Broadway Conductor Leads KISS ME, KATE Orchestra at TheatreWorks New Milford
By: Gabrielle Sierra Sep. 17, 2009
It is with honor and humility that TheatreWorks welcomes veteran musician Arnie Gross to lead the orchestra pit for our upcoming musical Kiss Me, Kate, which opens next Friday, September 24th.
Mr. Gross' illustrious credits include his stretch as conductor of the original Broadway company of the musical Annie from 1978 to 1983.
As an orchestrator, Mr. Gross provided new arrangements for the acclaimed revival of Funny Girl with Juliet Prowse and Larry Kert at the St. Louis Municipal Opera.
Mr. Gross served as chief arranger for the U.S. Military Academy Band at West Point, and created musical arrangements for numerous television specials starring Carol Burnett, Beverly Sills, and Alan King, as well as material for the Emmy Award-winning NBC-TV children's series, Unicorn Tales. He also enjoyed writing a series of arrangements for the American Ballroom Theatre Company, in which he had to recreate the sounds of popular dance music from the turn of the 20th century to the present.
As dance arranger, Mr. Gross created show-stoppers for a number of Broadway shows including Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along and Sugar Babies (which he also co-orchestrated). His dance arrangements were also featured in the Bob Fosse film, All That Jazz (in which he also portrayed himself).
Mr. Gross' playing credits (Oboe, English Horn, Percussion, and Piano) range from the American Symphony Orchestra (under Leopold Stokowski) to the entire commercial spectrum of the NYC music business.
Mr. Gross held the position of Associate Conductor with the Ridgefield Symphony from 1984 through 2006. He has also taught music theory and orchestration at Western Connecticut State University, and is currently instructing instrumental ensembles at The Canterbury School in New Milford.
Wow. We told you we were honored to have him on board at TheatreWorks. Our cup runneth over! Please come and listen to the lively, toe-tapping tunes of Kiss Me, Kate as led by this versatile, master musician.
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