Bringing Broadway's incredible musicians from the pit to the stage!
Conductor - Keisuke Ikuma
Soprano - Amy Justman
Violin 1 - Bryan Hernandez-Luch
Violin 2 - Rachel Golub
Viola - Will Curry
Cello - Peter Sachon
Bass - Michael Kuennen
Piano - Paul Masse
Flute & Piccolo - John Romeri
Oboe & English horn - Setsuko Otake
Clarinet & Bass Clarinet - Todd Palmer
Percussion - Bill Hayes
Percussion - David Nyberg
Harmonium/Organ - Stephen Fraser
Keisuke Ikuma, conductor
Keisuke Ikuma is a highly sought-after oboe and english horn player in the New York metropolitan area. He is currently a member of the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and the Stamford Symphony. He also performs regularly with the New York Philharmonic, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and numerous Broadway shows such as The King and I, Wicked, and The Phantom of the Opera. Mr. Ikuma received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where he was a full-scholarship student of Joseph Robinson, former principal oboist of the New York Philharmonic.
Mr. Ikuma studied conducting with Constantine Kitsopoulos and David Gilbert, and made his Broadway conducting debut in the 2015 Tony Award-winning production The King and I at Lincoln Center Theater. He recently served as interim Chorus Director of the Keio High School in Westchester.
Amy Justman, soprano
Amy Justman's career as a crossover soprano has spanned musical theater, classical music, jazz and beyond. She made her Broadway debut in the revival of Company, performing the role of Susan as well as playing piano as part of the actor‐orchestra. She recently joined her fifth Broadway company, In Transit, where she is a standby for the principal roles of Ali, Kathy and Nina. Amy came to In Transit directly from the Broadway company of The Phantom of the Opera, where she performed the role of Carlotta many times after launching the 25th Anniversary National Tour of the same show. Other theatrical credits include A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder on Broadway, both the Broadway and Pioneer Theatre companies of White Christmas, Clara in the off-Broadway revival of Passion at Classic Stage Company, Heidi in [title of show] for the regional premiere at Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and four productions with City Center Encores.
Amy's concert work includes Peep Bo in The Mikado at Carnegie Hall, Cinderella and Rapunzel in Disney on Classic with the Tokyo Philharmonic, covering Kelli O'Hara in Lucky to Be Me at New York City Opera, and Jessie in Mahagonny Songspiel at the Ravinia Festival. She has also been a soloist with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (Bernstein's Mass, recording on Naxos), New York City Ballet, Fire Island Opera Festival, Great Music in a Great Space, American Modern Ensemble, Musica Sacra, American Symphony Orchestra, the Kurt Weill Fest, Berkshire Bach Society, Master Chorale of South Florida and Natchez Opera Festival. Her studio work includes the jazz recordings Songs for Pickles and Hoagy Carmichael: The Stardust Road, as well as Tania León's Grammy-nominated Inura. She received her MM from Manhattan School of Music and her BA from Yale University, where she has been a voice teacher for the Shen Curriculum for Musical Theater.
For more info, visit Amy's website: www.amyjustman.com
Bryan Hernandez-Luch, concertmaster
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 “[i]nvariably 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 nominated Broadway revival of Miss Saigon. He has played recently in Fiddler on the Roof and was the music director/conductor and 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 Golub, violin II
Violinist Rachel Golub performs, records and collaborates with artists ranging from the Metropolitan Opera to Elliott Sharp, and everything in between. Classically trained, she also has a background in Indian art music that inflects her own musical language. As a solo artist, projects include dub-for-yoga collaboration, Go-Ray & Duke; a New-York Harbor sonification, the Liminophone; and a Judaica duo with pianist Steve Beck. Ongoing collaborations include Amayo’s afrobeat FU Arkist-Ra, the Classical Tahoe festival, and Alex Skolnick’s Planetary Coalition.
On Broadway, Rachel was in the orchestra for Matilda, and continues to appear occasionally on several shows, including Hamilton and Sunset Boulevard. As a sidewoman, she has shared the stage with, among many others, David Byrne, Andrea Bocelli, Adele, Florence + the Machine, Iggy Pop, Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Damon Albarn, Bruce Springsteen and Suzanne Vega. Recent recordings with James Taylor, Zayn Malik, Roger Waters, Goldspot, Chromeo, Darlene Love, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and Ute Lemper.
An avid distance-swimmer of New York Harbor and beyond, Rachel was the sixth person in history to swim across the beautiful but frigid Strait of Magellan, wearing only a bikini, cap and goggles.
Will Curry, viola
Will Curry is currently the violist and assistant conductor for the Broadway revival of Miss Saigon, and previously held the positions of violist and assistant conductor for the recent Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof as well as Les Misérables. Prior to his time in New York, he was engaged as the associate conductor for the Mirvish's Les Misérables in Toronto and the assistant conductor for the U.S. touring production of Les Misérables. Will has released two albums, Fill in the Words and The Time of Year for Miracles, with actor-singer Ian Patrick Gibb, and is a recording artist for Orlando-based music producer Rick McKee. A graduate of Northwestern University, Will studied viola with Roland Vamos, conducting with Victor Yampolsky, and participated in master classes with Martha Katz, Peter Slovik, Li-Quo Chang, and Clara Takarabe.
In the arts-administration field, Will studied arts marketing with Joann Scheff Bernstein at Northwestern and graduated with a minor in arts administration. In Chicago he previously served as the digital media manager for Baroque Band—the city's premier period-instrument orchestra.
Also active as a conductor, music director, and orchestrator, Will attended the Pierre Monteux School as a conductor in 2009, where he studied with Michael Jinbo, and music-directed The Wizard of Oz and Little Shop of Horrors while at Northwestern. His orchestration credits include performances by Andrew Lippa, Carole Shelley, Christine Ebersole, Harvey Evans and Jim Brochu, Daniel Reichard, and cast members from the twenty-fifth anniversary production of Les Misérables.
Peter Sachon, cello
American cellist Peter Sachon has performed and recorded all over the United States, Europe and Asia with an array of musical groups from classical and jazz, to rock and country bands, and Broadway shows.
Mr. Sachon began his classical cello studies at the age of 13, and a year later was accepted into the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia. He then went on to study cello with Paul Tobias at The Mannes College of Music in New York, and chamber music with Felix Galimir and Julius Levine. He also was a student in the Orchestral Performance Program at the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Alan Stepansky. Additionally, he has participated for both the Schleswig-Holstein Festival and the Pacific Music Festival where he was principal cellist.
Mr. Sachon has performed with the Absolute Ensemble, the Riverside Orchestra, the Sonos Chamber Orchestra, the Spoleto Festival Orchestras (Italy and U.S.), the Virginia Symphony, the Charleston Symphony, and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.
Peter has toured Europe and the U.S. with the band Pink Martini, and played for the Broadway shows Fiddler on the Roof, The Light in the Piazza, High Fidelity, Legally Blonde, South Pacific, Pippin, and The King and I. He also performs with Audra McDonald, Victoria Clark, Kelli O’Hara, Deborah Voight, Rufus Wainright, Chris Potter, Dee Snider, Josh Groban, Phillip Phillips, Judy Kuhn, Adam Guettel, and Billy Joel.
Mr. Sachon has premiered more than thirty new works for cello; all written for him by Broadway composers. A brief list includes John Bucchino, Jason Carr, Tom Kitt, Steve Marzullo, Michael John LaChuisa, Stephen Schwartz, George Stiles, Andrew Lippa, Jeff Marx, Ricky Ian Gordon, Steve Flaherty, Zina Goldrich, Jake Heggie, Bobby Lopez, Joshua Rosenblum, Joseph Thalken, and Maury Yeston.
Michael Kuennen, bass
Since moving to the New York City area in 1994, bassist Michael Kuennen has performed with the New York Pops, S.E.M. Ensemble, Riverside Symphony, Cantori & Harmonie Ensembles, as well as the New Haven Symphony, Hudson Valley Philharmonic, Springfield Symphony (MA), Connecticut Orchestra and Ridgefield Symphony, among others.
On Broadway, Michael has served as the bassist on The Drowsy Chaperone, Promises, Promises, Elf, Cinderella and Something Rotten, as well as subbing on over 30 other shows.
Before coming to NYC, Michael was the Assistant Principal Bass of the Tulsa Philharmonic and Tulsa Opera Orchestra and Principal Bass of the Cedar Rapids (Iowa) Symphony. He holds degrees from The University of Iowa and Boston University.
Michael is married to French hornist Sara Della Posta. Their 8 year old son, Cole refuses to practice his trombone.
John Romeri, flute & piccolo
Flutist John Romeri maintains an active teaching and performance schedule throughout the northeast, often performing with such orchestras as the Stamford, Delaware, Harrisburg, and Lancaster Symphonies, as well as the Philadelphia Virtuosi and Black Pearl Chamber Orchestras, St. Paul's Chapel of Trinity Wall Street, and Central Park's Shakespeare in the Park.
John is also a sought-after player of Broadway shows, including the current revival of Sunset Boulevard, Miss Saigon, Lincoln Center's The King and I, She Loves Me, An American in Paris, On the Town, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Ragtime, Mary Poppins, and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. Television appearances include Mildred Pierce [HBO], Late Night with Jimmy Fallon [NBC], Fox and Friends Christmas Show [Fox News], and, most recently, NBC's The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live! .
John holds two bachelor's degrees—in flute performance and composition—from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, as well as a master's degree in flute performance from Mannes College The New School for Music, where he studied with American Ballet Theater Principal Flute Judy Mendenhall. An avid educator, Mr. Romeri currently serves on the music faculty of The Calhoun School, and is a teaching artist for the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music.
Setsuko Otake, oboe & English horn
Oboist Setsuko Otake enjoys a diverse career as a chamber musician, orchestral performer, and teacher. As a soloist, she has performed with the New York Symphonic Ensemble on a tour of Japan and Southeast Asia, and gave the premiere performance of Yoshihro Kanno's Water Leaf 4 for oboe and chamber orchestra with the North/South Consonance.
Throughout the U.S. and Japan, Setusko has presented chamber-music recitals with various woodwind quintets and trio groups—including a 2002 recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall. She currently holds the second oboe/English horn position with the Riverside Symphonia in Lambertville, New Jersey, and, as a freelance oboist, has regularly appeared with a number of Broadway shows, including On the Town, Les Misérables, The King and I, Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Aida, Wicked, Ragtime, Porgy and Bess, and Mary Poppins.
Ms. Otake received her bachelor's degree from the Toho Gakuen School of Music, and her master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with former New York Philharmonic oboist Joseph Robinson. During the summer, she is an oboe and chamber-music coach at the Summerkeys Music Festival in Lubec, Maine.
Todd Palmer, clarinet & bass clarinet
Clarinetist Todd Palmer is a three-time Grammy nominee and has appeared as soloist, recitalist, chamber music collaborator, educator, arranger, and presenter in a variety of musical endeavors around the world. As a winner of the Young Concert Artist International Auditions and grand prize winner in the Ima Hogg Young Artist Auditions, he has appeared as soloist with many symphony and chamber orchestras including those of Houston, Atlanta, St. Paul, Cincinnati, Montréal, BBC Scotland, and has given recital performances that include Weill Hall and the 92nd St. Y in New York City, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.
Mr. Palmer has collaborated with some of the world's most renowned artists and ensembles such as the St. Lawrence, Brentano, Borromeo, Jupiter, Chiara, Lark, and Pacifica string quartets; and sopranos Kathleen Battle, Renée Fleming, Elizabeth Futral, Heidi Grant Murphy, and Dawn Upshaw. He has also worked with numerous composers including Thomas Adès, David Bruce, Ricky Ian Gordon, Christopher Rouse, Mason Bates, Ned Rorem, George Tsontakis, and Osvaldo Golijov. Moreover, Mr. Palmer appeared as soloist in director Robert La Page's staging of The Nightingale and Other Fables at BAM, and gave the world premiere of Crosswalk, a new work for clarinet and dance especially created for him by choreographer Mark Morris. His Broadway credits include South Pacific and The King & I, both at Lincoln Center Theater, and most recently, Sunset Boulevard starring Glenn Close.
Paul Masse, piano
Since his Broadway debut at the age of eighteen as Oscar, the onstage pianist, in the 2001 revival of 42nd Street, Paul Masse has performed in the orchestras of over twenty-five Broadway productions. Masse conducted the world premiere and original Broadway production of The Scottsboro Boys, and served as the music supervisor for its West End London transfer. He has also conducted the Broadway orchestras of Porgy and Bess, It Shoulda Been You, Avenue Q, Wicked, Fun Home, and Holler If Ya Hear Me.
A versatile pianist and accordionist, Masse has appeared on The Colbert Report, The View, Late Night, and The Tonight Show, in addition to frequent work as a studio musician. He can be heard on the cast albums of The Scottsboro Boys (New York and London), Porgy and Bess, It Shoulda Been You, The Landing, and She Loves Me (2016 revival). He has led the music direction and orchestration of solo shows for performers including Victor Garber, Mario Cantone, Heidi Blickenstaff, and Ryan Silverman. On the stage, Paul was recently a guest accordionist with the Orchestra of St. Luke's at Caramoor, has been a guest pianist with the New York Pops and New York City Chamber Orchestra, and played the role of Jake in the New York Philharmonic concert production of Show Boat broadcast on PBS Live From Lincoln Center.
Stephen Fraser, organ
Stephen Fraser has been active as a choir director, organist, singer, teacher, and composer in the New York City area since 2007. He is currently Director of Music and Organist at St. Malachy’s Church “The Actors’ Chapel” in Manhattan. He is also organist for The Salvatones, a New York-based professional ensemble, and directs their acclaimed youth choir, The Salvatones Young Voices.
In 2008, he was winner of American Guild of Organists/ECS Publishing Award in Choral Composition. During the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to New York in 2008, he accompanied The Cathedral of Saint Patrick Young Singers (CSPYS) at the organ at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Yonkers. Moreover, the choristers sang one of his compositions; an arrangement entitled “Now the Green Blade Riseth” for this special event. In 2014, he received 2nd prize in the International Composition Competition for Sacred Music Pope Benedict XVI in Rome. His choral music is performed at many festivals and concerts on both sides of the Atlantic.
He holds degrees from the University of Toronto, Eastman School of Music, and Yale University (Institute of Sacred Music). He has also served as Assistant Organist at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, where he played weekday Masses broadcast live on SIRIUS/XM Radio. He was Associate Director of Music at the Church of the Holy Trinity, where he conducted the adult and youth choirs. Stephen has also worked as organist for “The Sunday Mass” on the ABC Family Network, and has sung in several reputable ensembles, including the Yale Schola Cantorum, Cantori New York, and the Oratorio Society of New York.
Bill Hayes, percussion
Bill Hayes has toured the world with Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and Audra MacDonald, performing everywhere from the Paris Opera to Carnegie Hall and a parking lot in Uruguay. He has played for over fifty Broadway shows, most recently Dr. Zhivago, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, Anything Goes, and Promises, Promises, and has played on fifteen Broadway cast albums as well as the NBC productions of The Sound of Music Live! and Peter Pan Live! Bill currently holds a percussion chair with the Broadway show A Bronx Tale The Musical.
Studio work includes three albums with Barbra Streisand, six with Liza Minnelli, and others with Ms. MacDonald, Sinatra, Rufus Wainwright, Neil Sedaka, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Harolyn Blackwell; jazz albums with Lea Delaria, the Maria Schneider Big Band, Gerry Niewood Sextet, and Dave Stahl Big Band; rock albums with Korn, David Byrne, and Shannon MacNally; and chamber music with Meredith Monk and Judith Sainte Croix.
Bill is the timpanist with the Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra and has played with orchestras including the American Symphony Orchestra, Brooklyn Philharmonic, Orchestra of St Luke's, Monte Carlo Opera Orchestra, and Tokyo City Symphony.
David Nyberg, percussion
David Nyberg is a freelance percussionist based in New York City. He has performed with the Orchestra of St. Luke's, Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, American Symphony, New York City Opera, New York Pops, Seattle Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Stamford Symphony, Opera Orchestra of New York and was principal timpanist with the Asia Pacific-United Symphony at the United Nations.
David was the percussionist for the entire 14 year Broadway production of Mamma Mia! and has also held the regular percussion chairs for the Broadway productions of Cats, Seussical and Liza's at the Palace. Other Broadway credits include: The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, The Lion King, The King and I, Passion, and Les Miserables, among others.
He has performed with Aretha Franklin, Kristen Chenoweth, and toured extensively with Liza Minnelli. David also performed with the Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, the Mingus Epitaph conducted by Gunther Schuller and with the U.S. Military Band at West Point. In 2012 David recorded the CD "Solos for the Virtuoso Tympanist" by Fred D. Hinger. This is the collection of all 10 of Mr. Hinger's solo tympani pieces.
David holds a Bachelor of Music Degree from the Manhattan School of Music where he was a scholarship student of Fred D. Hinger. David is a Performing Artist for Freer Percussion and Yamaha Percussion Instruments.