By Charles Baran
South Florida music lovers have a lot to be thankful for these days. Each year, the concert offerings in the Broward County area get better and better. On top of that, this season our good fortune increased exponentially when renowned American Pops Orchestra (APO) Founder and Conductor Luke Frazier joined the South Florida music scene as Resident Pops Conductor of the Symphony of the Americas (SOTA). Not only did Luke bring an impressive resume to Broward County audiences—he’s just taped his thirty-first PBS Pops concert at Town Hall in New York City—he also brought a wonderful community spirited approach to his residency with SOTA. Luke’s impressive musical background in all types of music, coupled with his winning charismatic personality, made the recent announcement of Luke’s appointment as SOTA’s new Artistic and Musical Director starting with the 2025/2026 season even more exciting for South Florida audiences. Maestro Pablo Mielgo will be stepping down after a successful five-year tenure and feels confident that Luke is the right person for the job. The job is, of course, bringing world class music of the highest quality to Broward County audiences.
Luke is already planning the upcoming 2025/2026 season and guarantees that it will include “many styles of music.” He passionately believes in making music accessible for audiences, “breaking down barriers between orchestras and audiences,” and bringing them programs that they want to hear. “Music for Everyone,” is his stated motto. With this approach in mind, he tirelessly curates each concert, selecting music and performers that will fulfill this mission and amplify the audience’s experience in the concert hall.
I recently spoke at length with Luke from his Washington, D.C. home to find out more about his work, his passions, and how he found his joy and purpose through music.
CHARLES BARAN: Hello Luke! First of all, congratulations on your appointment as SOTA’s new Artistic and Musical Director. And thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to chat about your life and career.
LUKE FRAZIER: Thank you Charles. I’m so excited about what we have in store for SOTA’s 2025/2026. I’m working hard on planning it now and will announce it shortly.
CHARLES BARAN: I can’t wait! Tell the OutClique readers a little bit about yourself. Where are you from?
LUKE FRAZIER: I grew up in a very modest household in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Neither of my parents were in the arts. My first exposure to music was in grade school.
CHARLES BARAN: Tell me more about that.
LUKE FRAZIER: I remember I was six years old and there was a concert one day in the school gymnasium. It was a string quartet. I had no idea what that was! And, to this day, I couldn’t tell you what they played. All I remember was that I was mesmerized. After that concert I knew immediately what I wanted to do with my life. I had to be in music.
CHARLES BARAN: How lucky was that! What happened next?
LUKE FRAZIER: I started taking piano lessons. I studied so hard. Day by day, week by week, I got better and better.
CHARLES BARAN: Was there a certain type of music you liked?
LUKE FRAZIER: I’ve always liked all types of music. I enjoy playing and conducting everything from Broadway to classical to pop. The world of music is so vast, and what I enjoy most in my work as a conductor is bringing more and more people into the concert hall for a memorable and enjoyable experience. I select every piece of music for my programs with the audience in mind. I try very hard to bring them what they want to hear, not only what I like to play.
CHARLES BARAN: That’s a wonderful approach. You do a lot of community work all across the country. Tell us about that.
LUKE FRAZIER: Aside from my ongoing work with the APO, other conducting engagements, and my partnership with SOTA, I am particularly proud of my work with kids and college students. Plus, I tour regularly, giving free concerts in underserved rural areas. In fact, I leave next week for Kentucky.
CHARLES BARAN: You started the APO in 2015 and three weeks ago you conducted and taped your thirty-first concert for PBS at New York’s Town Hall. Tell us about the concert and who performed.
LUKE FRAZIER: It was a very exciting night. It’s called Broadway Leading Ladies and Bebe Neuwirth was the host. Let’s see, we had Jessie Mueller, LaChanze, Lindsay Mendez, Kate Baldwin, Jennifer Holliday and so many more.
CHARLES BARAN: How exciting! When can we see it?
LUKE FRAZIER: It’s being scheduled to air and as soon as I have a date I’ll let you know.
CHARLES BARAN: That ties in nicely with the Pops concerts you are doing here with SOTA on May 11, 12 and 13 at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
LUKE FRAZIER: Absolutely. I’m so excited about the May SOTA concerts. I’ve named the program Broadway Showstoppers! Broadway’s Leading Men. What I’ve done, my goal, was to personally select four talented gentlemen, the new generation of Broadway leading men, and have them sing pieces that either are not in their repertoire or from roles that they would be great in.
CHARLES BARAN: Who’s in the show?
LUKE FRAZIER: We have four exceptional talents. Sean Bell who recently made his Broadway debut playing Bobby in Barry Manilow’s Harmony, Jacob Gutierrez who is currently Aladdin on Broadway in Disney’s Aladdin, Tony Award-winner Adam Hyndman, who has been on Broadway in Aladdin, Once on This Island and most recently in Hadestown and last, but certainly not least, Nic Rouleau who holds the record of being the longest-running Elder Price in The Book of Mormon having played the role over 2500 times on Broadway, the West End in London and in Chicago.
CHARLES BARAN: This is going to be an unbelievable show. I can’t wait.
LUKE FRAZIER: It certainly is. I’m really proud of it and I am looking forward to having our South Florida audiences experience these amazing talents.
CHARLES BARAN: As you are now the newly appointed Artistic and Musical Director of SOTA, I’m sure our readers would like to know a bit more about your music philosophy. What do you hope to accomplish with every concert you conduct?
LUKE FRAZIER: Well, as I stated earlier in our conversation, my goal is to “break down the barriers” between the audience and the musicians. Too often a conductor is seen as this mysterious being who has no rapport with the audience. With each piece I personally select, I welcome and invite the audience in. Basically, the conductor is the “bridge” between the musicians and the audience. Every selection and every musician is personally picked by me.
CHARLES BARAN: Amazing. You’re so busy with a jam-packed schedule. So, between the APO and your work with young artists,, how did we get so lucky to have you join our South Florida music scene?
LUKE FRAZIER: SOTA Executive Director Steven Haines saw several of my PBS specials and reached out to me. We started a discussion and it felt like a perfect fit so I happily came on board. I’m so excited to be here.
CHARLES BARAN: Well, we are very excited to have you here. This has been a marvelous talk but I need to let you get back to your gardening which I interrupted when I called.
LUKE FRAZIER: Gardening! Yes! My other passion. It’s time to get the ground ready for spring. I love spring and I’m dying to tend to my twenty-five rose bushes and watch them start to blossom! Thanks for a fun talk, Charles. I’m looking forward to meeting you and the wonderful Broward audiences when I am there in May.
Broadway Showstoppers! Broadway’s Leading Men. May 11, 12 and 13. Symphony of the Americas at the Amaturo Theatre, Broward Center for the Performing Arts. For tickets, visit www.sota.org.
