HARTFORD SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Carolyn Kuan, music director

THE MUSICAL LEGACY
OF CHICAGO: 
COLOR MY WORLD

Friday, July 17, 2026

SET ONE
MAKE ME SMILE  
JUST YOU & ME 
SATURDAY IN THE PARK 
CALL ON ME 
IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW
I’M A MAN  
FREE
SEARCHIN’ SO LONG 
INSPIRATION/HARD TO SAY I’M SORRY                                                          BEGINNINGS

SET TWO
DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOW?
QUESTIONS 67 & 68
HARD HABIT TO BREAK 
OLD DAYS  
LAST TIME THIS TIME 
FEELIN’ STRONGER
MAKE ME SMILE (reprise)

ENCORE

A dynamic and versatile conductor, Adam Kerry Boyles is a notable figure in the musical life of New England. Boyles is currently Director of Orchestras at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Assistant Conductor of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, and Music Director Emeritus of the Brookline Symphony Orchestra. In the 2019/2020 season, he was Visiting Assistant Professor/Co-Director of Orchestras at the University of Kansas City-Missouri Conservatory of Music. Previous Music Director positions include six seasons with the Brookline Symphony Orchestra, three seasons with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, five seasons with Opera in the Ozarks, and five seasons with MetroWest Opera. Boyles also served on the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin and The University of Arizona. With the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Boyles conducts a wide variety of Masterworks, Pops, Talcott Mountain Music Festival, and Educational concerts. He conducted the entirety of the orchestra’s 2018 summer season, including a concert in collaboration with Doc Severinsen. Recent guest engagements include concerts with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Ocean City Pops Orchestra, Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra, and honors orchestras in Massachusetts, Nevada, Tennessee, Oregon, and Rhode Island.

Boyles is a regular clinician with Manhattan Concert Productions, and Massachusetts Instrumental and Choral Conductors Association. An accomplished vocalist, Boyles performed in numerous operas with the Indiana University Opera Theater, and in Arizona Opera’s first complete presentation of Wagner’s Der Ring des Nibelungen. He has sung with many professional choral ensembles across the country such as Conspirare, True Concord, Apollo’s Voice, Mon Choeur, and Cantique. In 2010, Boyles was featured as a guest soloist with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus. Boyles received his Doctor of Music in Orchestral Conducting degree from The University of Texas at Austin, his Master of Music in Orchestral Conducting degree from The University of Arizona, and his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance degree from Indiana University.

Brass Transit was formed in 2008 and brought together 8 of the most talented and accomplished award winning musicians. Their sole purpose was to pay tribute to one of the world’s greatest and most successful pop/rock groups of all time, CHICAGO. Since then, the group has toured North America dazzling audiences with their flawless performances and spectacular attention to every detail of the CHICAGO songbook. Hits like: Saturday In The Park, 25 or 6 To 4, If You Leave Me Now, You’re The Inspiration have left crowds in awe and on their feet more than once during a show, evoking comments like “Spine-°©‐Tingling” “Brought me back to my youth” and “Perfect in every detail”. Brass Transit goes far beyond just imitating the songs, they embody the music. They recently produced their first CD taking top hits from the 70’s and recording them with horns in the CHICAGO style. The result is a fresh approach to some of the greatest hits of that era. They have also just recently scored their show for full Symphony with luscious orchestral arrangements that are truly spellbinding. Brass Transit will bring you back to the most memorable times of your life.