Michael Reno (born October 27, 1952, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

) is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, and

theatrical producer Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

who is a frequent collaborator of theatrical entrepreneur Peter Schneider. Reno is a member of the Reno family for whom the city of

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

, is named, and a descendant of

Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer. He served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Great Sioux War a ...

, who was noted for his role in the

Battle of Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota Sioux, Northern C ...

. Reno is the composer and lyricist of the ''My Songs'' Personalized Children's Music series, and the original producer of the

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

stage version of

Sister Act (musical) ''Sister Act'' is a musical based on the hit 1992 film of the same name with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, and additional material by Douglas Carter Beane. After having a regional premiere ...

. He is the musical supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator of the most recent reconceived version of the Rodgers and Hart classic musical "Pal Joey" as well as the composer and lyricist of ''Between Judy and the Moon'': ''Stonewall'', a work for male chorus which commemorates the riots at New York's

Stonewall Inn The Stonewall Inn (also known as Stonewall) is a gay bar and recreational tavern at 53 Christopher Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It was the site of the 1969 Stonewall riots, which led to th ...

in June 1969. As a director and musical director, Reno's work has been seen around the world, in venues ranging from Montreal's Place des Artes, Shanghai's Center Theater, and the Vienna Concert House, to New York's Madison Square Garden, L.A.'s Universal Amphitheater, the White House, and many major hotels in Las Vegas including Caesar's Palace, Mandalay Bay, and The Bellagio. Reno began his professional career at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, where in 1976 he premiered his musical ''Revelation''. His other stage musicals include: ''Quarks - The First Minute'', ''Three Down, Four Across: Love'', ''Gypsies'', and ''Tidal Wave''. He was the Musical Director and arranger for the original San Francisco production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to various B movies associated with the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror genres from the 193 ...

'', and wrote the song that became an unofficial anthem for the city of

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

in the 1970s and 1980s: ''San Francisco Bye-Bye.'' He is also known for his work on the movies ''

Twice Upon a Christmas ''Twice Upon a Christmas'' is a 2001 film directed by Tibor Takács. A sequel to the 2000 PAX television film, '' Once Upon a Christmas'', it stars most of the original cast from the first film. The filming location was in Vancouver, British ...

'' and ''North 'Cross Jordan'', as well as his contributions to the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

pageant, and many television projects for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. He also worked as conductor and arranger for band leader

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted ''The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. The program was known for its light and family-friendly style, and the ...

at the Welk theater in Escondido, California. Reno was active for years in the

Industrial musical An industrial musical is a musical performed internally for the employees or shareholders of a business to create a feeling of being part of a team, to entertain, and/or to educate and motivate the management and salespeople to improve sales a ...

industry, working for clients such as the Shaklee Corporation,

Kawasaki Motorcycles is a Japanese mobility manufacturer that produces motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, Utility vehicle#Light equipment, utility vehicles, watercraft, outboard motors, and other electric products. It derives its origins from Kawasaki Aerospace Co ...

Supercuts Supercuts is a hair salon franchise with more than 2,400 locations across the United States. The company was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1975, by Geoffrey M. Rappaport and Frank E. Emmett. The company's first location was in Alb ...

, the

Marriott Corporation The Marriott Corporation was a Hospitality industry, hospitality company that operated from 1927 until 1993. It was founded by J. Willard Marriott and Frank J. Kimball as Hot Shoppes, Inc. In 1957, it opened its first hotel in Arlington Count ...

, the

Charles Schwab Corporation The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational Financial institution, financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services ...

and many others. He co-founded and was Vice President of Command Performance Productions, and founded Music for Conventions.

References

External links

* http://www.michaelrenomusic.com * http://www.stonewallmusic.org * http://www.mysongs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Reno, Michael 20th-century American composers Living people 21st-century American composers American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 1952 births