Michael Reno (born October 27, 1952 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

) is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, and

theatrical producer A theatrical producer is a person who oversees all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The producer is responsible for the overall financial and managerial functions of a production or venue, raises or provides financial backing, and hire ...

who is a frequent collaborator of theatrical entrepreneur Peter Schneider. Reno is a member of the Reno family for whom the city of

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada-California border, about north from Lake Tahoe, known as "The Biggest Little City in the World". Known for its casino and tourism industry, Reno is the ...

is named, and a descendant of

Marcus Reno Marcus Albert Reno (November 15, 1834 – March 30, 1889) was a United States career military officer who served in the American Civil War where he was a combatant in a number of major battles, and later under George Armstrong Custer in the Gr ...

, who was noted for his role in the

Battle of Little Bighorn The Battle of the Little Bighorn, known to the Lakota people, Lakota and other Plains Indians as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, and also commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lako ...

. Reno is the composer and lyricist of the ''My Songs'' Personalized Children's Music series, and the original producer of the

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

stage version of

Sister Act (musical) ''Sister Act'' is a musical based on the hit 1992 film of the same name with music by Alan Menken, lyrics by Glenn Slater, book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, and additional material by Douglas Carter Beane. After having a regional premiere i ...

. He is the musical supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator of the most recent reconceived version of the Rodgers and Hart classic musical "Pal Joey" as well as the composer and lyricist of ''Between Judy and the Moon'': ''Stonewall'', a work for male chorus which commemorates the riots at New York's

Stonewall Inn The Stonewall Inn, often shortened to Stonewall, is a gay bar and recreational tavern in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City, and the site of the Stonewall riots of 1969, which is widely considered to be the sin ...

in June 1969. As a director and musical director, Reno's work has been seen around the world, in venues ranging from Montreal's Place des Artes, Shanghai's Center Theater, and the Vienna Concert House, to New York's Madison Square Garden, L.A.'s Universal Amphitheater, the White House, and many major hotels in Las Vegas including Caesar's Palace, Mandalay Bay, and The Bellagio. Reno began his professional career at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, where in 1976 he premiered his musical ''Revelation''. His other stage musicals include: ''Quarks - The First Minute'', ''Three Down, Four Across: Love'', ''Gypsies'', and ''Tidal Wave''. He was the Musical Director and arranger for the original San Francisco production of ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

'', and wrote the song that became an unofficial anthem for the city of

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

in the 1970s and 1980s: ''San Francisco Bye-Bye.'' He is also known for his work on the movies ''

Twice Upon a Christmas ''Twice Upon a Christmas'' is a 2001 film directed by Tibor Takács. A sequel to the 2000 PAX television film, '' Once Upon a Christmas'', it stars most of the original cast from the first film. The filming location was in Vancouver, British C ...

'' and ''North 'Cross Jordan'', as well as his contributions to the

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

pageant, and many television projects for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

. He also worked as conductor and arranger for band leader

Lawrence Welk Lawrence Welk (March 11, 1903 – May 17, 1992) was an American accordionist, bandleader, and television impresario, who hosted the '' The Lawrence Welk Show'' from 1951 to 1982. His style came to be known as "champagne music" to his radio, te ...

at the Welk theater in Escondido, California. Reno was active for years in the

Industrial musical An industrial musical is a musical performed internally for the employees or shareholders of a business to create a feeling of being part of a team, to entertain, and/or to educate and motivate the management and salespeople to improve sales an ...

industry, working for clients such as the

Shaklee Shaklee Corporation is an American manufacturer and distributor of natural nutrition supplements, beauty products, and household products. The company is based in Pleasanton, California with global operations in Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, ...

Corporation,

Kawasaki Motorcycles Kawasaki motorcycles are manufactured by the Motorcycle & Engine division of Kawasaki Heavy Industries. History Kawasaki Aircraft initially manufactured motorcycles under the Meguro name, having bought an ailing motorcycle manufacturer, Megu ...

, Supercuts, the

Marriott Corporation Marriott Corporation was a hospitality company that operated from 1927 until 1993, founded by J. Willard Marriott and Frank J. Kimball as Hot Shoppes, Inc. In 1957, Marriott Corporation opened its first hotel in Arlington County, Virginia, ...

, the

Charles Schwab Corporation The Charles Schwab Corporation is an American multinational financial services company. It offers banking, commercial banking, investing and related services including consulting, and wealth management advisory services to both retail and instit ...

and many others. He co-founded and was Vice President of Command Performance Productions, and founded Music for Conventions.

References

External links

* http://www.michaelrenomusic.com * http://www.stonewallmusic.org * http://www.mysongs.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Reno, Michael American male composers 20th-century American composers Living people 21st-century American composers American musical theatre composers 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians 1952 births