Deer Valley® Music Festival
Artists’ Profiles
Artists’ Profiles
Lucas Waldin
Conductor
Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose performances have delighted audiences across North America. He has collaborated with some of today’s most exciting artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, Ben Folds, The Canadian Brass, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live, Cirque de la Symphonie, and the groundbreaking symphonic debut of R&B duo Dvsn as part of the global Red Bull Music Festival.
Waldin has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in the US and Canada, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Louisiana Philharmonic, the Vancouver Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, and the Toronto Symphony.
Having joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) as Resident Conductor in 2009, Waldin was subsequently appointed Artist-in-Residence and Community Ambassador—the first position of its kind in North America. He appeared with the ESO over 150 times and conducted in Carnegie Hall during the orchestra’s participation in the 2012 Spring for Music festival. In recognition of his accomplishments he was awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestral Conducting and received a Citation Award from the City of Edmonton for outstanding achievements in arts and culture.
A native of Toronto, Canada, Waldin holds degrees in flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Capathia Jenkins
Vocalist
Brooklyn-born Capathia Jenkins most recently released the critically-acclaimed CD Phenomenal Woman: the Maya Angelou Songs with her collaborator Louis Rosen, and they sold out the world-famous Birdland Theatre in NYC for three nights. She recently starred as Medda in the hit Disney production of Newsies on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in The Civil War, where she created the role of Harriet Jackson. Jenkins also created the roles of The Washing Machine in Caroline, Or Change and Frieda May in Martin Short-Fame Becomes Me. In 2007 she starred in (mis)Understanding Mammy: The Hattie McDaniel Story for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. She has also been seen in Godspell, The Look of Love, and Nora Ephron’s Love, Loss, and What I Wore.
An active concert artist, Jenkins has appeared with orchestras around the world. She had the great honor of performing in the “Broadway Ambassadors to Cuba” concert as part of the Festival De Teatro De La Habana. She also sang in a Tribute to Marvin Hamlisch at the Library of Congress. Her television credits include 30 Rock, the Practice, Law & Order SVU, and The Wiz in a live performance on NBC. The Sopranos, Law & Order. She can be seen in the film Musical Chairs directed by Susan Seidelman. She can be heard on the following film soundtracks: Nine, Chicago, and Legally Blonde 2.
Darryl Williams
Vocalist
Williams’ return to center stage as a frontman with the Here to Stay set resulted in a 2017 Best New Artist nomination from the Smooth Jazz Network. “The compositions were inspired by different experiences we went through in our journey throughout that period. It took me ten years to finish this album and while it takes me back in time, the reaction from fans, radio, and reviewers has me looking forward with excitement. I couldn’t be more proud of this album,” said Williams.
Williams was a teenager when he opened for R&B acts Lakeside and Al Green along with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. After studying jazz at San Diego State University, Williams went from regular gigs backing many of San Diego’s most prominent homegrown talent to the neon lights of the Las Vegas strip where he accompanied such nationally-renowned headliners as Clint Holmes, Angela Bofill, Tevin Campbell, Howard Hewett, and Keith Washington, and did a road stint with Chaka Khan. After moving back to California in 2008, Williams dropped his debut album, That Was Then, garnering praise from JazzTimes and national airplay on SiriusXM. He has become a fixture on the smooth/contemporary jazz scene where he has shared the stage with the genre’s heavy hitters: Richard Elliot, Peter White, Gerald Albright, Mindi Abair, Brenda Russell, Darren Rahn, Jessy J, Everette Harp, and Jeff Kashiwa. He has also recorded with Jackiem Joyner, Blake Aaron, Nils Jiptner, U-Nam, and Kay-Ta Matsuno.
