Jonathan Tunick (born April 19, 1938,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

) is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, and one of seventeen " EGOTs" - people to have won all four major American showbusiness awards: the

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

Emmy Awards The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

and

Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. He is best known for orchestrating the works of Stephen Sondheim, their collaboration starting in 1970 with '' Company'' and continuing until Sondheim's death in 2021.

Biography

He graduated from Hunter College Elementary School, the

LaGuardia Performing Arts High School Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, often referred to simply as LaGuardia, is a public high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Lincoln Center in the Lincoln Squar ...

, and holds degrees from

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 18 ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most ...

.Rothstein, Mervyn
"A Life in the Theatre: Orchestrator, Composer and Music Director Jonathan Tunick"
playbill.com, September 16, 2005 Tunick's principal instrument is the clarinet.Gans, Andrew
"Tony-Winning Orchestrator Jonathan Tunick Plays Birdland March 19; Rebecca Faulkenberry Is Special Guest"
playbill.com, March 19, 2012. Much of his work has arisen from his involvement in theatre, and he is associated especially with the musicals of Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim said of Tunick's work: "'I think he's tops'..." and further noted that "Tunick is a standout in his field not only because of his musicianship and imagination, but primarily because of 'his great sensitivity to theatrical atmosphere'". Tunick also has a band, the "Broadway Moonlighters", which played at Birdland in March 2012 and in 2008 with Barbara Cook as his special guest. He has worked as an arranger and/or conductor on recordings with

Judy Collins Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ...

Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

, Brian Asawa, Sir Neville Mariner,

Itzhak Perlman Itzhak Perlman ( he, יצחק פרלמן; born August 31, 1945) is an Israeli-American violinist widely considered one of the greatest violinists in the world. Perlman has performed worldwide and throughout the United States, in venues that hav ...

, Plácido Domingo,

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. On ...

, and

Bernadette Peters Bernadette Peters ( ''née'' Lazzara; born February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer, and children's book author. Over a career spanning more than six decades, she has starred in musical theatre, television and film, performed in solo co ...

. In his review of the

recording ''Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein'' (Angel Records, 2002), John Kenrick wrote: "Jonathan Tunick provides the brilliant arrangements." Tunick won the Grammy Award as "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement" for his work on the song "No One Is Alone" from the Cleo Laine album ''Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim'' (RCA Victor, 1987). Tunick won the first Tony Award for Best Orchestrations that was awarded, in 1997, for ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

''.Jonathan Tunick biography
sondheimguide.com; accessed April 17, 2012. In addition to the other awards, he has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations three times and won a Drama Desk Special Award in 1982. Tunick was inducted into the

American Theatre Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

in January 2009.

Personal life

Tunick is married to actress Leigh Beery (also known as "Lee Beery"), who appeared in the television soap opera ''

Dark Shadows ''Dark Shadows'' is an American gothic soap opera that aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966, to April 2, 1971. The show depicted the lives, loves, trials, and tribulations of the wealthy Collins family of Collinspor ...

'' in 1971.

Work

Stage

;Sources - AllMusic; Internet Broadway DatabaseJonathan Tunick Listing"
Internet Broadway Database; accessed April 17, 2012. *''Take Five'' (composer: "Gristedes," "The Pro Musica Antiqua")( Julius Monk Revue) - 1957 *'' From A to Z'' - 1960 *''All in Love'' - 1961 *'' Promises, Promises'' - 1968 *'' Here's Where I Belong'' - 1968 *''

Dames at Sea ''Dames at Sea'' is a 1966 musical with book and lyrics by George Haimsohn and Robin Miller and music by Jim Wise. The musical is a parody of large, flashy 1930s Busby Berkeley-style movie musicals in which a chorus girl, newly arrived off the ...

'' - 1969 *'' Company'' - 1970 *'' The Grass Harp'' - 1971 *''

Follies ''Follies'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Goldman. The plot takes place in a crumbling Broadway theater, now scheduled for demolition, previously home to a musical revue (based on the ''Ziegfeld Fo ...

'' - 1971 *''

MASS Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

'' - 1971 *''The Selling of the President'' - 1972 *''Sondheim: A Musical Tribute'' - Concert - 1973 *''

A Little Night Music ''A Little Night Music'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the 1955 Ingmar Bergman film ''Smiles of a Summer Night'', it involves the romantic lives of several couples. ...

'' - 1973 *''Smith'' - 1973 *''

A Chorus Line ''A Chorus Line'' is a 1975 musical with music by Marvin Hamlisch, lyrics by Edward Kleban, and a book by James Kirkwood Jr. and Nicholas Dante. Set on the bare stage of a Broadway theater, the musical is centered on seventeen Broadway dan ...

'' - 1975 ("Opening," "Nothing," "At The Ballet," "...And," "What I Did For Love") *'' Goodtime Charley'' - 1975 *''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus i ...

'' - 1975 *'' Pacific Overtures'' - 1976 *''

Ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic ma ...

'' - 1978 *'' Sweeney Todd'' - 1979 *'' Merrily We Roll Along'' - 1981 *''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

'' - (musical supervisor and orchestrations) 1982 *''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creature ...

'' - (musical supervisor) 1982 *'' Baby'' - 1983 *'' Dance a Little Closer'' - 1983 *''

The Wind in the Willows ''The Wind in the Willows'' is a children's novel by the British novelist Kenneth Grahame, first published in 1908. It details the story of Mole, Ratty, and Badger as they try to help Mr. Toad, after he becomes obsessed with motorcars and gets ...

'' - (musical supervisor) 1985 *''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'' - 1987 *'' Nick & Nora'' - 1991 *'' Phantom'' - 1992 *''

A Grand Night for Singing ''A Grand Night for Singing'' is a musical revue showcasing the music of Richard Rodgers and the lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II. Featuring songs from such lesser-known works as '' Allegro'', '' Me and Juliet'', ''State Fair'', and '' Pipe Dream'' ...

'' - 1993 *'' Company'' (re-orchestrated) - 1993 *'' Sweeney Todd'' (re-orchestrated) - 1993 *'' Passion'' - 1994 *''The Petrified Prince'' - Public Theater 1994 *''Patti LuPone on Broadway'' - Walter Kerr Theatre Concert 1995 *'' Company'' - 1995 *''

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specifi ...

'' (re-orchestrated; originals by Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal) - 1996 *''

Martin Guerre Martin Guerre, a French peasant of the 16th century, was at the centre of a famous case of imposture. Several years after Martin Guerre had left his wife, child and village, a man claiming to be him appeared. He lived with Guerre's wife and s ...

'' - 1996 *''

'' - 1997 *''

Saturday Night Saturday Night may refer to: Film, television and theatre Film * ''Saturday Night'' (1922 film), a 1922 film directed by Cecil B. DeMille * ''Saturday Nights'' (film), a 1933 Swedish film directed by Schamyl Bauman * ''Saturday Night'' (1950 fil ...

'' - 1999 *''Minnelli on Minnelli'' - (orchestrations) Palace Theatre Concerts 1999 *'' Marie Christine'' - 1999 *'' Putting It Together'' - 1999 *'' Napoleon'' - 2000 *''

'' (re-orchestrated) - 2001 *''

'' (re-orchestrated) - 2002 *'' Elaine Stritch At Liberty'' - 2001 *''

'' - (re-orchestrated) 2003 *''

110 in the Shade ''110 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 ...

'' (re-orchestrated from Hershy Kay's originals) - 2003 *''

'' (re-orchestrated & expanded) - 2004 *'' Pacific Overtures'' - (re-orchestrated) 2004 *'' The Color Purple'' - 2005 *''

'' - (re-orchestrated) 2006 *'' The Apple Tree'' - (re-orchestrated from Eddie Sauter's originals) 2006 *''

'' - (re-orchestrated from Hershy Kay's originals) 2007 *'' Lovemusik'' - 2007 *''

A Catered Affair :''The article is about the stage musical. For the 1956 film, see The Catered Affair.'' ''A Catered Affair'' is a musical with a book by Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by John Bucchino. It is based on both the 1956 film '' The Catered ...

'' - 2008 *'' Road Show'' - 2008 and 2003 *''

The Story of My Life The Story of My Life or Story of My Life may refer to: Literature * ''The Story of My Life'' (biography), a 1903 autobiography by Helen Keller * ''Story of My Life'' (novel), 1988 novel by Jay McInerney * ''Histoire de ma vie'' (''Story of my l ...

'' - 2009 *''

Oklahoma! ''Oklahoma!'' is the first musical written by the duo of Rodgers and Hammerstein. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, ''Green Grow the Lilacs''. Set in farm country outside the town of Claremore, Indian Territory, in 1906, it tells ...

'' - (re-orchestrated from Robert Russell Bennett's originals) 2009 *'' Bye Bye Birdie'' - (re-orchestrated from Robert Ginzler's originals) 2009 *'' Paradise Found'' - 2010 *''Some Lovers'' -

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

2011 *'' Sweeney Todd'' (re-orchestrated) - 2012 *'' Passion'' (re-orchestrated) - 2013 *''

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder'' is a musical comedy, with the book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and the music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak. It is based on the 1907 novel '' Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal'' by Roy Hornima ...

'' - 2013 *''Waterfall'' -

Pasadena Playhouse The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S. El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California, United States. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engag ...

2015 *''

'' (re-orchestrated) - 2015 *''

Cabin in the Sky Cabin may refer to: Buildings * Beach cabin, a small wooden hut on a beach * Log cabin, a house built from logs * Cottage, a small house * Chalet, a wooden mountain house with a sloping roof * Cabin, small free-standing structures that serve as ...

'' -

Encores! Encores! is a Tony-honored concert series dedicated to performing rarely heard American musicals, usually with their original orchestrations. Presented by New York City Center since 1994, Encores! has revived shows by Irving Berlin, Rodgers & ...

2016 *''

Carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (international), roundabout (British English), or hurdy-gurdy (an old term in Australian English, in SA) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular pla ...

'' - (re-orchestrated from Don Walker's originals) 2018

Filmography

;Sources - AllMusic;"Jonathan Tunick Credits"
allmusic.com, accessed April 17, 2012 Internet Movie Database *'' The Twelve Chairs'' - 1970 - musical director, orchestrator *'' Blazing Saddles'' - 1974 - orchestrator *''

Young Frankenstein ''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victo ...

'' - 1974 - orchestrator *'' The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother'' - 1975 - orchestrator *''

'' - 1977 - composer orchestrator, conductor (winner,

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment in ...

) *'' Columbo: Murder Under Glass'' - 1978 - (television) - composer, conductor *'' Flying High'' - 1978 - (television) - composer, conductor *''3 by Cheever'': "O Youth and Beauty", "The Sorrows of Gin" and '' 3 by Cheever: The 5:48'' - 1979 - (television) - composer, conductor *''Rendezvous Hotel'' - 1979 - (television) - composer, conductor *''Swan Song'' - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor *'' Blinded by the Light'' - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor *''

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" is a short story written by the American writer Katherine Anne Porter. It was published in 1930 as part of Porter's short story collection ''Flowering Judas, and Other Stories''.Katherine Anne, Porter. “The Co ...

'' - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor *'' Fort Apache the Bronx'' - 1981 - composer, conductor *'' Endless Love'' - 1981 - composer, conductor *'' Reds'' - 1981 - orchestrator *''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'' - 1982 - (television) - composer, conductor *''Night of 100 Stars'' - 1982 - (television) - music arranger *'' Sweeney Todd'' - 1982 - (television) - orchestrator *''

'' - 1983 - (television) - composer, conductor *'' I Am the Cheese'' - 1983 - composer, conductor *''

Murder, She Wrote ''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The ser ...

'' - 1984 - (television) - series composer, conductor *''

Concealed Enemies ''Concealed Enemies'' is a 1984 American PBS docudrama, produced by WGBH-TV in Boston, about the events leading to the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of former U.S. State Department official Alger Hiss. Directed by Jeff Bleckner, written b ...

'' - 1984 - (television) - composer, conductor *''Brotherly Love'' - 1985 - (television) - composer, conductor *'' Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories'' - 1985 - (television) - series composer, conductor *''The B.R.A.T. Patrol'' - 1986 - (television) - composer, conductor *''

American Masters ''American Masters'' is a PBS television series which produces biographies on enduring writers, musicians, visual and performing artists, dramatists, filmmakers, and those who have left an indelible impression on the cultural landscape of the ...

'' - 1986 - (television) - composer (theme only) *'' You Ruined My Life'' - 1987 - (television) - composer, conductor *''

'' - 1991 - (television) - orchestrator *''Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall'' - 1993 (televised) (concert in 1992) - (television) - orchestrator *'' The Last Good Time'' - 1994 - composer, conductor *'' The Birdcage'' - 1996 - music arranger and adapter, composer, conductor *'' Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh'' - 1998 - (television) - orchestrator *''

The Fantasticks ''The Fantasticks'' is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and book and lyrics by Tom Jones. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the 1894 play ''The Romancers'' (''Les Romanesques'') by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neigh ...

'' - 2000 - music adaptor and arranger, conductor *'' Find Me Guilty'' - 2006 - composer, conductor *'' Sweeney Todd'' (Tim Burton film) - 2007 - music adaptor and orchestrator *''

'' - 2014 - orchestrator *''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

'' - 2017 - orchestrator

Awards

;Sources - Sondheim Guide; Internet Broadway Database *1977 Academy Award - Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score - ''

'' *1982 Emmy Award - Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction - ''Night of 100 Stars'' *1988 Grammy Award - Best Instrumental Arrangement, "No One Is Alone", performed by Cleo Laine *1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations - ''Passion'' *1997 Tony Award - Best Orchestrations for ''

'' *1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations - ''Titanic'' *2007 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations - ''Lovemusik''Cox, Gordon
"'Utopia' sweeps Drama Desk Awards"
Variety.com, May 20, 2007.

References

External links

* *
Jonathan Tunick Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2021) {{DEFAULTSORT:Tunick, Jonathan Best Original Music Score Academy Award winners American male musicians Jewish American composers Bard College alumni Drama Desk Award winners Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Grammy Award winners Juilliard School alumni Tony Award winners 1938 births Living people Musicians from New York City 21st-century American Jews