Sarah Travis is a British

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 ...

and musical supervisor for theatre and film. She received the

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 ...

and 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 the 2005 revival of

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

's ''

Sweeney Todd Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as the villain of the penny dreadful serial ''The String of Pearls'' (1846–47). The original tale became a feature of 19th-century melodrama and London urban legend, legend. A barber fr ...

''.

Career

Travis attended City University and

Guildhall School of Music and Drama The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

.Biography
sunsetlondon.com, accessed 25 July 2009 She has been the musical supervisor and/or orchestrator for many musicals, both in the West End and at regional British theatres. Some of the latter include '' Crazy for You'' and '' Me and My Girl'' (Aberystwyth); ''

Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...

'' (Belfast Lyric); '' Pal Joey'' (York). Additionally, she has composed music for several shows, such as ''

Dick Whittington Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) of the parish of St Michael Paternoster Royal, City of London, was an English merchant and a politician of the late medieval period. He is also the real-life inspiration for the English folk tale ''Dick ...

'' at the

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, and seven other

pantomimes Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...

for Chipping Norton. She was the musical director and arranger for ''

Privates on Parade ''Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts'' is a 1977 farce by English playwright Peter Nichols (book and lyrics), with music by Denis King. Plot The play is set around the activities and exploits of the fictional Song and Dance Uni ...

'' at the

West Yorkshire Playhouse Leeds Playhouse is a theatre in the city centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire. Having originally opened in 1970 in a different location in Leeds, it reopened as West Yorkshire Playhouse, on Quarry Hill, in March 1990. After a refurbishment in 2018-20 ...

and

Birmingham Repertory Theatre Birmingham Repertory Theatre, commonly called Birmingham Rep or just The Rep, is a producing theatre based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England. Founded by Barry Jackson, it is the longest-established of Britain's building-based theatre c ...

Company (15 September 2008 to 11 October 2008). She was also the music supervisor for the

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

Marple series television movie ''

Sleeping Murder ''Sleeping Murder: Miss Marple's Last Case'' is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in October 1976 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year. The UK edit ...

'' (2006).

Watermill Theatre

Travis has had a long relationship with the

Watermill Theatre The Watermill Theatre is a repertory theatre in Bagnor, Berkshire. It opened in 1967 in Bagnor Mill, a converted watermill on the River Lambourn. As a producing house, the theatre has produced works that have subsequently moved on to the We ...

, Newbury. Several of her productions there have gone on to West End runs. Her Watermill productions have included '' Piaf'', a play by

Pam Gems Pam Gems (1 August 1925 – 13 May 2011) was an English playwright. The author of numerous original plays, as well as of adaptations of works by European playwrights of the past, Gems is best known for the 1978 musical play '' Piaf''. Personal ...

, for which Travis prepared musical arrangements for an "abbreviated version" in 2001. She composed the original music for ''A Star Danced'' (2003) and arranged a swing version of ''

H.M.S. Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, whic ...

'', entitled ''Pinafore Swing'', in 2004. One reviewer mentioned her "glorious arrangements". She was the musical supervisor and orchestrator of the revival of ''

'', which started at the

in 2004 and transferred to both the West End (2004) and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

(2005). Stephen Sondheim said of Travis' work on this production: "I think what she's done is absolutely brilliant.... The variety of sounds she's gotten out of the instruments and also the practical way in which they allow John oyleto work with the performers onstage is extraordinary. But what got me most about the orchestrations is what they did for the play's atmosphere. These are wonderfully weird textures." Travis was the Musical Supervisor and orchestrator for the Watermill and London revival of ''

Mack and Mabel ''Mack and Mabel'' (often stylized as Mack & Mabel) is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. The plot involves the tumultuous romantic relationship between Hollywood director Mack Sennett and Mabel Norman ...

'' (2005–2006). She is working with producer-director

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is best ...

on several projects, in the theatre production company CRH Theatre Productions, including a jazz version of ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'' and the 2010-11 UK tour of ''

Chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

'', which also transferred to the Princess of Wales Theatre, Toronto in September 2011. Their revival of ''

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...

'' opened in the West End at the

Comedy Theatre The Harold Pinter Theatre, known as the Comedy Theatre until 2011,

, in December 2008, after first playing at the Watermill Theatre in July 2008.Staff
"Revel Horwood Lines up More Actor-Musician Revivals???"
whatsonstage.com, 24 September 2008 The latest collaboration with Craig Revel-Horwood is Fiddler on the Roof, which is currently touring the UK with Paul Michael-Glaser as Tevye.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Sarah Year of birth missing (living people) Living people British music arrangers Drama Desk Award winners Tony Award winners 21st-century British conductors (music) British women conductors (music) Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama