CAPITAL AUTO THEATRE
CATERING AND CONVENTION
Date: Saturday, March 22
Pre-show: 6:45 PM
Concert: 7:30 PM
Standing Ovation: 9:00 PM
Regular Prices: $32.00 – $112.00 (Plus Applicable Service Charges)
16 & Under Prices: $20.00 (Plus Applicable Service Charges)
Genevieve Leclair, conductor
LaKisha Jones, vocals
Celebrate the voices of musical royalty – Whitney Houston, Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and more. A fun night of girl power, spanning decades and styles that will have you dancing in the aisles.
Regina Symphony Orchestra
The Regina Symphony Orchestra (RSO) is a musical organization that has been in operation for almost 50 years, with roots stretching back to the early 1900s. Growing from a volunteer group of musical Regina residents, the RSO is now a professional musical ensemble composed of wind, string, brass and percussion instruments, performed by expert musicians. Through live concert events and engaging educational opportunities, the RSO provides musical experiences for people of all ages and levels of musical knowledge. Concerts feature music from a variety of creative periods, cultures, and musical styles – making an RSO orchestra performance a unique experience in Southern Saskatchewan. RSO performances are a place to gather in celebration of our musicians and of our community. The RSO concert season runs from September to June, with ticketed concerts featuring the full orchestra ranging from intimate chamber performances to large- scale symphony spectaculars.
Geneviève Leclair, conductor
Geneviève Leclair is an active guest conductor with organizations across Canada, the United States and the U.K., as well as Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music where she has been teaching conducting since 2016. Highlights of the 2024-25 season include debuts with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Houston Ballet and Regina Symphony Orchestra.
Geneviève was awarded the 2017 American Prize in Conducting, college/university division and took 2nd place in the professional orchestra division. In 2010, she was honored to receive the Sir Ernest MacMillan Memorial Foundation Award in Orchestral Conducting. Her performances have been hailed as “impeccable” (Boston Phoenix), “ravishing” and of “exemplary pacing and reading” (Hugh Fraser) while her conducting style is praised for its “verve and precision”, “confident dynamics and tempos, crisp rhythms, and crystalline phrasing creat[ing] powerful forward momentum” (Carla DeFord).
Geneviève holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from Boston University under the tutelage of Maestro David Hoose. She had previously obtained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in flute performance at Université de Montréal, the latter under the supervision of Mr. Denis Bluteau, former associate principal flutist of Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. She also studied choral conducting with Dr. Ann Howard Jones and perfected her art in master classes led by Boris Brott, Kenneth Kiesler, Carl Topilow, Susan Hoeppner, Camille Churchfield, Lise Daoust and Jeanne Baxtresser. In November 2010, she was invited by the National Arts Center Orchestra (Ottawa) to attend the first edition of their Canadian Conductors Workshop.
LaKisha Jones, vocals
Best known to millions of TV viewers as a top four finalist during the 2007 season of “American Idol,” LaKisha Jones is ready to reclaim center stage in music, theater and television.
Her last album, “So Glad I’m Me” was full of Jones’ expressive, full-bodied and arresting vocals, the same voice that electrified “American Idol” viewers with the “Dreamgirls” showstopper “And I Am Telling You” and later the Broadway stage in the Oprah Winfrey produced, Tony Award-winning musical, “The Color Purple.”
Having worked with hit-making songwriters and producers including Tony Nicholas (Patti LaBelle, Luther Vandross), Ro & Sauce (Brandy, Ne-Yo) and Greg Curtis (Keyshia Cole, Yolanda Adams), Jones’ album featured a spirited mix of R&B and soul. A few noteworthy songs included the single “Same Song,” penned by award-winning songwriter Dianne Warren, Whitney Houston’s “You Give Good Love,” the gospel song “Just As I Am,” and Jones soaring ballad to her daughter, “Beautiful Girl.”
Her drive and motivation dates back to her childhood in Flint, Michigan. Raised by her mother and grandmother, Jones was exposed to music by legendary singers such as Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin and Patti LaBelle, with her grandmother urging the young girl to “let your voice shine” thereby prompting Jones to sing in church choirs and music programs. Joining various chorale groups and a cappella choruses throughout high school, Jones entered and won the top prize at Flint’s local talent contest, “The Super Show” in 1997. A two-year stint studying vocal performance at the University of Michigan left the high school graduate craving to sing more than hit the books. She relocated to various cities (Dallas, Houston and Virginia Beach) to pursue her dream as a singer.
She auditioned for “American Idol” once before in 2003 but didn’t make the cut. Jones drove to New York to audition again for “Idol” and made it to the 2007 season where she became the fourth finalist. She segued from “Idol” to the Broadway stage for “The Color Purple” where she played two roles: that of a “church lady” and of the pivotal character “Sophia.” The latter role she alternated with R&B icon Chaka Khan, who became her mentor. Jones participated in Khan’s 35th Anniversary Tour. Following her Broadway stint Jones provided vocal coaching on MTV’s reality competition “Legally Blonde: The Search for Elle Woods,” a show designed to find and hone Broadway’s next star.
