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Kevin Farrell works as a composer, conductor, arranger, and
pianist on both the Broadway and concert stages.
Some of his theatre credits include musical direction of the
Tokyo
production of
Rent; the Tony Award
winning Fiddler On the Roof with Topol; Cathy Rigby in
Peter Pan; Cats, both on Broadway and in
Los Angeles. As a performer and musical director
he created the role of Bob in the recent off-broadway musical,
Open Heart. His
involvement with The King and I spans from the Broadway
revival with Yul Brynner, for which he was pianist, to musical direction
of the two most recent US National Tours.
He premiered Evita in Rome and was musical
director/supervisor for four US
National Tours. This same position he held for the recent production of
Bombay Dreams.
Mr. Farrell was the recipient of
the Los Angeles Theatre Critic’s award ‘Best Musical Direction’ for the
Royal National Theatre’s production of Carousel.
He was twice Music Director of New York’s Radio
City Music
Hall (during which he appeared as such in the movie
Annie)
simultaneously conducting Jerome Robbin’s
Lincoln Center revival of
Fiddler
on the Roof. He was for
two seasons music director of Lee Theodore’s
The American Dance Machine,
an organization dedicated to
the preservation of theatre dance. He has been a frequent
guest conductor at the St. Louis Municipal Opera, and was privileged to
have performed for three American Presidents, both in the theatre and at
The White House, and last year he conducted the Paris premier of THE
SOUND OF MUSIC at the theatre Chatelet where he was privileged to meet
President and Mrs. Sarkozy and family.
In Italy he has
conducted concerts highlighting the works of Copeland, Thomson, and
Bernstein. At La Fenice in
Venice
he premiered Gershwin’s Lady Be Good, which was the first
time an Italian Lyric opera produced an American musical.
He subsequently repeated this production with the San Carlos
Opera in Lisbon,
Portugal.
In recital with singer Kim Criswell he has appeared at the San
Carlo Opera house in Naples, Verdi
Conservatorio in Milan and the
Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. He toured Sicily with Teatro Massimo’s orchestra and chorus, and has
twice conducted the opening of the Summer Music Festival of Ravello and
most recently at
Italy’s Ravenna Festival.
Kevin Farrell’s arrangements have been heard in the
U.S.
and on BBC London, and his compositions have been commissioned by New York's Circle in the
Square and the Berkshire Theatre Festival, among others.
Recently he conducted an international broadcast with the BBC
Concert Orchestra in a tribute to the music of Jule Styne.
His song “Christopher” was
featured in the touring musical Heartstrings.
For two years Mr. Farrell was a creative consultant for Disney
Entertainment. He has worked with such names as Jerry Bock, Gower
Champion, Agnes de Mille, Nicholas Hytner, Harold Prince, Jerome
Robbins, Charles Strouse, and
Onna White. He has also
conducted for, among others, Lauren Bacall, Kim Criswell, Sandy Duncan,
Shirley Jones, Howard Keel,
Lyle Lovett, Maureen McGovern, Hayley Mills, Anthony Newley, Marie
Osmond, Stefanie Powers, Faith Prince, and John Raitt.
Mr. Farrell resides in New York with his wife, Karin, who is the
vice president of On Location Education. They enjoy raising their
precocious 4 year old daughter, Emily-Claire Farrell.
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