On Stage with Ryan Hardiman

There's a great article online at the Herald-Dispatch about my pal Ryan Hardiman, who's part of a big concert this weekend - don't miss it:

When theater veteran Ryan Hardiman auditioned for the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra's Symphony Idol contest back in the winter of 2008, he wanted to fulfill a long-time dream - to sing with the state's largest orchestra.

But Hardiman didn't just check that dream off the bucket list and move on. Since then, like Leonardo DiCaprio in Inception, Hardiman has fallen deeper and further into layers of his dream of working with the orchestra.

Hardiman, who has rocked the mic for Charleston Light Opera Guild's production of Rent and Huntington Outdoor Theatre's record-breaking production of Beauty and The Beast, takes to the stage at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 6-7, at the Maier Performance Hall at the Clay Center in Charleston.

He is joined by veteran professional and internationally-acclaimed tenor, Barboursville native Randall Reid-Smith, who also happens to be the Commissioner of the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

Tickets start at $10 and $6 for students and children and are available through the Clay Center Box Office, 304-561-3570. Tickets may also be ordered online at www.wvsymphony.org.

Called "From Broadway to Broad Street," the concert is the WVSO's final concert in its 2010-2011 ZMM Pops Series.

Hardiman, whose day job is assistant promotion manager and art director for WCHS/FOX11, said he feels extremely lucky and blessed to now be performing his 8th, 9th and 10th (the symphony has a road concert in Parkersburg on Sunday) concerts with Maestro Grant Cooper and the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra.

"It kind of built up to this," Hardiman said. "The symphony never specified what you would be able to do with the Symphony when you won Idol. They said there was an opportunity for a paid performance."

Hardiman, whose been known to bring a powerful, contemporary rock edge to theater shows that have ranged from Jekyll and Hyde to Rocky Horror Picture Show, sang two songs from the musical, Jekyll and Hyde, including "This is the Moment," a well-known song from the show, as well as "I Need to Know," a song that was on the original concept album for the show but not on the original cast soundtrack.

And it looks like the Symphony got hooked.

"That could have been all that was involved but we've kept going from there," Hardiman said. "I'm not sure they had any intention of it getting to this point but I'm really glad the relationship has continued to grow to headlining a subscription series pop concert with them is a dream come true."

Adding to the richness of that dream is getting to share the stage and bill with Reid-Smith, who has performed in concert halls around the world including the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and who was an assistant professor of music at the University of Michigan before coming home to West Virginia to head the Division of Culture and History.

Hardiman and Reid-Smith will duet on "Lilly's Eyes" from "The Secret Garden," and will take the crowd home and away at the concert's end with "Amazing Grace," "West Virginia Hills" and "Country Roads."

"I'm really looking forward to performing with Randall Reid-Smith," Hardiman said. "He's a local hero and a big hero of mine. He really walks the walk as an arts administrator and still is heavily involved with the arts and has had quite a career."

Both singers will bring a wide range of Broadway tunes to the stage, Hardiman said, from "Music of the Night" to "Anthem" from "Chess," to classics such as "Someone To Watch Over Me" and "My Funny Valentine."

Hardiman, who has also sung with the Huntington Symphony Orchestra on four occasions, will sing 13 songs and gets to rock out a bit with The Beatles "Eleanor Rigby," "Live and Let Die" and perhaps his favorite song to sing with the symphony, "Knights in White Satin," the Moody Blues song.

"It is quite a rush and an exhilarating feeling when there is an 80-plus member orchestra behind you and you're able to sing these wonderful songs with such an amazing orchestra," Hardiman said.

If You Go

WHAT: Symphony Idol winner Ryan Hardiman and West Virginia Culture and History Commissioner Randall Reid-Smith join the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra at its "From Broadway to Broad Street" concert. Audiences will enjoy works from masters of the stage like Rogers and Hammerstein, Andrew Lloyd Webber and George and Ira Gershwin, as well as music from popular artists like Paul McCartney and Josh Groban.

WHERE: Maier Performance Hall at the Clay Center

WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 6-7

HOW MUCH: Tickets start at $10 for adults and $6 for students and children

GET TIX: Clay Center Box Office, 304-561-3570. Tickets may also be ordered online at www.wvsymphony.org.