Michael Gibson (September 29, 1944 – July 15, 2005) was a

musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general term used to designate one who follows music as a profession. Musicians include songwriters who wri ...

trombonist The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

and

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

, nominated twice for the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

Tony Award for Best Orchestrations The Tony Award for Best Orchestrations is awarded to acknowledge the contributions of musical orchestrators in both musicals and plays. The award has been given since 1997. Winners and nominees 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Award records Mult ...

. He won the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. This category was eliminated with the 2011� ...

for '' My One and Only'' in 1983.

Work

Gibson began his career as a studio musician in New York City, often working with James Brown. In 1972 he changed direction, to become an orchestrator. Best known for his work on the original

motion picture A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

version of '' Grease'' (1978) and the Broadway musicals '' Steel Pier'' (1997) and ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining o ...

'' (revival, 1998), Gibson frequently worked with the famous composer-lyricist partnership of

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

and

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Riv ...

; his long-standing relationship with Kander began with ''

Woman of the Year ''Woman of the Year'' is a 1942 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by George Stevens and starring Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn. The film was written by Ring Lardner Jr. and Michael Kanin (with uncredited work on the rewritten ...

'' (1981). He received four additional

nominations: for ''

Anything Goes ''Anything Goes'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The original book was a collaborative effort by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, heavily revised by the team of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The story concerns madcap ant ...

'' (1988), ''Steel Pier'' (1997), ''Cabaret'' (1998), and the 'dexterously orchestrated' '' The Wild Party'' (2000). Gibson also worked on

motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, including

Merchant Ivory A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...

's '' Roseland'' (1976), for which he composed, arranged and orchestrated, and

Robert Benton Robert Douglas Benton (born September 29, 1932) is an American screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the writer and director of the film ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', for which he won the Academy Award for Best Director and Best Adapted S ...

's thriller '' Still of the Night'' (1982), orchestrating Kander's score. He orchestrated solo shows for dancers and performers, including Liza Minnelli, and, with Jonathan Tunick, the 1993 musical revue, A Grand Night for Singing
Film Reference
has a more complete list. Gibson was known for a big, jazzy musical sound with plenty of brass, which dancers love. His last venture was ''All Shook Up (2005)'', which he co-orchestrated with Stephen Oremus. Gibson's wife donated his archive to the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

in 2006.

Personal life

Gibson was born and raised in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

and attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

for two years before transferring to the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

in Boston, Massachusetts to study music composition and theory. He was also a licensed pilot, and he and Larry Blank flew together. Gibson died in

Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about west of New York City and about west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,157,

in July 2005 after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was survived by his wife of 21 years, Ellen, and son Andrew.

References

External links

* *
Michael Gibson scores, 1977-2005
Music Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.

1944 births 2005 deaths Berklee College of Music alumni Deaths from lung cancer Harvard University alumni Musicians from Wilmington, Delaware {{US-music-bio-stub