Bringing Broadway's incredible musicians from the pit to the stage!
Rick Heckman, woodwinds
Rick Heckman is a multi-instrumentalist, playing oboe, english horn, clarinets, saxophones and flutes, who is equally at home on the concert stage, in a Broadway pit, or in the recording studio. He is a veteran of over 35 Broadway shows, including his current show Beetlejuice. Other recent shows include Anastasia, Falsettos, Allegiance, and Pippin. Rick can be heard on dozens of Original Broadway Cast albums, and has also recorded with Barbra Streisand, Jewel, Hem, The American Symphony, The Harmonie Ensemble, Audra MacDonald, Dawn Upshaw, Mandy Patinkin, and many others. He was also heard on the soundtrack of NBC TV’s Smash, The Wiz Live, also on NBC, and this season’s Fosse/Verdonon F/X. Other TV appearances include: The Today Show, The View, Good Morning America, and The Letterman Show.
In addition, he has toured with Barbra Streisand extensively, all over North American and Europe. He has also performed in concert with Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Lady Gaga, Natalie Cole, Barry Manilow, Audra MacDonald, Bernadette Peters, Johnny Mathis, The Who, and many others. Other credits include performances with The New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, The New York City Ballet, New York Pops, Orchestra of Saint Lukes, American Symphony, and numerous TV and movie soundtracks and jingles.
Steve Kenyon, woodwinds
Steve Kenyon has led ensembles performing his original music at the Blue Note (NYC), Birdland, Carnegie Hall and live on WNYC radio. He has performed throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia with The New York Philharmonic, NYC Ballet, American Symphony, Brooklyn Philharmonic, NY Pops, NJSO, Philip Glass, Maria Schneider, Toshiko Akiyoshi, A Prairie Home Companion, Barbara Cook, Chuck Mangione, Blood Sweat and Tears, The Who, Aretha Franklin and many others. He is a member of the Tony Awards Orchestra, Kennedy Center Honors Orchestra and the Encores! at City Center Orchestra. He plays soprano in the New York Saxophone Quartet.
In addition to his compositions for the NYSQ, his original music is played by the NewYorkestra big band and the Pit Stop Players; groups he is also a member of. He has had pieces commissioned by Synchronicity, The Triton Brass Quintet, The International Double Reed Society and NJ City University. Some of his work is published by 3-2 Music. He was awarded a Downbeat magazine jazz composition award as a student.
He has performed with some 40 Broadway shows, numerous NY City Center Encores! and many Broadway cast recordings. Other recordings include his Quartet’s CD Fidel’s Nightmare, and albums with Audra McDonald, NewYorkestra, Maria Schneider, Gil Evans Project, Barbara Cook, Gotham Jazz Orchestra, Tony Trishka, Judy Collins, Maury Yeston and many releases on PS Classics. Television performances include Live from Lincoln Center, Sound of Music and Peter Pan Live, Today Show, David Letterman, Smash, Ed, Wonder Pets and many jingles. He’s recorded music for many films, including Hollywoodland, Hail, Caesar!, Maggie’s Plan and What Just Happened, for which he also wrote some of the orchestrations.
A National Merit Scholar, he has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The University of Miami, and teaches at Hofstra University. He currently plays Reed 1 at Mean Girls on Broadway.
Mark Thrasher, woodwinds
Mark Thrasher has been a woodwind doubler in the New York Freelance scene for the last 30 years. Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit, Mark was member of many Rock and R&B groups including The Suspects and The Wilmont Band. He attended the University of Michigan, studying with renowned saxophone virtuoso Donald Sinta and noted clarinet professor John Moeller.
Mark has traveled the world with many Broadway shows including A Chorus Line, Music Man, 42nd Street and Dreamgirls.
He is a veteran of over 20 Broadway shows including Crazy For You, Parade, Cats, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Newsies, Addams Family, and is currently playing in the orchestra of Disney’s Aladdin. Mark spent 4 years playing at The Westchester Broadway Theater performing in the orchestra for a dozen shows including the NY premiere of Maury Yeston’s Phantom of the Opera. He also did a summer residency in Milan Italy, playing bass clarinet in the world premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Samstag aus Licht at the La Scala Opera House.He has performed, recorded and toured with artists as diverse as the Metropolitan Opera, NYC Ballet, Philadelphia Orchestra, Tony Awards Orchestra, Audra McDonald and Barbara Streisand.
Mark is also the conductor of the Spring Creek Youth Symphony, a Brooklyn based student ensemble founded in 1992. He is currently teaching at PS 346, IS 364 and New Jersey City University.
Mark is proud to call Leonia NJ home.