Emmy-nominated conductor Troy Quinn has established a diverse career in American classical music and has maintained a quiet, joyful connection to Rhode Island for most of his life. He is bringing that joy back to South County for the sixth consecutive year as part of the Rhode Island Philharmonic Summer Pops Series, with stops in Narragansett, Providence, Newport and Bristol.
Quinn is the pops conductor for both the Rhode Island Philharmonic and the Santa Rosa Symphony in California. He also serves as music director of both the Venice Symphony in Florida and the Owensboro Symphony in Kentucky, where he is now in his ninth and eighth seasons, respectively. He is a faculty member at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where he earned his doctorate.
Quinn earned an Emmy nomination for the PBS special “A Night at the Oscars with the Owensboro Symphony” and has shared the stage with artists including The Rolling Stones, Josh Groban, Jennifer Hudson, Barry Manilow and Cypress Hill. His television credits include Fox’s Glee, NBC’s The Voice and The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. His film recording work includes titles such as “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” and “The Call of the Wild.” He has performed at the Hollywood Bowl, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Tanglewood, and he has collaborated with composers including Alan Menken and Hans Zimmer.
Despite his expansive career, the Ocean State holds a special place in his heart. He attended Providence College, where he double-majored in vocal performance and conducting and received the Leo S. Cannon Award for superior achievement in music. He later returned to PC as a faculty member and was awarded an honorary doctorate.
The Rhode Island Philharmonic was the first professional orchestra Quinn ever saw as a student, and the memory of watching the late conductor Larry Radcliffe lead that ensemble inspired him to pursue his own conducting career.
“Rhode Island Philharmonic was the first orchestra I ever saw, actually as a young boy, as a student,” he says. “So it’s a great full-circle moment to be back and conduct some of my teachers, colleagues and people I really respect.”
The orchestra has performed on Narragansett Beach for over 40 years.
This year’s program, “Outstanding Overtures,” is a multi-genre blend of classical pieces, Broadway favorites and film music that Quinn curated exclusively for the Rhode Island Philharmonic.
The series kicks off July 10 at 8 p.m. at the North Beach Clubhouse in Narragansett, then moves to Roger Williams Park in Providence on Aug. 5 at 7:30 p.m., Rosecliff Mansion in Newport on Aug. 9 at 3 p.m. and Independence Park in Bristol on Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
All four concerts are free and open to the public.
Questions with Troy Quinn
Q: You’re bicoastal, working with several orchestras. How do you manage all of those roles?
A: “It’s quite a rollercoaster. I have four orchestras that I work with regularly, two as music director and two as pops conductor. I’m the music director of the Venice Symphony in Florida and the Owensboro Symphony in Kentucky, and I’m the pops conductor here at Rhode Island and with the Santa Rosa Symphony in California. I should have more frequent flyer miles than I do. I love going to these communities, and Rhode Island is special to me.”
Q: Tell me about the program and what you are most excited about.
A: “I am really excited about this program. I have curated it specifically for the Rhode Island Philharmonic and have not performed it anywhere else. I think audiences will be entertained by the variety. It is very rare at pops concerts that we play Mozart and Rossini alongside Stephen Schwartz from ‘Wicked’ and Jerry Herman. What makes it especially exciting is that we secured the original arrangements for many of the pieces, including the pit orchestra version of ‘Mary Poppins’ exactly as you heard it in the film. That is always difficult to pull off, and we are really proud of it.”
Q: Is the orchestra excited about any particular piece on the program?
A: “They are very excited to see so much classical repertoire on the program. It gives the musicians a chance to show off. The Marriage of Figaro and the William Tell Overture are very virtuosic, and there is also the Morning, Noon and Night in Vienna Overture, which people have probably heard through Bugs Bunny and Looney Tunes cartoons. It really gives the orchestra a chance to strut their stuff. And everybody I talk to, my colleagues, they really enjoy playing the latest craze, which is Wicked. We are happy to have that arrangement by Ted Ricketts, who is a wonderful colleague of mine and has done a lot of work for Disney.”
Q: Do you have a favorite venue among the four stops?
A: “I love them all! Newport is new for us this year at Rosecliff Mansion, which is going to be exciting. But I am a beach guy, so the Narragansett concert, leading off the summer pops series, is my favorite. Going there as a boy and growing up near there with my family brings back a lot of memories. It is amazing looking out from the podium at the ocean, being inspired by God’s beauty and playing this great, wonderful, inspiring music.”
Q: What would you say to someone who has never attended before?
A: “If you have a preconceived notion of what the orchestra is, come see us. You are going to be blown away by how exciting and fun it can be. These are concert experiences, not formal shows, and you will learn a little something along the way. You have got a crown jewel in the Rhode Island Philharmonic, and there are still people who have never seen us perform. This is the time for those people to come out. I have never had anybody ask for their money back yet.”