music Theory History and Composition and Theater Dance and Performance, Theater Production and Management, and Theater Studies.
Park Productions offers the Roy H. Park School of Communication’s Film and Photography students the experience to grow their professional acumen while working as part of a production team.