Jorge Calandrelli
6-time Grammy winner
Eminent composer, arranger and producer Jorge Calandrelli has been honored for his prolific and versatile work in pop, jazz, Latin and classical fields in the US, Europe and Latin America. He has collaborated with Placido Domingo, Barbra Streisand, Andrea Bocelli, Tony Bennett, Celine Dion and Madonna, as well as instrumental virtuosos such as Yo-Yo Ma, and Latin artists including Shakira, Gloria Estefan and Luis Miguel, among many other top artists. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards and 26 Grammy Awards, and won his sixth Grammy Award in 2012 for his fine arrangement for Tony Bennett. Mr. Calandrelli composed and orchestrated for various films such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Great Mouse Detective and The Color Purple.
Al Kasha
2-time Oscar winner
Al Kasha is a gifted composer and brilliant lyricist who has made hit records over an illustrious five decades, with works sung by artists such as Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin and Donna Summer. His songs, “The Morning After” from the The Poseidon Adventure and “We May Never Love Like This Again” from The Towering Inferno, each won an Academy Award. His many acclaimed scores include those for Walt Disney’s classic Pete’s Dragon, which garnered two Oscar nominations, and All Dogs Go to Heaven. In theatre, Mr. Kasha received two Tony Award nominations, one for his work on Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and another for Copperfield. He was also recognized with two Grammy Award nominations, four Golden Globe nominations, and the People’s Choice Award, and the MovieGuide Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Award.
Doug Katsaros
Emmy winner
Doug Katsaros is an Emmy Award-winning composer, arranger, orchestrator, vocalist, conductor and keyboardist. He has collaborated with Donny Osmond, Rod Stewart, Sir Elton John, Bon Jovi, Peter Paul & Mary and Cher, among others. Mr. Katsaros composed, arranged, conducted and/or orchestrated for a host of Broadway and Off-Broadway productions such as Laughing Room Only, The Life, Footloose, The Rocky Horror Show, Diamonds, the Outer Critics Circle Award-winning A… My Name Is Alice and The Toxic Avenger. For his contribution to Off-Broadway’s Altar Boyz, Mr. Katsaros was nominated for the Drama Desk Award. Television credits include The Tick, Macuso FBI, ABC’s Afterschool Specials, all three of which earned Emmy nominations, The Jim Henson Hour, Larry King Live, “By Mennen” jingle, and films such as If Lucy Fell and Me and the Mob. He won a 2012 Emmy for Outstanding Original Song for his special piece, “(Won’t You) Join Our Parade,” written for the 85th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
Henry Krieger
2-time Grammy winner
Henry Krieger wrote the score for the popular, multi-Tony-winning Broadway show Dreamgirls, which earned him a Tony nomination for Best Original Score, followed by the Grammy Award for Best Cast Show Album. Twenty-five years later, with the huge success of the 2006 film starring Jennifer Hudson, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx and Beyoncé Knowles, the distinguished Mr. Krieger garnered three Oscar nominations for the songs he wrote for the film, plus a second Grammy Award for Best Song for “Love You I Do.” He also composed Broadway’s The Tap Dance Kid and Side Show, the latter of which received a Tony nomination for Best Score.
Don Pippin
Tony & Emmy winner
One of Broadway’s most esteemed musical directors as well as composers, Donald Pippin has contributed to productions including Cabaret, Mack and Mabel, Mame and La Cage aux Folles. He won a Tony Award for Oliver!, an Emmy Award for Broadway Sings: The Music of Jule Styne, a Drama Desk Award for “consistently outstanding musical direction and commitment to the theater,” and a Gold Record Award for the original cast album of A Chorus Line. Complementing his celebrated Broadway career is his many years as music director of New York’s famed Radio City Music Hall. Mr. Pippin’s other accomplishments include his music direction for television programs on PBS, performances at Carnegie Hall and the Royal Albert Hall, and original programs with legendary soprano Marilyn Horne.
Nan Schwartz
Grammy winner
Grammy winner and 7-time Emmy nominee Nan Schwartz is a proponent of melodic, harmonically rich music, whose unique style has made its mark in the film, television and recording industry, as well as the concert stage. She received a Grammy for her elegant and sophisticated arrangements for Natalie Cole, and Grammy nominations for her arrangements for John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra, Ray Charles, and others. Her stylistic scores can be heard in television series and films such as In the Heat of the Night. Ms. Schwartz has done the orchestration/arrangement on films including Argo, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Uptown Girls, among others.
David Shire
OSCAR & 2 TIME GRAMMY WINNER
David Shire’s musical legacy shines across the realms of theatre, film and television. He received the Academy Award, with Norman Gimbel, for the song “It Goes Like It Goes” from Norma Rae (1979) and two Grammy Awards for his original music for Saturday Night Fever (1977). His songs have been performed and recorded by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Melissa Manchester, Julie Andrews, and many more. For Broadway, Mr. Shire has composed, with lyrics by Richard Maltby, the music for Baby and Big, both of which garnered Tony nominations for Best Score. Off-Broadway shows include the Grammy-nominated Starting Here, Starting Now and Closer Than Ever, which won the Outer Critics Circle Award. His many television scores have earned him five Emmy nominations.
