{"id":97590,"date":"2018-11-30T15:02:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-30T20:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/?post_type=bu-article&#038;p=97590"},"modified":"2023-02-01T10:12:45","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T15:12:45","slug":"todd-ellison-muse","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2018\/todd-ellison-muse\/","title":{"rendered":"Conductor Finds the Silly Side of Serious Work"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<div class=\"wp-block-editorial-leadin magazine-block-editorial-leadin is-style-side-by-side has-media has-flip has-box has-media-focus-left-middle has-tertiary-theme\">\n\t\t<div class=\"container-lockup\">\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-leadin-media\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<img width=\"629\" height=\"345\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Liberace-Ellison-Muse.jpg\" class=\"\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-outer\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"container-words-inner\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"wp-prepress-tag\">CFA Alumni<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"head\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tConductor Finds the Silly Side of Serious Work\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"deck\">Liberace and having kids lead a conductor to embrace the silly side of serious work<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar magazine-prepress-layout-metabar\">\n\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-date\">November 30, 2018<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-credits\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul data-credit-type=\"By\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<li><a href=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/authors\/marc-chalufour\/\">Marc Chalufour<\/a><\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-prepress-component-metabar-share js-bu-prepress-share-tools\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"icon-action\"><\/span>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"alignright size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"415\" height=\"636\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/todd-ellison-headshot-415x636-2.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-97594\"\/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">At age two,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.toddellisonmusic.com\/\">Todd Ellison<\/a>&nbsp;pretended to conduct an orchestra in front of his parents\u2019 video camera. By six he\u2019d begun piano lessons\u2014and he never stopped playing. \u201cI don\u2019t need headphones, I don\u2019t need to walk around listening to music,\u201d Ellison (\u201982) says. \u201cMusic\u2019s in my head all the time, just flowing around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ellison\u2019s single-minded focus has helped him navigate the music industry to become one of America\u2019s most sought-after conductors, hailed as one of Broadway\u2019s most electric conductors by the&nbsp;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2001\/06\/08\/movies\/broadway-s-electric-conductors.html\">New York Times<\/a><\/em>. He\u2019s opened 17 Broadway shows, including 2015\u2019s&nbsp;<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.playbill.com\/production\/an-american-in-paris-palace-theatre-vault-0000014074\">An American in Paris<\/a><\/em>, which won four Tony Awards, and directed the famed&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.rockettes.com\/christmas\/\">Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular<\/a>. In spring 2019, he\u2019ll take the helm as music director and principal conductor of the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/phillypops.org\/\">Philly Pops<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the midst of his success, an offstage decision led Ellison to view his career differently: he and his partner started a family. The joy with which his sons embrace life inspires him \u201cevery day to get out of bed and try to create something to make their world brighter and a little more fun,\u201d Ellison says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese kids are all about having fun and being silly. I want to explore that side of me. At times, I didn\u2019t have that as a kid because I was playing a piano all the time.\u201d A photo of his kids beaming from the boat hangs on his office wall next to another reminder that artistry doesn\u2019t always have to be a serious business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At 13, Ellison and a friend had snuck backstage at a Liberace concert after being dazzled by the famously flamboyant pianist\u2019s performance. \u201cI could see there was this payoff to all this practicing,\u201d he says. \u201cYou get to wear lots of rings and hot pants from the \u201970s!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-end-of-article\">Today, Ellison is recognized for his spirit as much as for his skill. In summer 2018, he visited a local radio station to discuss the Philly Pops and to play a few tunes on the piano. The host said, \u201cYou add a little bounce to everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<section class=\"wp-block-editorial-collection-billboard magazine-block-editorial-collection-billboard\">\n\n\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-intro-title\">This Series<\/h3>\n\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-article\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-media\">\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"collection-navigation-image\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img width=\"1024\" height=\"649\" src=\"\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Muse-Violinist-1024x649.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Muse-Violinist-1024x649.png 1024w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Muse-Violinist-636x403.png 636w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Muse-Violinist-768x487.png 768w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Muse-Violinist-1536x973.png 1536w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Muse-Violinist-2048x1298.png 2048w, https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/files\/2023\/02\/Muse-Violinist-1578x1000.png 1578w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-media-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2018\/when-words-cease-to-function\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-media-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t>When Words Cease to Function<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"collection-billboard-content\">\n\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-small-title\">Also in<\/h4>\n\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"collection-billboard-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/muse\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Muse<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"collection-billboard-list\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">August 9, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/muse-eldad-tsabary-sound-design\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Finding a Home in Electroacoustic Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">May 24, 2023<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2023\/anthony-r-green-social-justice-artist\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Social Justice Music<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"collection-billboard-list-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<article class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-date\">October 11, 2022<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"collection-billboard-list-item-article-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/articles\/2022\/julian-shapiro-barnum-recess-therapy\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-card-article-title-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Heading to the Playground for Some Recess Therapy<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/article>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/magazine\/collections\/muse\/\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"collection-billboard-link\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>Series home<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/article>\n\n\t<\/section>\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At age two,&nbsp;Todd Ellison&nbsp;pretended to conduct an orchestra in front of his parents\u2019 video camera. By six he\u2019d begun piano lessons\u2014and he never stopped playing. \u201cI don\u2019t need headphones, I don\u2019t need to walk around listening to music,\u201d Ellison (\u201982) says. \u201cMusic\u2019s in my head all the time, just flowing around.\u201d Ellison\u2019s single-minded focus has [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6310,"featured_media":97592,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[],"bu-publication":[191],"magazine-article-category":[372,377],"magazine-topic":[365],"news-article-category":[],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[388],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/97590"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6310"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97590"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/97590\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97598,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/97590\/revisions\/97598"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97592"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97590"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=97590"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-article-category?post=97590"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine-topic?post=97590"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=97590"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=97590"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=97590"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/id-andrea.cms-devl.bu.edu\/cfa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=97590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}