
A Very Merry Holiday Pops!

Ben Shirley (Composer) born and raised in Berlin, San Francisco, and Texas, Ben Shirley is an accomplished concert composer, film composer, orchestrator, and musician whose atypical path to success informs his music. A touring musician for 25+ years, Ben was previously signed to Epic Records, as a bassist, releasing rock radio singles charting in the Top 5. Not long after, drug and alcohol addiction drove him into homelessness.
In 2011, Ben sought refuge at the Midnight Mission, in Los Angeles’ notorious Skid Row. He returned to school and rebuilt his musical life from the homeless shelter, where he resided for 26 months. In 2015, Ben was accepted into the prestigious San Francisco Conservatory of Music, as a student in the inaugural class of the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) Program.
Ben is an alumnus of the Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music (GLFCAM), and the Tidriks Distance Learning Program (20/21). He is currently in the 2nd year of the GLFCAM two-year “Composing Earth'' program, dedicated to the study of climate change in 2022-2023. A piece of music will be commissioned to chronicle his journey of his two-year study.
In the Fall of 2022, Ben joined the board of the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra in his hometown of Newark, Ohio. Ben hopes to incorporate his past life experiences into community engagement as he serves his board position.
A longtime Board Member of the Skid Row Running Club, Ben is an international marathoner, having completed marathons in Ghana, Italy, Vietnam, Germany, and Israel.
Ben is also a volunteer grant reviewer for the United Way of Licking County and a volunteer with Walking Wild Rescue, which saves foxes from the fur trade.
He remains active in a 12-step recovery program. For those who are struggling to “find a way out,” please reach out, there is a better life beyond your wildest dreams.
Ben is active in the Newark, Ohio Rotary Club, Aerospace Masonic Lodge No. 800 in Heath, Ohio and is a fixture in his community through his music and community work.
On November 11, 2022 brings the release date of the "American Stories" record on Cedille Records where his clarinet quintet, ‘High Sierra Sonata’ will receive its world premiere recorded by the Grammy Award winning Pacifica Quartet and Anthony McGill, principal clarinetist of the New York Philharmonic.
Ben’s works are commissioned, performed, and recorded by prominent ensembles, including the Grammy-award winning Pacifica Quartet, Quadre, The Newark-Granville Symphony.
Ben’s music has been performed by members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, and the Los Angeles Opera.
Ben is also a television and film composer and orchestrator. Credits include: Composer, “Stories Project”, “The Guardian”, “Dr. West’s Fervor” , “S.W.A.T.”, “Fast & Furious: Hobbs and Shaw, Orchestration, “Umbrella”, Additional Music Textures, “Skid Row Marathon”
Ben was one of four featured runners in Mark and Gabi Hayes’ internationally acclaimed documentary “Skid Row Marathon.” The film won dozens of festival awards including the LA Film Festival’s “Best Documentary,” the Boulder International Film Festivals “People’s Choice” award, the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s “Audience Choice” award, and the Napa Valley Film Festival’s “Best Documentary Feature.”
Harris Ipock serves as Director of Choral Activities at Denison University. He has previously served as conductor of the Conservatory Choir at Shenandoah Conservatory, the Harvard Glee Club at Harvard University, and has conducted choral ensembles at Boston University, Clayton State University, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. In addition to his teaching schedule, Harris enjoys an active career as a soloist and professional chorister. As a member of Conspirare, he served as a section leader on the GRAMMY winning album Sacred Spirit of Russia. He has also appeared with Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Yale Choral Artists, Publick Musick, Cambridge Concentus, La Donna Musicale, Voices, Vox Lumine, Virginia Chorale, Norfolk Chamber Consort, and North Carolina Symphony Baroque Choir. His credits as a soloist include Dover Beach (Victoria Bach Festival), St. Matthew Passion (Conspirare), Monteverdi’s Vespers (Cambridge Concentus), JS Bach’s Magnificat (Back Bay Chorale), and Haydn’s Paukenmesse (Harvard-Radcliffe Chorus). Harris recently served as choirmaster for Odyssey Opera’s debut performance of Wagner’s Rienzi, and held the Male Choir Chair of the Massachusetts ACDA. Harris holds a D.M.A. in choral conducting from Eastman School of Music, M.M. degrees in choral conducting and vocal performance from East Carolina University, and B.M. and B.A. degrees in vocal performance and economics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
KEVIN CONNELL (Narrator, “The Night Before Christmas”) is currently the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra. He was the Director of NGSO’s Ellis Island: the Dream of America (Fall 2022). He is a Professor of Theatre Arts at Marymount Manhattan College (New York City) and was the former Managing Artistic Director of Weathervane Playhouse (Newark, OH), where he worked from 2014-2019. Kevin was the Period Style and Etiquette Coordinator for the 2012-2013 Broadway production of The Heiress. He attended The Ohio State University (BFA) and the University of California, San Diego (MFA). He is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.
Macrae Harvey (Boy Soprano) is 10 years old and is in the fifth grade at St. Paul School, in Westerville, Ohio. His favorite activities include playing soccer and lacrosse, singing in the school choir, and playing the clarinet in the school band. He especially loves video games and math and wants to be a computer programmer someday. His grandparents are longtime Granville residents and business owners Tom and Deb Harvey.