Ted Sperling is a

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the di ...

, conductor, orchestrator,

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchest ...

, stage director and musician, primarily for the stage and concerts. He won 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 The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. F ...

, Outstanding Orchestrations, for his work in '' The Light in the Piazza'' in 2005. He is the Artistic Director o
MasterVoices
formerly the Collegiate Chorale.

Career

Sperling was born in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

and started taking violin lessons at age 5, studied at

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

starting at age 16, and graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...

, summa cum laude at the age of 21."Theater:Ted Sperling"
citypaper.net, August 15–21, 2002 Sperling has been the musical director, conductor, stage director and/or arranger for such

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 ...

musicals as the revival of ''

South Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

'' (2008) and ''The Light in the Piazza'' (2005), and for some ten

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

musicals, starting with ''Gus and Al'' in 1989 through ''Striking 12'' in 2006. He appeared on-stage in the musical ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, Unite ...

'' (1997) as a performer and one of the on-stage trio of musicians. He began stage directing in regional theatre in 2001, and then directed the musical ''

See What I Wanna See ''See What I Wanna See'' is a musical by Michael John LaChiusa based on three short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa: "Kesa and Morito", "In a Grove" (1922, the inspiration for Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film ''Rashomon'') and '' Dragon: the Old Potte ...

'', both regionally and

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

, in 2004 and 2005. He is the musical conductor for concerts for performer

Victoria Clark Victoria Clark (born October 10, 1959) is an American actress, musical theatre singer and director. Clark has performed in numerous Broadway musicals and in other theatre, film and television works. Her soprano voice can also be heard on innu ...

. The two met at Yale University, when they sang in the Yale Chapel Choir and he was also the first violist in the Yale Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted concerts for

Audra McDonald Audra Ann McDonald (born July 3, 1970) is an American actress and singer. Primarily known for her work on the Broadway stage, she has won six Tony Awards, more performance wins than any other actor, and is the only person to win in all four act ...

, such as her Houston Grand Opera debut in March 2006 and her New York Philharmonic New Year's Eve concert, December 31, 2006. In 2013 he was named Artistic Director of MasterVoices, formerly The Collegiate Chorale. In 2002 he was named Associate Artistic Director of the

Prince Music Theater The Prince Theater is a non-profit theatrical producing organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and specializing in music theatre, including opera, music drama, musical comedy and experimental forms. Founded in 1984 as the American ...

in Philadelphia, PA . In 2008 he was appointed Director of the

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American L ...

's Musical Theatre Initiative. In 2015 he was named Artistic Director of MasterVoices. As an actor, he appeared on Broadway as the bandleader Wallace Hartley in the original production of ''

'' (1997) and played

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

in a television appearance of

Lenny Bruce Leonard Alfred Schneider (October 13, 1925 – August 3, 1966), known professionally as Lenny Bruce, was an American stand-up comedian, social critic, and satirist. He was renowned for his open, free-wheeling, and critical style of comedy which ...

(portrayed by

Luke Kirby Luke Farrell Kirby (born June 29, 1978) is a Canadian actor. In 2019, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his guest role as Lenny Bruce on the television series ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel''. Early life Kirby was born in Hamilton, Ontario, to Am ...

) during the last episode of Season 2 in ''

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ''The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel'' is an American period comedy-drama television series, created by Amy Sherman-Palladino, that premiered on March 17, 2017, on Amazon Prime Video. Set in the late 1950s and early 1960s, it stars Rachel Brosnahan as ...

''.

Work (selected)

*''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on " The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Runyon, and also b ...

'' (2008) - Musical Director, Vocal and incidental music arrangements *''South Pacific'' (2008) - Musical Director, Conductor *''Striking 12'' (2006), Daryl Roth Theatre, Stage director, *''The Light in the Piazza'' (2005) - Orchestrator, Musical Director, Conductor *''Peter Pan and Wendy'' (2002),

, Philadelphia, Stage Director *''

Lady in the Dark ''Lady in the Dark'' is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fictional fashion magazine ...

'' (2001),

, Philadelphia, Stage Director Perry, Claudi
"Review: ''Lady in the Dark'' "
aislesay.com, accessed July 24, 2009 *''

The Full Monty ''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is ...

'' (2000) - Musical Director, Vocal and incidental music arrangements *''

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' may refer to: * ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (book), a 1952 book written by Shepherd Mead and the inspiration for the musical of the same name. * ''How to Succeed in Bu ...

'' (1995) - Musical Director, Conductor, Vocal and incidental music arrangements *''

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande J ...

'' (1984) Synthesizer

References

External links

*
Internet Off-Broadway Database listing

Official Web Siteplaybill.com, October 26, 2005American Theatre Wing biography at americantheatrewing.org as of October 2005
*MasterVoices website mastervoices.org
Under a Minute: Ted Sperling
ALL ARTS {{DEFAULTSORT:Sperling, Ted Year of birth missing (living people) American choral conductors American male conductors (music) American music arrangers Musicians from New York City People from Manhattan Tony Award winners Yale University alumni Living people Classical musicians from New York (state) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians