Jonathan Tunick (born April 19, 1938) is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer. He is best known for orchestrating the works of Stephen Sondheim, their collaboration starting in 1970 with Company and continuing until Sondheim's death in 2021.
Early life and education Jonathan Tunick graduated from Hunter College Elementary School, and the LaGuardia Performing Arts High School, and holds degrees from Bard College and the Juilliard School.Rothstein, Mervyn. "A Life in the Theatre: Orchestrator, Composer and Music Director Jonathan Tunick" playbill.com, September 16, 2005
Career Tunick's principal instrument is the clarinet.Gans, Andrew. , playbill.com, March 19, 2012. Much of his work has arisen from his involvement in theatre, and he is associated especially with the musicals of Stephen Sondheim.Jonathan Tunick biography, sondheimguide.com; accessed April 17, 2012. Sondheim said "Tunick is a standout in his field not only because of his musicianship and imagination, but primarily because of his great sensitivity to theatrical atmosphere".
Tunick's band, "Broadway Moonlighters", played in 2008 with Barbara Cook as special guest, and played at Birdland jazz club in March 2012. He has also worked as an arranger and/or conductor on recordings with Judy Collins, Kiri Te Kanawa, Brian Asawa, Sir Neville Mariner, Itzhak Perlman, Plácido Domingo, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney, and Bernadette Peters.Jonathan Tunick profile goodmantheatre.org, June 2003; accessed April 17, 2012
Recognition and awards In his review of the Bernadette Peters recording Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein (2002), John Kenrick wrote: "Jonathan Tunick provides the brilliant arrangements."Kenrick, John. "Solo CD's. Bernadette Peters" Musicals101.com; accessed April 18, 2012
He has won all four major American show business awards: the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony, making him an EGOT. In 1978, Tunick won an Oscar for A Little Night Music (Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score). In 1982, he won an Emmy for his work on the variety television special Night of 100 Stars (Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction), and in 1988, he won a Grammy for his work on the song "No One Is Alone" (Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s)), and in 1997, he won the first Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for the musical Titanic.
He has also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations four times and won a Drama Desk Special Award in 1982. Tunick was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in January 2009.Gans, Andrew. (January 26, 2009) Playbill
Personal life Tunick is married to actress Leigh Beery (also known as "Lee Beery"), who appeared in the television soap opera Dark Shadows in 1971."Leigh Beery Film and TV" imdb.com; accessed October 10, 2015
Work Stage Sources - AllMusic; Internet Broadway DatabaseJonathan Tunick Listing", Internet Broadway Database; accessed April 17, 2012.
Take Five (composer: "Gristedes," "The Pro Musica Antiqua")(Julius Monk Revue) - 1957Hischak, Thomas S. "Chapter Two, A New Arena:The 1950s" Off-Broadway Musicals Since 1919 (2011), (books.google.com), Scarecrow Press, Inc., , p. 43 From A to Z - 1960 All in Love - 1961" 'All in Love' Listing" Internet Off-Broadway Database, accessed April 17, 2012 Promises, Promises - 1968 Here's Where I Belong - 1968 Dames at Sea - 1969 Company - 1970 The Grass Harp - 1971 Follies - 1971 MASS - 1971 The Selling of the President - 1972 Sondheim: A Musical Tribute - Concert - 1973" 'Sondheim: A Musical Tribute'" , SondheimGuide.com; accessed April 17, 2012 A Little Night Music - 1973 Smith - 1973" 'Smith' Listing", Internet Broadway database; accessed April 17, 2012 A Chorus Line - 1975 ("Opening," "Nothing," "At The Ballet," "...And," "What I Did For Love") Goodtime Charley - 1975 The Frogs - 1975 Pacific Overtures - 1976 Ballroom - 1978 Sweeney Todd - 1979 Merrily We Roll Along - 1981 Nine - (musical supervisor and orchestrations) 1982 Alice in Wonderland - (musical supervisor) 1982 Baby - 1983 Dance a Little Closer - 1983 Wind in the Willows - (musical supervisor) 1985 Into the Woods - 1987 Nick & Nora - 1991 Phantom - 1992" 'Phantom' Cast Album Listing" castalbumdb.com, accessed April 17, 2012 A Grand Night for Singing - 1993 Company (re-orchestrated) - 1993 Sweeney Todd (re-orchestrated) - 1993 Passion - 1994 The Petrified Prince - Public Theater 1994Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review; Both a Sendup and an Embrace, Based on Bergman Again" The New York Times, December 19, 1994 Patti LuPone on Broadway - Walter Kerr Theatre Concert 1995Evans, Greg. Variety, October 12, 1995 Company - 1995
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (re-orchestrated; originals by Sid Ramin and Irwin Kostal) - 1996 Martin Guerre - 1996 Into the Woods - 1997 Titanic - 1997 Saturday Night - 1999 Minnelli on Minnelli - (orchestrations) Palace Theatre Concerts 1999" 'Minnelli on Minnelli' Listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed April 17, 2012 Marie Christine - 1999 Putting It Together - 1999 Napoleon - 2000 Follies (re-orchestrated) - 2001 Into the Woods (re-orchestrated) - 2002 Elaine Stritch At Liberty - 2001 Nine - (re-orchestrated) 2003 110 in the Shade (re-orchestrated from Hershy Kay's originals) - 2003 The Frogs (re-orchestrated & expanded) - 2004 Pacific Overtures - (re-orchestrated) 2004 The Color Purple - 2005 A Chorus Line - (re-orchestrated) 2006 The Apple Tree - (re-orchestrated from Eddie Sauter's originals) 2006 110 in the Shade - (re-orchestrated from Hershy Kay's originals) 2007 Lovemusik - 2007 A Catered Affair - 2008 Road Show - 2008" 'Road Show'" Internet Off-Broadway database, accessed April 18, 2012 and 2003Murray, Matthew. "Theatre Review. 'Bounce' " talkinbroadway.com, November 2, 2003, accessed April 18, 2012 The Story of My Life - 2009 Oklahoma! - (re-orchestrated from Robert Russell Bennett's originals) 2009 Bye Bye Birdie - (re-orchestrated from Robert Ginzler's originals) 2009 Paradise Found - 2010 Some Lovers - Old Globe Theatre 2011Eadie, Bill."Regional Reviews. 'Some Lovers', Old Globe" talkinbroadway.com, December 10, 2011 Sweeney Todd (re-orchestrated) - 2012 Passion (re-orchestrated) - 2013 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder - 2013 Waterfall - Pasadena Playhouse 2015 Dames at Sea (re-orchestrated) - 2015 Cabin in the Sky - Encores! 2016 Carousel - (re-orchestrated from Don Walker's originals) 2018 Here We Are - 2023
Filmography Sources - AllMusic;"Jonathan Tunick Credits" allmusic.com, accessed April 17, 2012 Internet Movie Database"Jonathan Tunick Listing" Internet Movie Database, accessed April 17, 2012
The Twelve Chairs - 1970 - musical director, orchestrator Blazing Saddles - 1974 - orchestrator Young Frankenstein - 1974 - orchestrator The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother - 1975 - orchestrator A Little Night Music - 1977 - composer orchestrator, conductor (winner, Academy Award) Columbo: Murder Under Glass - 1978 - (television) - composer, conductor Flying High - 1978 - (television) - composer, conductor 3 by Cheever: "O Youth and Beauty", "The Sorrows of Gin" and 3 by Cheever: The 5:48 - 1979 - (television) - composer, conductor Rendezvous Hotel - 1979 - (television) - composer, conductor Swan Song - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor Blinded by the Light - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor The Jilting of Granny Weatherall - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor Fort Apache the Bronx - 1981 - composer, conductor Endless Love - 1981 - composer, conductor Reds - 1981 - orchestrator The Shady Hill Kidnapping - 1982 - (television) - composer, conductor Night of 100 Stars - 1982 - (television) - music arranger Sweeney Todd - 1982 - (television) - orchestrator Alice in Wonderland - 1983 - (television) - composer, conductor I Am the Cheese - 1983 - composer, conductor Murder, She Wrote - 1984 - (television) - series composer, conductor Concealed Enemies - 1984 - (television) - composer, conductor Brotherly Love - 1985 - (television) - composer, conductor fandango.com, assessed April 18, 2012 Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories - 1985 - (television) - series composer, conductor The B.R.A.T. Patrol - 1986 - (television) - composer, conductor" 'The B.R.A.T Patrol' Cast and Crew" movies.amctv.com, accessed April 18, 2012 American Masters - 1986 - (television) - composer (theme only) You Ruined My Life - 1987 - (television) - composer, conductor Into the Woods - 1991 - (television) - orchestrator Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall - 1993 (televised) (concert in 1992) - (television) - orchestrator"Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall" sondheimguide.com, accessed April 18, 2012 The Last Good Time - 1994 - composer, conductor The Birdcage - 1996 - music arranger and adapter, composer, conductor Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh - 1998 - (television) - orchestrator The Fantasticks - 2000 - music adaptor and arranger, conductor Find Me Guilty - 2006 - composer, conductor Sweeney Todd (Tim Burton film) - 2007 - music adaptor and orchestrator Into the Woods - 2014 - orchestrator Beauty and the Beast - 2017 - orchestrator
Awards and nominations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1977 Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score A Little Night Music
Drama Desk Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1982 Drama Desk Special Award 1984 Outstanding Orchestrations Baby 1988 Into the Woods 1994 Passion 1997 Titanic 1999 Captains Courageous 2000 Saturday Night 2001 Follies 2002 Elaine Stritch: At Liberty 2007 The Apple Tree LoveMusik 2008 A Catered Affair 2014 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder 2018 Carousel Pacific Overtures 2020 West Side Story
Grammy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1981 Best Album of Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special Endless Love: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 1988 Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) "No One is Alone"
Primetime Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1982 Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction Night of 100 Stars 1984 Live from Lincoln Center Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Limited Series or a Special (Dramatic Underscore) American Playhouse 1989 Outstanding Achievement in Main Title Theme Music Tattingers 1993 Outstanding Individual Achievement in Main Title Theme Music Love & War
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Ref. 1997 Best Orchestrations Titanic 2000 Marie Christine 2001 Follies 2003 Nine 2005 Pacific Overtures 2007 110 in the Shade LoveMusik 2008 A Catered Affair 2010 Promises, Promises 2014 A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder 2018 Carousel 2024Merrily We Roll Along
See also List of music arrangers
References
External links
Jonathan Tunick Interview NAMM Oral History Library (2021)