Bringing Broadway's incredible musicians from the pit to the stage!
Keith Bonner, flute
Flutist Keith Bonner has performed in a wide variety of ensembles, ranging from symphony and opera orchestras to small chamber groups, Broadway pits as well as movies and television.
Mr. Bonner is currently principal flute of both the Greater Bridgeport Symphony and Riverside Symphony as well as a member of the Borealis Wind Quintet. He performs regularly with the Orchestra of St. Lukes, Symphony Orchestras of New Jersey, and Stamford, CT and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Other positions have included principal flute with the New York Symphonic Ensemble, Sarasota Opera Orchestra, the Ashlawn-Highland Opera Festival, and the Dicapo Opera Orchestra. As soloist, Mr. Bonner has performed concertos by Nielsen (Lincoln Center), Gluck, Telemann, Bach, Doppler and Mozart with various orchestras in the New York metropolitan area and across Japan with the New York Symphonic Ensemble. Keith has also performed much chamber music for flute with the Lenape Chamber Ensemble, ElmCity Chamber Fest, Carolina Chamber Music Festival, Wind Soloists of New York and on the St. Alban’s Recital Series.
Mr. Bonner played for many years in the orchestra of the 25th anniversary production of Les Miserables on Broadway. He also traveled the country as principal flute of the National Touring Company of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s Phantom of the Opera and as flute soloist during the 2005 Tim Janis Ensemble’s PBS Tour of America. Keith has also played in the Broadway pits of over a dozen productions, most recently including the current Lincoln Center My Fair Lady, Carousel, and Miss Saigon.
Mr. Bonner has been on the faculty of Brooklyn College and the 92nd Street Y. He currently teaches at the Special Music School. He was a board member of the New York Flute Club from 2006 until 2012.
Mr. Bonner holds a bachelor’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music and a Professional Studies Diploma from the Cleveland Institute of Music. His teachers included some of the most accomplished orchestral principals in the country - Michael Parloff of the Metropolitan Opera, Jeffrey Khaner of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Joshua Smith of the Cleveland Orchestra.
Alexandra Knoll, oboe
Alexandra Knoll is much in demand as an oboist in New York City. She is Principal Oboist of the American Symphony Orchestra and a member of New York City Opera. As well as frequently playing with the Metropolitan Opera, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and New York City Ballet, she is also active on the Broadway scene. She was the oboist for Mary Poppins, Fiddler on the Roof and most recently, Miss Saigon. She subs on My Fair Lady. An alumna of the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, Alexandra is now on the oboe faculty at Bard College Conservatory of Music. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Maxim Moston, and their daughter, Vera.
Erin Gustafson, oboe
Oboist Erin Gustafson enjoys an active freelance career in New York City, appearing regularly with the American Symphony Orchestra and New Jersey Symphony, New York City Ballet, as well as The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, New York City Opera, and American Ballet Theater, and has formerly held positions with the symphony orchestras of St. Louis, Oregon, and Grand Rapids. She can also be seen performing with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra in The Richard Tucker Gala on Live From Lincoln Center from 2012. A sought-after chamber musician, Ms. Gustafson is a member of the award-winning Ariel Winds, who toured extensively throughout the United States, and has performed in such venues as Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, Lincoln Center, Bargemusic, and Merkin Hall.
Erin has also been an active substitute musician on Broadway appearing with such shows as Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, The King and I, Fiddler On The Roof, Sunset Boulevard, On The Town, Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Wicked, and Aida.
As an advocate of new music, Ms. Gustafson gave the New York premiere of David Ludwig’s Radiance for solo oboe and strings with the acclaimed Vermont Youth Orchestra in Carnegie Hall. She has also performed with the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME), as well as numerous other groups devoted to 20th-century and contemporary repertoire.
Ms. Gustafson grew up in the Pacific Northwest, going on to become a graduate of Boston University and the Mannes College of Music. Her teachers included Ralph Gomberg, John Ferrillo, Elaine Douvas, and Linda Strommen. She currently resides in New York with her husband and their two children.
Alden Banta, bassoon
Multi-instrumentalist Alden Banta enjoys a varied career playing woodwinds for commercial, jazz, and classical music, as well as in collaboration with singer-songwriters. On Broadway, Alden currently plays woodwinds in the orchestra for King Kong, with other theater credits including, Hello, Dolly!, Finding Neverland the Musical, Motown the Musical, Chaplin, Catch Me If You Can, Sondheim on Sondheim, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Spamalot, and, for four seasons, the orchestra for the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.
As a freelance bassoonist, Banta has performed with many of New York City's premier ensembles, including the Brooklyn Philharmonic, American Symphony Orchestra, Opera New Jersey, and the New York Pops. He was recently part of the Gil Evans Project, which recorded newly discovered works by Miles Davis collaborator and composer Gil Evans, released on compact disc and the Live at the Jazz Standard release, Lines of Color. A member of the BMI Jazz Composers Orchestra, he often performs in many modern jazz groups and big bands throughout the city.
Daniel Urness, trumpet
Dan Urness has been in demand as a freelance musician since he moved to New York City in 2004. Being comfortable in classical, jazz, and commercial settings, Dan has found a home in the orchestras of Broadway shows as a member of the orchestras for Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, Chaplin The Musical, Promises, Promises, Ragtime, and Grey Gardens. He has also been a substitute musician in over 20 broadway shows including The Book of Mormon, Chicago, and Mary Poppins.
Dan has played in many of New York City’s big bands like The BMI Composers’ Workshop Jazz Orchestra, The Birdland Big Band, and The Awakening Orchestra. While staying busy as a performer, he has been a private trumpet instructor at the United Nations International School since 2006. A native of Platteville Wisconsin, Dan started playing the trumpet at age 11 in the public school music program. He received a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he studied with Robert Baca. He then was awarded a full tuition scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music’s Jazz program where he studied with Laurie Frink and Mark Gould.
Bryan Hernandez-Luch, violinist
Violinist Bryan Hernandez-Luch, of Peruvian descent, has been described by The Deseret News as “strikingly imaginative…he is an artist to be reckoned with.” Hernandez-Luch began his violin studies at age 6, and at 15 he made his solo debut with the Utah Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Hernandez-Luch has performed with the symphony orchestras of Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, New Jersey, Nashville, Utah, Chautauqua, New World, Colorado, Princeton, Grand Rapids and Battle Creek, Prince George Philharmonic and Canada’s National Arts Center Orchestra. He has worked with such conductors as Franz Welser-Möst, Robert Spano, Keith Lockhart, Rossen Milanov, Arthur Fagan and Thomas Wilkins.
As an avid chamber musician, Bryan has toured extensively across Columbia, the United States, Russia, Japan, Korea and South Africa. He was a founding member of the Catalyst Quartet, whose performances have been featured in Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium, Weill Hall and major concert halls worldwide. The New York Times called a Catalyst Quartet performance “invariably energetic and finely burnished.” The quartet held residencies at the University of South Africa, Grand Canyon Music Festival, Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, Juilliard Quartet Seminar, Sphinx Performance Academy at Northwestern University, Oberlin Conservatory, Roosevelt University and The Walnut Hill School. Hernandez-Luch had the distinct privilege of performing with the Guarneri Quartet in Mendelssohn’s String Octet and a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence at Carnegie Hall.
A frequent collaborator and guest concertmaster with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Hernandez-Luch is currently performing in the Tony award winning Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. He has played recently in Miss Saigon, Fiddler on the Roof and was the music director/conductorand on-stage musician for The Cherry Orchard, starring Diane Lane. Bryan has been a member of the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra and performed regularly in the Broadway productions of The Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, The King and I, Something Rotten!, Cinderella, and On the Town.
Bryan earned a master’s degree from The Juilliard School and a B.M. from the University of Utah. His major teachers have included Joseph Lin, Igor Gruppman and Nell Gotkovsky. He loves living in New York City with his wife, concert pianist Desirae Brown, and their two children, Poppy and Rowan.
Rachel Handman, violin
Originally from Hyde Park, NY, violinist Rachel Handman's virtuosity and improvisational ability appears in many musical forms, including classical, bluegrass, Irish, pop and folk.
Broadway show credits include Dr. Zhivago, Something Rotten!, Miss Saigon, and Carousel. Rachel is a a long standing member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and is Associate Concert Master of the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra. With recent and upcoming performances at Carnegie Hall, she also plays in the New York Oratorio Society Orchestra under the direction of Kent Tritle. She has toured Mexico with Philharmonic Orchestra of the Americas, and Germany, both on stage and in the orchestra with the shows My Fair Lady and On The Town.
Loving travel and exposure to other cultures, Rachel lived in La Paz, Bolivia where she was in the National Symphony of Bolivia, concertized with a string quartet, and eventually joined a Salsa band named Guapacha! After returning to the states, Rachel began fiddling and immersing herself in different folk and fiddle styles. With her band, Uncommon Ground, she has performed at many festivals including the Doc Watson Festival, Carolina in the Fall, and Winter-Hawk festival.
Rachel has also performed with Natalie Merchant, Norm Lewis, Jennifer Hudson, Roberta Flack, Bette Midler, and the legendary Ray Charles. She teaches fiddle workshops at Summer Strings, a music camp run by her family in Poughkeepsie, NY, and is a resident visiting artist at Music at Port Milford chamber music festival in Milford, Ontario.
Maxim Moston, violin
Maxim Moston was born in Moscow, Russia and emigrated to the States with his family in 1979, settling in New York City. He made his debut at Carnegie Hall when he was twelve and at CBGB when he was sixteen. Since then, Maxim has been straddling the classical and pop worlds as a multi-instrumentalist, arranger, composer and producer.
Maxim maintains an active career as a freelance violinist in New York City and is a member of numerous orchestras and chamber music ensembles. He is a veteran of over 40 Broadway productions, most recently holding chairs at Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fiddler on the Roof, On The Town, Cinderella and the upcoming Moulin Rouge. He was a founding member of electro-acoustic pioneers Slow Six and Redhooker. The list of artists Maxim has collaborated with runs the gamut from the Cleveland Quartet to Michel LeGrand to Evanescence and Jay-Z.
He has performed in many of the world’s cultural capitals as violinist and musical director of Antony and the Johnsons, as well as in Hal Wilner’s brilliant Leonard Cohen tribute, Came So Far For Beauty, featured in the film Leonard Cohen:I’m Your Man.
Maxim’s arrangements can be heard on numerous albums, from his friends Edison Woods, Ana Silvera and Joan As Policewoman to worldwide releases from Antony and the Johnsons, Rufus Wainwright, Keren Ann and Linda Thompson. His orchestration of William Basinski’s Disintegration Loops 1 and 2, premiered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the tenth anniversary of the events of September 11th has been met with glowing reviews on three continents. As a producer, Maxim has worked with Rufus Wainwright and with Baby Dee, with whom he recorded the critically acclaimed Book Of Songs For Anne Marie, among many others.
Maxim is busy as a composer for film and stage and is a recipient of the ASCAP Boosey And Hawkes Prize.
Orlando Wells, viola
Mr. Wells attended the State University of New York at Purchase as a double major on violin and viola where his primary teachers were Yuval Waldman, and Emmanuel Vardi. He continued his studies at the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers in New Jersey in the studio of Michael Tree.
Among the many ensembles he’s played with are; the Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, St. Lukes Chamber Orchestra, Radio City Christmas Spectacular orchestra, Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, Bronx Opera(concertmaster), Orchestra of the Bronx(concertmaster), Antara Chamber orchestra(principal viola), and the Ritz Chamber Players in Jacksonville, Florida. He has appeared as soloist with Manhattan Virtuosi, the Harlem Symphony, and Antara Chamber Orchestra.
Mr. Wells has performed and recorded with great artists such as Mariah Carey, John Legend, Rihanna, Harry Connick Jr., Dionne Warwick, Elvis Costello, and many others. He also has performed with many of the greatest shows on Broadway.
Currently, he is the violist of the critically acclaimed Sweet Plantain String Quartet, violinist and violist in the award winning Emerald Trio, and holds currently holds the violin/viola chair for Broadway show, King Kong. Other Broadway credits include, Spongebob Squarepants, The Broadway Musical, Miss Saigon, Something Rotten!, Motown The Musical, Porgy and Bess, Harry Connick, jr. In Concert On Broadway, and Cry-Baby.
David Romano, bass
Bassist David Romano, a native of New Haven, Connecticut, received his undergraduate degree in performance from the University of Connecticut. After earning a master's degree in performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, he was appointed principal bass of the Orquestra Symphonica de Galicia in La Coruña, Spain. After playing with the Gothenburg Symphony in Sweden, Romano returned to New York, where he currently plays with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Brooklyn Philharmonic, New York Pops, Little Orchestra Society, American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, and Eos Chamber Orchestra.
On Broadway, David has performed with Miss Saigon, Gigi, The Lion King, The Drowsy Chaperone, Mary Poppins, Anything Goes, Shrek, Les Misérables, On the Town, and Cabaret, and was the bass player for the first two years of the first national tour of The Lion King. He has also recorded and played with such artists as Barbra Streisand, Dave Brubeck, Quincy Jones, Clark Terry, Wynton Marsalis, Elton John, Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell, Kenny G, and Metallica.
Paolo Bordignon, harpsichord
Paolo Bordignon is harpsichordist of the New York Philharmonic and performs in 2018-19 with Camerata Pacifica, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, ECCO - East Coast Chamber Orchestra, the Florida Orchestra and a Trans-Siberian Arts Festival tour with the Sejong Soloists. He has appeared with the English Chamber Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra, Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, and the Knights.
He has collaborated with Sir James Galway, Itzhak Perlman, Reinhard Goebel, Paul Hillier, Bobby McFerrin, Midori, Renée Fleming, and Wynton Marsalis. For the opening of Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall, he gave the east coast première of Philip Glass’s Concerto for Harpsichord and Orchestra.
Festival appearances include Aspen, Bard, Bay Chamber, Bridgehampton, Jackson Hole, Palm Beach, and Vail. He has appeared on NBC, CBS, PBS, CNN, NPR, the CBC, and on Korean and Japanese national television.
Paolo has worked with composers such as Elliott Carter (performing Double Concerto for Harpsichord and Piano for his 90th birthday celebration), David Conte, Jean Guillou, Stephen Hartke, Christopher Theophanides, and Melinda Wagner. With the Clarion Music Society, he gave the world première of several newly-rediscovered chamber works of Felix Mendelssohn.
Paolo has performed organ recitals at venues such as St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York and St. Eustache in Paris, and he has been a regular organ recitalist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including a 10-recital residency in 2010-11. As interim Organist and Choirmaster at St. Bartholomew’s Church in New York, he helps oversee one of the nation’s pre-eminent church music programs.