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It's been a year since Leslie Odom Jr. left his career-making role in "Hamilton," but that doesn't mean he's running away from Aaron Burr.

"We don't believing in letting an audience leave disappointed," the actor-singer said in a phone interview from Boston a few hours before performing on the Boston Pops' Independence Day extravaganza. So his upcoming performance at Deer Valley with the Utah Symphony will include music from the Broadway smash. Odom also will sing jazz standards from his self-titled album and maybe even something from his Christmas album, "if it isn't too weird to do out of season."

"Performing with an orchestra is such a gift," he said. "Almost nobody tours with an orchestra — less than a handful [of performers] can afford it. So it's a real gift to pop in on an orchestra." Odom is bringing along the five supporting musicians who have been playing with him since he left "Hamilton" and started touring as a solo artist. "That helps me feel at home," he said. "With a rhythm section, we can vary up the show. We can do a song without the orchestra and give them a break. Sonically, it's a more interesting evening."

Two sold-out evenings at Brigham Young University in September were the biggest concerts Odom had played to date, he said. "It's a big house and they gave us a second show. That was a really big deal for us.

"I love Utah," said Odom, who recently moved to Los Angeles with his wife, actor Nicolette Robinson, and their 2 ½-month-old daughter, Lucille Ruby. "I would move to Utah if Nicolette would let me, but she has this thing about wanting to be close to family. But I love Utah. I get why other people love Utah. It's beautiful. It's God's country. There's a really stunning landscape and nice people." He plans to see some of that landscape while he's here, hiking in the mountains "to fight off 'dad bod.' "

Whenever his concert schedule permits, though, he's back at home with his wife and daughter "to see what new personality trait has emerged this week, what she's learned about life in the past 24 or 48 hours."

Odom debuted on Broadway in the ensemble of "Rent" when he was 17. But the theater is a tough business, and after one particularly discouraging spell, he told The New York Times, he was ready to give up on acting altogether.

Then came that little show about America's "ten-dollar founding father" and "the damn fool that shot him." Odom's riveting performance in one of musical theater's most memorable roles — imagine if Salieri got to sing and dance in "Amadeus," or if Javert in "Les Misérables" showed more humanity — not only won him a Tony Award as Best Actor in a Musical (and a Grammy for the cast recording) but also made him a household name among theater buffs.

" 'Hamilton' changed my whole life," Odom said. "I'm not at a stage where I can do whatever I want — maybe in 10 years I'll be there — but I don't have to do anything I don't want to do. That's very different from 10 years ago or even five years ago." He's thankful that he can be more discriminating now in the roles he accepts, given the physical and mental demands of singing, acting and dancing eight performances a week. "If it doesn't seem interesting or I'm not going to learn from it," he said, he's willing to wait for a better role.

He has a few projects in development, he said, but only two he's able to talk about at the moment. One is "Murder on the Orient Express," Kenneth Branagh's film version of the Agatha Christie mystery scheduled for release in November. Odom plays Dr. Arbuthnot, the character played by Sean Connery in Sidney Lumet's 1974 version. Acting with the likes of Michelle Pfeiffer, Johnny Depp, Dame Judi Dench and Branagh, who plays supersleuth Hercule Poirot, was "a dream come true," he said. "Ken has made a film that is primarily just an exciting ride. It's entertaining and it packs an emotional wallop."

Odom also is writing a book, "Failing Up: How to Rise Above, Do Better and Never Stop Learning," to be published in March. It's aimed principally at young people, and publisher Macmillan describes it as being in the style of a commencement speech. "The thing I'm most excited about is ministering to people or encouraging people in a hard moment," he said. "The book is really going to speak to that because I remember those times clearly. If I can help people on their hardest day, I'm there." —

Rise up!

Leslie Odom Jr., Broadway's original Aaron Burr, will sing with the Utah Symphony. John Morris Russell conducts.

When • Saturday, July 15, 7:30 p.m.

Where • Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater, 2250 Deer Valley Drive, Park City

Tickets • $42 lawn seating and $75 reserved (limited availability); utahsymphony.org