Tag: musicals
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Conrad Asklund on finding woodwind doublers
Photo, davekellam From a blog post by musical director Conrad Asklund back in 2006: How do you find woodwind players that can each double on 4-5 instruments? You can’t—assuming you do not have a budget to hire session players (which really, only session or union players are going to be able to pull off all …
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Update: Woodwind doubling in Broadway musicals
A few years back, I started compiling a little list of Broadway-style shows and their woodwind books—the printed parts the woodwind players use in the orchestra pits. It has since grown wildly out of control to over 900 shows and has firmly cemented itself as the most popular thing on this website. Many of my …
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Peter Hilliard on contracting woodwind doublers
Photo, danifeb Peter Hilliard has a nice blog, Music Directing the School Musical. It doesn’t offer any information about who Peter Hilliard is (presumably this guy), not even contact information*. But he does seem to know a thing or two about putting on a musical, and, in a recent post, offers some advice about hiring …
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Still going strong: Seymour “Red” Press
The Theater Development Fund‘s Stages blog has a nice little story on Seymour “Red” Press, a veteran Broadway woodwind doubler and contractor and an alumnus of Benny Goodman’s band. The cast of Chicago changes frequently, but if you listen to the orchestra behind the actors, then you’ll hear the same man night after night. Woodwinds player …
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Advice on writing for doublers
Photo, liza31337 I got an interesting question by email last week. I’m reprinting the message here, followed by the suggestions I sent in return (I’ve edited a bit). Hi Bret, I’m doing my first arrangement for a musical, which will be an amateur production. I’m going to be hiring players from amateur/student orchestras (university), or …
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Dan Willis in the West Side Story pit
Tip of the hat to Patty at oboeinsight for this one: EDIT: I originally had an embedded video here, of a CBS news interview with Broadway woodwind doubler Dan Willis. It appears the video is no longer available. You can read a text summary here, at least for the time being. Below is a picture …
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Common doubling combinations from the Broadway doubling list
The most popular thing on my website is the Woodwind doubling in Broadway musicals page, which brings in visitors from around the world. I’ve even been lucky enough to hear occasionally from major woodwind doublers who are working on Broadway. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at the most common combinations …
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Videos: John Miller, Broadway music contractor
I’ve been really enjoying these videos of John Miller. Mr. Miller (not to be confused with the eminent bassoonist) does much of the contracting of the musicians who play in Broadway shows. In these videos, he is addressing a group of his fellow bass players, but everything he has to say is highly applicable to …
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Woodwind doubling in musical theater orchestras: Taking the insanity out of Crazy for You
Crazy for You is a Broadway-style stage musical by Ken Ludwig. The show, which premiered in 1992, uses songs written by George and Ira Gershwin for musicals in the 1930’s. In January and February, 2003, the Brigham Young University Department of Theatre and Media Arts and School of Music produced the show. Synthesis, BYU’s award-winning …