William David Brohn
Encyclopedia
William David Brohn is an American arranger and orchestrator, best known for his theatre scores of musicals
such as Miss Saigon
, Ragtime
and Wicked
. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
for Ragtime and has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
three times.
His work has been eclectic, orchestrating many different styles of music. His modern scores are known for their keyboard writing for the orchestra pit, and their balance between acoustic and synthesised sounds. Brohn is one of the few theatre orchestrators to use the E-bow
attachment to the electric guitar, which can be heard in his orchestrations for Wicked and Mary Poppins.
(1955), Composition at the New England Conservatory (1958) and took further education in Tanglewood
, Massachusetts and in Salzburg
, Austria. He was also mentored by the esteemed arranger Robert Russell Bennett
. While a student, he performed on the Contrabass
with dance bands, and some of these jazz and pop elements can be seen regularly in his Broadway arrangements.
, American Ballet Theatre
, and the Royal Ballet's tours of America. He then focused on orchestration during the next two decades, producing ballet scores for Agnes de Mille
, Lar Lubovitch
, Twyla Tharp
, Susan Stroman
and the American Ballet Theatre
.
In 1989, Brohn began to collaborate with Cameron Mackintosh
, orchestrating approximately ten of his shows also working on scores for musicals with Trevor Nunn
and the Royal National Theatre
, London.
Additionally, Brohn has provided arrangements for Liza Minnelli
(the complete orchestrations to her Minnelli on Minnelli tour, 1999–2000) Marilyn Horne
, Renée Fleming
, Frederica von Stade
, Plácido Domingo
and Jerry Hadley
which have all been recorded. Brohn has also collaborated with conductors such as André Previn
, John Williams
and Keith Lockhart
.
In 1987 Brohn was commissioned to make an adaptation of Prokofiev's film scores Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible which were later recorded onto C.D. A Sony CD of his one-movement Suite from Bernstein's West Side Story for violin and orchestra, featuring Joshua Bell
as violin soloist, was released in 2001. He also made arrangements for Sir James Galway on his Sony CD Wind Beneath My Wings. He has provided music for the Boston Pops Orchestra, including various adaptations of Christmas and theatre music, as well as for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl.
In 1996 Brohn was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Fine Art from Michigan State University and later presented a master class there entitled "The Future of Musical Theatre" in 2004.
On 4 October 2009, the concert "From Broadway to West End: By Special Arrangement" was held in Bill's honour at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in aid of the charity CLIC Sargent. The concert featured songs from Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, Curtains, Wicked, Sweet Smell of Success, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Ragtime, Oliver, South Pacific, The Three Musketeers, Crazy For You and Carousel.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
such as Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon
Miss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
, Ragtime
Ragtime (musical)
Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
and Wicked
Wicked (musical)
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
. He won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
-1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King...
for Ragtime and has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
three times.
His work has been eclectic, orchestrating many different styles of music. His modern scores are known for their keyboard writing for the orchestra pit, and their balance between acoustic and synthesised sounds. Brohn is one of the few theatre orchestrators to use the E-bow
E-Bow
The EBow or ebow is a hand-held, battery-powered electronic device for playing the electric guitar, invented by Greg Heet in 1969...
attachment to the electric guitar, which can be heard in his orchestrations for Wicked and Mary Poppins.
Education
Brohn studied Music Theory at Michigan State UniversityMichigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
(1955), Composition at the New England Conservatory (1958) and took further education in Tanglewood
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...
, Massachusetts and in Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
, Austria. He was also mentored by the esteemed arranger Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett
Robert Russell Bennett was an American composer and arranger, best known for his orchestration of many well-known Broadway and Hollywood musicals by other composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, and Richard Rodgers. In 1957 and 2008, Bennett received Tony Awards...
. While a student, he performed on the Contrabass
Contrabass
Contrabass refers to a musical instrument of very low pitch; generally those pitched one octave below instruments of the bass register...
with dance bands, and some of these jazz and pop elements can be seen regularly in his Broadway arrangements.
Career
In the 1960s, Brohn began his career as conductor for the Joffrey BalletJoffrey Ballet
The Joffrey Ballet is a dance company in Chicago, Illinois, founded in 1956. From 1995 to 2004, the company was known as The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. The company regularly performs classical ballets including Romeo & Juliet and The Nutcracker, while balancing those classics with pioneering modern...
, American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
, and the Royal Ballet's tours of America. He then focused on orchestration during the next two decades, producing ballet scores for Agnes de Mille
Agnes de Mille
Agnes George de Mille was an American dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors...
, Lar Lubovitch
Lar Lubovitch
Lar Lubovitch is an American choreographer and founded his own dance company, the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company in 1968. Based in New York City, he and the company have toured worldwide....
, Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp
Twyla Tharp is an American dancer and choreographer, who lives and works in New York City.-Early years:Tharp was born in 1941 on a farm in Portland, Indiana, and was named after Twila Thornburg, the "Pig Princess" of the 89th Annual Muncie Fair in Indiana.she spend hours working on it to help her...
, Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:...
and the American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
.
In 1989, Brohn began to collaborate with Cameron Mackintosh
Cameron Mackintosh
Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh is a British theatrical producer notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "the most successful, influential and powerful theatrical producer in the world" by the New York...
, orchestrating approximately ten of his shows also working on scores for musicals with Trevor Nunn
Trevor Nunn
Sir Trevor Robert Nunn, CBE is an English theatre, film and television director. Nunn has been the Artistic Director for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre, and, currently, the Theatre Royal, Haymarket. He has directed musicals and dramas for the stage, as well as opera...
and the Royal National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, London.
Additionally, Brohn has provided arrangements for Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
(the complete orchestrations to her Minnelli on Minnelli tour, 1999–2000) Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne
Marilyn Horne is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer. She specialized in roles requiring a large sound, beauty of tone, excellent breath support, and the ability to execute difficult coloratura passages....
, Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming
Renée Fleming is an American soprano specializing in opera and lieder. Fleming has a full lyric soprano voice.Fleming has performed coloratura, lyric, and lighter spinto soprano repertoires. She has sung roles in Italian, German, French, Czech, and Russian, aside from her native English. She also...
, Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade
Frederica von Stade is an American mezzo-soprano. Born in Somerville, New Jersey, she acquired the nickname "Flicka" in her childhood. Von Stade attended the Mannes College of Music in New York City. She made her debut with the Metropolitan Opera in 1970 and in 1971 appeared as Cherubino in The...
, Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
and Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley
Jerry Hadley was an American operatic tenor. He received three Grammy awards for his vocal performances in the recordings of Jenůfa , Susannah , and Candide...
which have all been recorded. Brohn has also collaborated with conductors such as André Previn
André Previn
André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...
, John Williams
John Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
and Keith Lockhart
Keith Lockhart
For the baseball player, see Keith Lockhart Keith Lockhart , to Newton Frederick and Marilyn Jean Woodyard Lockhart, is an American orchestral conductor....
.
In 1987 Brohn was commissioned to make an adaptation of Prokofiev's film scores Alexander Nevsky and Ivan the Terrible which were later recorded onto C.D. A Sony CD of his one-movement Suite from Bernstein's West Side Story for violin and orchestra, featuring Joshua Bell
Joshua Bell
Joshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
as violin soloist, was released in 2001. He also made arrangements for Sir James Galway on his Sony CD Wind Beneath My Wings. He has provided music for the Boston Pops Orchestra, including various adaptations of Christmas and theatre music, as well as for the Cleveland Orchestra and the Hollywood Bowl.
In 1996 Brohn was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Fine Art from Michigan State University and later presented a master class there entitled "The Future of Musical Theatre" in 2004.
On 4 October 2009, the concert "From Broadway to West End: By Special Arrangement" was held in Bill's honour at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in aid of the charity CLIC Sargent. The concert featured songs from Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, Curtains, Wicked, Sweet Smell of Success, Miss Saigon, Mary Poppins, Ragtime, Oliver, South Pacific, The Three Musketeers, Crazy For You and Carousel.
Stage work
- 2012 - "Porgy & Bess"
- 2011 - "Betty Blue Eyes"
- 2009 - First You Dream The Kander and Ebb Concert
- 2009 - Oliver!Oliver!Oliver! is a British musical, with script, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens....
- 2008 - Gone With The WindGone With The Wind (musical)Gone with the Wind is a musical based on the Margaret Mitchell's novel of the same name and its 1939 film adaptation, with music and lyrics by Margaret Martin, and a book by Martin, adapted by Sir Trevor Nunn....
- 2007 - CurtainsCurtains (musical)Curtains is a musical with a book by Rupert Holmes, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander, with additional lyrics by Kander and Holmes....
- 2006 - Mary PoppinsMary Poppins (musical)Mary Poppins is a Walt Disney Theatrical musical based on the similarly titled series of children's books by P. L. Travers and the Disney 1964 film. The West End production opened in December 2004 and received two Olivier Awards, one for Best Actress in a Musical and the other for Best Theatre...
- 2004 - Show BoatShow BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
- 2003 – WickedWicked (musical)Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West , a parallel novel of the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz and L. Frank Baum's classic story The Wonderful Wizard...
- 2002 - Sweet Smell of Success: The MusicalSweet Smell of Success: The MusicalSweet Smell of Success is a musical created by Marvin Hamlisch , Craig Carnelia , and John Guare . The show is based on the 1957 movie of the same name, which tells the story of a powerful newspaper columnist named J. J...
- 2002 - A Man of No Importance
- 2001 - My Fair LadyMy Fair LadyMy Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
- 2001 - South PacificSouth Pacific (musical)South Pacific is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1947 book Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of its...
- 2000 - The Witches of EastwickThe Witches of Eastwick (musical)The Witches of Eastwick is a 2000 musical based on the novel of the same name by John Updike. It was adapted by John Dempsey and Dana P. Rowe , directed by Eric Schaeffer, and produced by Cameron Mackintosh....
- 1998 - O! Freedom (Co-Arranger)
- 1998 - Hey, Mr. ProducerHey, Mr. ProducerHey, Mr. Producer! was a concert honoring theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh, performed as a benefit for the Royal National Institute of the Blind and the Combined Theatrical Charities....
(Co-Orchestrator) - 1998 - High SocietyHigh Society (musical)High Society is a musical with a book by Arthur Kopit and music and lyrics by Cole Porter.Based on the Philip Barry play The Philadelphia Story and the 1956 musical screen adaptation with Porter's songs, High Society, the plot centers on pretentious Long Island socialite Tracy Lord, who is planning...
- 1998 - Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(Additional Orchestrations) - 1996 - RagtimeRagtime (musical)Ragtime is a musical with a book by Terrence McNally, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and music by Stephen Flaherty.Based on the 1975 novel by E. L. Doctorow, Ragtime tells the story of three groups in America, represented by Coalhouse Walker Jr., a Harlem musician; Mother, the matriarch of a WASP family in...
(1998 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Orchestrations, New York Drama Desk Award) - 1995 - Martin GuerreMartin Guerre (musical)Martin Guerre is a two-act musical with a book by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, lyrics by Alain Boublil and Stephen Clark, and music by Claude-Michel Schönberg....
- 1995 – Oliver!
- 1994 - Busker AlleyBusker AlleyBusker Alley is a musical with a score by the Sherman Brothers and a book by AJ Carothers, based on the 1938 British film, St. Martin's Lane, which was inspired by the 1905 novel, Small Town Tyrant, by Heinrich Mann....
(by the Sherman Brothers) - 1993 -The Red Shoes
- 1992 - Crazy for YouCrazy for YouCrazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well...
(New York Drama Desk Award nomination) - 1992 - The Secret GardenThe Secret Garden (musical)The Secret Garden is a musical based on the 1911 novel of the same name by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The musical's book and lyrics are by Marsha Norman, with music by Lucy Simon...
(New York Drama Desk Award winner) - 1992 - CarouselCarousel (musical)Carousel is the second stage musical by the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II . The work premiered in 1945 and was adapted from Ferenc Molnár's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting its Budapest setting to the Maine coastline...
- 1992 - 110 in the Shade110 in the Shade110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious...
(Additional orchestrations) - 1989 - Jerome Robbins’ Broadway
- 1989 - Miss SaigonMiss SaigonMiss Saigon is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby, Jr.. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's opera Madame Butterfly, and similarly tells the tragic tale of a doomed romance involving an Asian woman abandoned by her American lover...
(New York Drama Desk Award winner) - 1986 - The Boys in Autumn (Incidental music for the Broadway play)
- 1985 - Wind in the Willows
- 1984 - The Three Musketeers (Revival/additional orchestrations)
- 1984 - Gotta Getaway
- 1983 - Marilyn
- 1980 - Brigadoon (Revival)
- 1978 - King of Hearts
- 1978 - Timbuktu! (Additional orchestrations)
- 1976 - Rockabye Hamlet (Additional orchestrations)
- 1975 - Rodgers & Hart (Additional orchestrations)
Filmography
- AnastasiaAnastasia (1997 film)Anastasia is a 1997 American animated musical film produced and directed by Don Bluth and Gary Goldman. It was the first feature film to be released by Fox Animation Studios....
- Endless Love
- Blue Thunder
- War Games
- Whose Life Is It, Anyway?