Deer Valley® Music Festival
Artists’ Profiles
Artists’ Profiles
Police Deranged For Orchestra
By Stewart Copeland
Way back in the mists of 1976 I fired up this band called The Police. In the fashion of the day it was supposed to be a punk band but one of the guys started writing actual songs. Hit songs—songs that were so cool and fun to play that our manifesto evolved from “We will eat your children!” to “Come dance with us!” Sting had joined the mission as a bass player who could also sing, although singing wasn’t much required in those early days. But then Andy Summers came along with his large vocabulary of fancy guitar chords and our ears pricked up to music possibilities that went way beyond our hostile hairdos. Sting’s hitherto undisclosed (even to him I suspect) gift for song writing led to another amazing reveal: Dang! That guy can really sing!
The Derangement of those songs began as music score for a movie I made out of Super8 footage of the band that I had shot during our rise to glory. Film puts capricious demands on music, which is why these popular songs had to be deranged. I had to carve up the music to serve the scenes in the movie, and once the scalpel was out, a whole new frenzy of inspiration from Police music began. Delving into the multi-tracks of the original recordings as well as live performances revealed lost guitar solos, bass lines, and vocal improvisations that were just too cool to leave in dark obscurity.
Meanwhile, my two decades before the mast as a hired-gun film composer had forced an education in orchestration upon me, and the idea formed to make this combination that brings us here tonight. Sting’s songs, Andy’s inventions, and my impunity, all on the page for a wild ride with the Utah Symphony.
Edwin Outwater
Conductor
A truly visionary conductor, Edwin Outwater regularly works with orchestras and institutions throughout the world, producing, curating, and conducting unique concert experiences. He is equally adept at interpreting canonical works, and regularly premieres new commissions and connects audiences with repertoire beyond the mainstream. He is, in the words of Michael Tilson Thomas, “one of the most innovative conductors on the scene today.”
Recent guest performance highlights for him include New York Philharmonic; Philadelphia Orchestra; New World Symphony; and the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Chicago, Seattle; as well as Toronto, Victoria, and Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, where he currently holds the position of Music Director Laureate. In April 2020, Edwin Outwater was appointed Music Director of San Francisco Conservatory of Music and began his tenure in September 2020.
International appearances include the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, Tokyo Symphony, the Brussels Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the New Zealand Symphony, Adelaide Symphony, Malmö Symphony, Mexico City Philharmonic, and Hong Kong Sinfonietta.
Outwater has a long association with the San Francisco Symphony. The 2019-20 season began with a hugely successful collaboration between the orchestra, Outwater and legendary metal band Metallica at the new Chase Center arena. He also regularly conducts and curates their SoundBox series and “Holiday Gaiety,” an LGBTQ holiday concert he created with drag performer Peaches Christ.
Stewart Copeland
Composer/Drums
Stewart Copeland has spent more than three decades at the forefront of contemporary music as rock star and acclaimed film composer, as well as in the disparate worlds of opera, ballet, and world and chamber music. Recruiting Sting and Andy Summers in 1977, Copeland is renowned as the founder of The Police, a band that became a defining force in rock music from the ‘80s through to the present day. His career includes the sale of more than 60 million records worldwide, and numerous awards, including five Grammy® awards.
Copeland moved beyond the rock arena in the mid-1980s when he returned to his classical roots with creative pursuits in concert and film music. His concert works include BEN-HUR, A Tale of the Christ, which features Copeland as soloist in a live orchestral score for the 1925 silent film; Tyrant’s Crush: Concerto for Trapset and Orchestra commissioned by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra; Poltroons in Paradise commissioned by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra; and Gamelan D’Drum, commissioned by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra for the world percussion group D’Drum.
Recipient of the Hollywood Film Festival’s first Outstanding Music in Film Visionary Award, a Grammy nominee for his 2005 CD Orchestralli, and a 2003 inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Copeland has been responsible for some of the film world’s most innovative and ground breaking scores. His numerous film scores include Oliver Stone’s Wall Street, the seminal score for the Golden Globe-nominated soundtrack for Francis Ford Coppola’s Rumble Fish, the score for Bruno Barreto’s Oscar-nominated Four Days in September and his Emmy nomination for the Showtime pilot and series Dead Like Me.
Armand Sabal-Lecco
Bass
Born in Ebolowa, Cameroon, bassist and composer Armand Sabal-Lecco was first inspired musically by his siblings, reputed contributors to their native country’s rich musical history. Armand rose to prominence in the mid-‘80s in Paris among the pioneering new wave of African musicians who helped redefine the sound of the world music genre. Since then, as a specialist in creating musical bridges between cultures, Sabal-Lecco’s artistic savoir faire has generated both praise and demand from artists including Sir George Martin, Peter Gabriel, Mercedes Sosa, Ringo Star, João Bosco, Ziggy Marley, among many others. He has composed for Carole King, Jeff Beck, Stewart Copeland, and Herbie Hancock. Sabal-Lecco recorded the vocals for the track Képéré, sung in Képéré, an eastern Cameroonian dialect, on the feature film Blood Diamond as well as advertising campaigns for international brands. Sabal-Lecco’s solo project Positive Army, released in 2012, is a bass-driven, African groove alchemy with jazz harmonies and features a cast of international guest artists.
Carl Verheyen
Guitar
In his 50-plus years of playing the instrument, Carl Verheyen has created a wildly successful, multi-faceted career. He is a critically acclaimed musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer, and educator with sixteen albums and two live DVDs released worldwide. Verheyen is commonly regarded as a guitar virtuoso capable of playing any style of music with remarkable mastery and conviction. He has been one of LA’s elite “first call” session players for the past 38 years, playing on hundreds of records, movie soundtracks, and television shows. Verheyen has graced the pages of countless industry publications and been the subject of numerous articles chronicling his rise to the forefront of the modern-day guitar scene. Verheyen has won numerous polls and musical honors in the US, Germany, France, Italy, and the UK.
Amy Keys
Vocals
Originally from Washington, DC, Amy Keys started singing with groups in college while becoming a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and earning a degree in Biology with a minor in Chemistry. Her education continued with studies in voice at the Peabody Institute, with Seth Riggs, Nolan Van Way, and Gerald White. Her first “major” tour was with Leonard Cohen and was quickly followed by a tour with the LA All Stars, whose members included Al McKay and Verdine White of Earth, Wind and Fire. Later that same year, she was offered the opportunity to perform with one of her idols...Phil Collins. Other touring credits include: Herbie Hancock, Barbra Streisand, Toto, Dave Stewart, kd lang, Joe Cocker, Tears For Fears, Kevin Spacey (“Beyond the Sea” Tour), Michael Bolton, Philip Bailey, and many more. In May 2006, she began touring with Johnny Hallyday...singing completely in French!
Aretha Scruggs
Vocals
Aretha Scruggs is a professional jazz-gospel singer who resides in Los Angeles, but counts herself blessed to have used her gift all over the United States and in 19 countries for the last 30+ years in music. She has been a touring background singer for Natalie Cole, Christina Aguilera, Anita Baker, and Chaka Khan. On both television and live shows, she has also supported legends Whitney Houston and Patti LaBelle; neo-soul powerhouses Jill Scott, India Arie; and pop producers/artists Justin Timberlake, Pharell and more. She has sung with such gospel greats as Mary Mary, Kirk Franklin, Israel Houghton, Tye Tribbett, Fred Hammond, Marvin Sapp, and Yolanda Adams. As a film and TV session singer her voice can be heard on Trolls 2, Sing 2, Just Mercy, Bad Boys III, Respect, and Harriet Tubman to name a few. Currently, as a solo artist, Scruggs has been featured at the Long Beach Jazz Festival, and even got to debut her jazz-gospel inspired EP, Not of This World in France. Currently, she is working on a full-length jazz CD to share with her audience and hopes to tour with it in 2022.
Carmel Helene
Vocals
Carmel Helene is a diverse singer/songwriter and producer from San Francisco. From street performing solo with her guitar, to traveling to over 34 countries with featured performances for over 80,000 people, she has been a musical veteran for over 25 years. Her talents run the gamut from writing and recording to producing and mixing her own compositions. Her voice and songs have been featured in films, national commercials, and television including National Lampoon’s Gold Diggers, McDonald’s, CSI, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Black Monday, The Good Wife, NBC Super Bowl, BET Jazz, Perrier, Iomega, Dr. Pepper, Friedman’s Jewelers, and ESPN. She has toured with acts including Miley Cyrus, Billy Ray Cyrus, Michael Bolton, and Johnny Hallyday. She has also appeared as a backing vocalist on shows such as American Idol, The Voice, The Tonight Show, American Music Awards, American Academy of Country Music Awards, Country Music Hall of Fame to name a few. Carmel Helene has recorded on major-selling albums, and has released her own albums as well.
