Bringing Broadway's incredible musicians from the pit to the stage!
John DiSanto
John DiSanto is a graduate of the Mason Gross School of the Arts with a Bachelor in Classical Saxophone Performance and Music Education. He also holds a master's degree in multiple woodwind performance from New Jersey City Univerity. He is an active freelance woodwind artist in the New York area. He has performed on mulitple Broadway shows and currently can be found subbing at Disney's Aladdin, Finding Neverland, Wicked, Dames at Sea and Allegiance. He is currently playing the Papermill Playhouse production of A Christmas Story. John is also a member of the big bandSwingadelic, which performs every Monday night at Swing 46 in midtown Manhattan. He plays all members of the saxophone, clarinet, and flute families as well as the bassoon.
Giuseppe Fusco
Giuseppe Fusco is a freelance woodwind artist in the NYC area. He is currently co-ordinator of multiple woodwind studies at New Jersey City University. Giuseppe has been a substitute musician in multiple Broadway orchestras and has held chairs in the orchestras of Anything Goes (2011) and Honeymoon in Vegas (2015). Giuseppe also performed for three consecutive years in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular orchestra. He holds degrees from Rutgers University and New Jersey City University.
Dustyn Richardson
Dustyn Richardson is a freelance woodwind musician in the NYC area specializing in flutes, clarinets and saxophones. He has been a substitute musician on Broadway (Honeymoon in Vegas, If/Then, Kinky Boots, Pippin, Something Rotten) and at Radio City Music Hall and is called frequently as an extra musician with the New York City Ballet Orchestra. He completed a bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of Calgary and a master’s degree in multiple woodwind performance at New Jersey City University. In the winter of 2015, Dustyn was fortunate enough to be a member of the orchestra for the off-Broadway revival of Once Upon a Mattress. In addition to his performing activities, Dustyn is on faculty at the Turtle Bay School of Music on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Justin Vance
Justin Vance is very excited to be performing with Broadway Chamber Players! He is a huge fan of BCP and has been to almost every concert. He loves orchestral music and has held regional orchestra positions on piccolo, flute, oboe and English horn. He is currently the principal oboist of the New York Chamber Players. Justin traveled the country and abroad with the national tours of South Pacific, Shrek, Catch Me If You Can, and Ghost. Since moving to NYC in 2013, he has been involved with multiple recording sessions and has subbed on Broadway and Off-Broadway shows including Little Miss Sunshine, Heathers, Pippin, The Visit, Gigi, Something Rotten!, Aladdin, and Fun Home. He has held chairs on the New York Spring Spectacular as well as the last two seasons of the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. Originally from Texas, Justin holds degrees from Baylor University in saxophone performance and the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music (CCM) in multiple woodwind performance. He has won concerto competitions at both institutions, performing concerti on both saxophone and oboe.
Neil Johnson - Arranger
Neil Johnson is a woodwind artist whose musical roots include jazz, classical, ska, and pop. A native Texan, Neil has resided in NYC since 2012 but has lived in London, Montreal, and performed in over 25 contries worldwide. In 2010, he recorded on the #1 UK single "Bom Bom" with Sam and the WOMP and performed with Motown legend Martha Reeves. In the theater, Neil has performed in London's National Theatre production of Fela! and with Dee Dee Bridgewater in 2013's Lady Day featuring the music of Billie Holiday. In addition to performing, Neil is an active educator and arranger for woodwinds. For more, go to www.neiljohnsonjazz.com.
Ryan Shirar - Arranger
Ryan Shirar is a New York City music director who works primarily as a pianist and orchestrator/arranger. Recent credits include Maria De Buenos Aires (Aspen Music Festival), The Visit (Broadway), and Paris Through the Window.
As orchestrator, in the past year, Shirar collaborated with Sheena Easton, the Grammy-winning band MercyMe, the San Francisco, Calgary, Dubuque and NJ Symphonies, The American Pops Orchestra, Broadway Boys, Cirque Musica, Virginia Opera, Sun Valley Opera, Northwestern and Princeton Universities. As music director, he toured with Broadway Pops International, including performances in San Francisco, Vancouver, Sun Valley, and Lincoln Center. Shirar also works for Manhattan Concert Productions, Broadway Dreams Foundation, Open Jar Institute, NY Film Academy, Ballet Arts, and the Kentucky Governor's School for the Arts.
Shirar also co-produced, arranged, and music directed the album Beautiful Songs, which received critical acclaim from The New York Times, USA Today, and Broadway World. Shirar received his Masters in Orchestral Conducting from Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music.
Billy Kerr - Arranger
Billy Kerr, a versatile musician, is an accomplished jazz artist, composer, arranger and clinician. Brooklyn born and raised on Long Island, he completed his studies at the Juilliard School of Music and Queens College receiving a BA in music. His major studies were with Augustin Duques (clarinet), Joseph Allard (clarinet and saxophone) and Thomas Nyfenger (flute). His studies in composition and arranging began at Queens College with John Carisi and continued over the years with Don Sebesky, Manny Album, Jim McNeely, Roger Kellaway, and Vince Mendoza.
After a four-year hitch in the Air Force Band, Billy established a busy career recording for television, films and commercials and gained extensive experience in the Broadway musical theatre.
Billy has performed with a variety of artists covering every musical style. Most notably, they include Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices, Liza Minnelli, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Natalie Cole, Ray Charles, Peter Allen, Henry Mancini, Julie Andrews, Sammy Davis Jr., and Mel Torme. Performances with the St. Luke’s Chamber Ensemble and the Brooklyn Philharmonic under distinguished conductors like Gunther Schuller and Lukas Foss show yet another facet of his abilities.
As tenor saxophonist with the New York Saxophone Quartet, Billy has performed in Europe, Japan, Canada and throughout the United States. In addition to concert performances, the Quartet has appeared on the “Tonight Show” and participated in many teaching clinics. The group has recorded several albums, all of which spotlight Billy’s skills as a soloist and writer.
As a composer and arranger, Billy has written for every type of ensemble from duets to big band. For four years he was a member of the BMI Jazz Composers Workshop, which concentrated primarily on the art of composing for big band. His original saxophone quartet “Send In the New Boy” was premiered at the Tenth World Saxophone Congress in Italy in 1992. This piece and several other quartet and octet arrangements written by Billy are published with UNC Jazz Press. His saxophone duet “Conversation for Two Baritones” is published by Opus 102 Music Publishers in Montreal .
Since 2000 Billy has resided in Los Angeles, CA, where he received his Masters degree at the University of Southern California. In the world of education, he is on the faculty of the College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita, Glendale Community College in Glendale and Shepherd University in Los Angeles.
Billy is a performing artist for Pearl Flutes and Vandoren reeds.