Rob Fisher is an American music director, conductor, arranger and pianist. He was the founding music director and conductor of the New York City Center Encores! series from 1994 to 2005. He is the leader of the Coffee Club Orchestra, which was the house band for Garrison Keillor’s radio broadcasts from 1989 to 1993.
Fisher grew up in Norfolk, Virginia, where he began taking piano lessons at age 6.[1] [2] He received a BA from Duke University[3] and an MA in piano performance from American University.[4] In 2016, Fisher received an Honorary Doctorate of Music from Mansfield University.[5]
After Fisher arrived in New York City as the onstage pianist for the musical revue A History of the American Film in 1978,[6] he worked on the Berkshire Theatre Festival’s production of the 1933 George and Ira Gershwin musical Let 'Em Eat Cake—the first-ever revival of the piece.[7] Later that year, he was a guest pianist for "By Ira... By George," a gala benefit concert at Carnegie Hall celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the birth of George Gershwin that featured Ginger Rogers, Cab Calloway, Barbara Cook, Michael Feinstein and others.[8] [9]
After several years of regional theater and Broadway National tours, in 1987 Fisher was enlisted to prepare the musical artists for the international Gershwin Celebration at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which featured performers such as Leonard Bernstein, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Bob Dylan.[10] This led to his conducting concert productions the Gershwins' Of Thee I Sing and Let ‘Em Eat Cake under the guidance of noted conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, who was the music director of the entire three-week celebration. These productions continued a professional association with the works of George Gershwin,[11] one further cemented in the late 1990s when Fisher served as the artistic advisor of Carnegie Hall's two-year Gershwin Centennial Celebration,[12] [13] and most recently when he supervised the creation of the score for the Broadway musical An American in Paris.[14]
An aficionado of the Great American Songbook and the Golden Age of musical theater,[15] Fisher was pivotal in the 1994 founding of New York City Center's Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert, an annual series dedicated to presenting the complete scores of rarely-heard musicals.[16] The series was praised widely and was awarded the Lucille Lortel Award for Off-Broadway Special Achievement in 1995, the Jujamcyn Theater Award in 1997, several Outer Critics Circle Awards, and a Tony Honor for Excellence in Theatre in 2000.[17] For his contributions to Encores!, Fisher himself received the 1997 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Special Achievement.[18] Fisher has made numerous recordings for Encores!, including the Grammy Award-winning Chicago cast recording.[19]
Fisher served as music director and conductor of Encores! from 1994 through 2005.[20] [21] He continues to be a regular guest music director for the series.
Several Encores! productions conducted by Fisher eventually transferred to Broadway for commercial productions. Most notable of these is Chicago, which has gone on to become Broadway's second longest running show as well as Broadway's longest running revival.[22] [23] Fisher remains supervising music director for Chicago productions worldwide.[24]
In addition to Fisher's work for theatrical productions, he is a frequent guest of orchestras across the United States, both as a conductor and as a piano soloist. With the New York Philharmonic, he conducted concert versions of Carousel (for which he received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Musical Director)[25] and My Fair Lady.[26] With the Orchestra of St. Luke's, he led gala performances of Candide,[27] Guys and Dolls,[28] and The Sound of Music[29] at Carnegie Hall. In 2001, he conducted the San Francisco Symphony in the Emmy-winning concert production of Sweeney Todd starring Patti LuPone and George Hearn, which was subsequently released on DVD.[30]
Fisher conducted the New York Pops frequently between 2004 and 2008, frequently sharing concerts with Skitch Henderson as well as leading the orchestra for many holiday concerts and special events.[31] Additionally, he has appeared with the Boston and Chicago Symphonies, the Philadelphia and Cleveland orchestras, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and the San Francisco, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and National symphonies. As a pianist, Fisher has been soloist for Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue and Concerto in F with multiple orchestras across the country.[32]
In addition to collaborating in concert with such artists as Renée Fleming, Kristin Chenoweth, Kelli O’Hara, Victoria Clark, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and David Hyde Pierce, he has conducted many engagements with Patti LuPone, including ones with the Pacific, Phoenix, Atlanta, Fort Worth, and Chicago symphonies.
He has recorded dozens of albums as conductor and music director, serving as producer of several of them—including the recent Original Broadway Cast Recording of An American in Paris, for which he received a Grammy-nomination as Producer.[33] Most recently, Fisher was the music supervisor, conductor, and an arranger for Renée Fleming's 2018 album Broadway, produced by multiple Grammy-winning David Frost.
As an arranger, he has had choral arrangements published by Hal Leonard and has contributed vocal arrangements to numerous shows and recordings. For the opening night of Carnegie Hall's 2018-2019 season, he arranged a duet for Audra McDonald and Renée Fleming with the San Francisco Symphony and Michael Tilson Thomas.
From 1989 to 1993, Fisher was music director for Garrison Keillor's “American Radio Company,” leading the program's house band, the Coffee Club Orchestra. He remained a frequent guest on Keillor's “A Prairie Home Companion” until Keillor's retirement.[34]
music director/conductor for all productions below[35]
| 2018 | BroadwayRenée Fleming | music supervisor, conductor | Decca Classics (Universal) | ||
| 2015 | Lady, Be Good!Encores | Cast Recording featuring Tommy Tune, Patti Murin, and Danny Gardner | music director, conductor, producer | Ghostlight Records | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | An American in ParisOriginal Broadway Cast Recording featuring Robert Fairchild and Leanne Cope | score supervisor, arranger, producer | Masterworks Broadway | Grammy nomination | |
| 2013 | Shout, Sister, ShoutThe DiGiallonardo Sisters | music director, piano, producer | CD Baby | ||
| 2013 | Rappahannock CountyOriginal Cast Recording | music director, conductor | Naxos Records | ||
| 2011 | Anything GoesBroadway Revival Cast Recording featuring Sutton Foster, Joel Grey, and Laura Osnes | music supervisor, vocal arranger, producer | Ghostlight Records | Grammy nomination | |
| 2010 | On BroadwayDavid Campbell | music director, conductor, producer | Columbia/Sony Music Entertainment Australia | ||
| 2007 | Musical FireworksThe New York Pops | music director, conductor | Private release | ||
| 2007 | Face the MusicEncores! Cast Recording featuring Judy Kaye, Lee Wilkof, and Eddie Korbich | music director, conductor, vocal arrangements | DRG Records | ||
| 2004 | The New MoonEncores! Cast Recording featuring Christiane Noll and Rod Gilfry | music director, conductor, associate producer | Ghostlight Records | ||
| 2004 | Wonderful TownBroadway Revival Cast Recording featuring Donna Murphy, Jennifer Westfeldt, and Gregg Edelman | music director, conductor, associate producer | DRG Records | ||
| 2001 | Ziegfeld Follies of 1936Encores! Cast Recording featuring Christine Ebersole, Ruthie Henshall, Howard McGillin, Mary Testa, and Peter Scolari | music director, conductor, associate producer | Decca Broadway | ||
| 2001 | George and Ira Gershwin's Tell Me More and Tip-ToesStudio Cast Recording featuring David Garrison, Christine Ebersole, Sally Mayes, Patrick Cassidy, Emily Loesser, Lewis J. Stadlen, Lee Wilkof, and Mark Baker | music director, conductor, piano, producer | New World Records | ||
| 2001 | Let Yourself GoKristin Chenoweth | music director, conductor | Sony Classical | ||
| 2000 | TenderloinEncores! Cast Recording featuring David Ogden Stiers, Patrick Wilson, and Debbie Gravitte | music director, conductor, co-producer | DRG Records | ||
| 2000 | Saturday NightOriginal Off-Broadway Cast Recording | music director, conductor | Nonesuch Records | ||
| 1998 | Babes in ArmsEncores! Cast Recording | music director, conductor, associate producer | DRG Records | ||
| 1998 | St. Louis WomanEncores! Cast Recording featuring Vanessa Williams | music director, conductor, associate producer | Mercury Records | ||
| 1997 | The Boys from SyracuseEncores! Cast Recording | music director, conductor, associate producer | DRG Records | ||
| 1997 | ChicagoBroadway Revival Cast Recording featuring Ann Reinking, Bebe Neuwirth, James Naughton, and Joel Grey | music director, conductor | RCA Victor/BMG Classics | Grammy Award, Musical Show Recording | |
| 1996 | Horrors! A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor | conductor, piano | HighBridge Productions | ||
| 1996 | Michael Feinstein | guest conductor | Atlantic Records | ||
| 1996 | Louisiana PurchaseEncores! Cast Recording | music director, conductor, associate producer | DRG Records | ||
| 1995 | Manhattan DreamTomoko Shibata | music director, conductor, piano | EMI Records | ||
| 1995 | A Prairie Home Christmas with Garrison Keillor & Hundreds of Friends & Acquaintances | conductor | HighBridge Productions | ||
| 1995 | Out of This WorldEncores! Cast Recording featuring Andrea Martin, Marin Mazzie, La Chanze, Ken Page, Gregg Edelman, Ernie Sabella, and Peter Scolari | music director, conductor, associate producer | DRG Records | ||
| 1995 | Pal JoeyEncores! Cast Recording featuring Patti LuPone, Peter Gallagher, and Bebe Neuwirth | music director, conductor, associate producer | DRG Records | ||
| 1995 | Call Me MadamEncores! Cast Recording featuring Tyne Daly | music director, conductor, associate producer | DRG Records | ||
| 1994 | A Prairie Home Companion 20th Anniversary Collection | piano | HighBridge Productions | ||
| 1992 | Shaking the Blues AwayGarrison Keillor with Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra | conductor, piano, liner notes | Angel Records/EMI | ||
| 1990 | Local Man Moves to the CityGarrison Keillor with Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra | conductor | HighBridge Productions | ||
| 1990 | Garrison Keillor's American Radio Company: The First SeasonGarrison Keillor with Rob Fisher and the Coffee Club Orchestra | conductor | HighBridge Productions | ||
| 1987 | George and Ira Gershwin's Of Thee I Sing and Let ’Em Eat CakeStudio Cast Recording featuring Maureen McGovern, Larry Kert, Jack Gilford, and Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the Orchestra of St. Luke's | associate music director | CBS Records | Grammy nomination | |
| 1980 | A Day in Hollywood, a Night in the UkraineOriginal Broadway Cast Recording | piano | DRG Records |