Wally Harper (c. 1941 – October 8, 2004) was an American
musical director, composer,
conductor, dance arranger, and musical supervisor for many
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 ...
and
Off-Broadway productions. For three decades from the mid-1970s, he worked with
Barbara Cook
Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...
as pianist, music director and arranger.
Career
Harper was born in
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city prop ...
. His mother was a music teacher, and by age 12 he was playing the piano in church. He was a graduate of the
New England Conservatory and the
Juilliard School of Music, and first worked preparing vocal arrangements for the Broadway musical ''Half a Sixpence'' in 1965.
[Vallance, To]
"Wally Harper.Composer/arranger best known for his work with Barbara Cook"
''The Independent'' (UK), October 14, 2004
Harper composed two musicals, with book and lyrics by
Sherman Yellen
Sherman Yellen (born February 25, 1932, New York City) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and political commentator.
Early life and education
Sherman Yellen was born in 1932 to Nathan and Lillian Yellen. He attended the High School of Mu ...
. The first was ''Say Yes!'' Which was produced at the Berkshire Theatre Festival,
Stockbridge, Massachusetts in 2000. The second was ''Josephine Tonight!'', which was produced (posthumously) by Theatre Building Chicago in 2006, and received praise from ''The Chicago Sun Times'' for his fine score.
He also composed the Off-Broadway musical, ''Sensations'' (1970), and several songs for ''Irene'' (1973), as well as dance music for the film, ''The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (1982). Harper worked as musical director or arranger on Broadway musicals including ''A Day in Hollywood/A Night in The Ukraine'' (1980), ''
Nine
9 is a number, numeral, and glyph.
9 or nine may also refer to:
Dates
* AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era
* 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era
* 9, numerical symbol for the month of September
Places
* Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...
'' (1982) and ''
My One and Only'' (1983).
[Sisario, Be]
Wally Harper, 63, Arranger and Composer, Dies"
''The New York Times'', October 13, 2004 He produced the original cast recordings of those musicals, as well as the
Pointer Sisters' revival of ''
Ain't Misbehavin''' and
Tommy Tune
Thomas James Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won ten Tony Awards, the National Medal of Arts, and a star on the Hollywood Wal ...
's ''Slow Dancin.
As a symphony conductor, Harper conducted such orchestras as the
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...
, the
Royal Philharmonic
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works.
The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...
, the
BBC Orchestra, the
Melbourne Symphony and the
Philadelphia Orchestra. He performed at
The White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 180 ...
for four administrations.
Donating his time and experience, Harper served as guest lecturer for the Juilliard School and the Broadway Musical Theatre Projec
with
Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) ( he, אוּנִיבֶרְסִיטַת תֵּל אָבִיב, ''Universitat Tel Aviv'') is a public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Locate ...
.
He began working with Barbara Cook in the mid-1970s as her musical director, accompanist and arranger.
[ Their first major collaboration was a Carnegie Hall concert in January 1975.][ The two went on to play "clubs, theatres and concert halls worldwide."][ During Harper's collaboration with Cook, he arranged and conducted the CD, ''Oscar Winners: The Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II''. He produced and arranged ''It's Better With a Band'', for which he wrote the title song and ''The Disney Album'', arranged for symphony orchestra. He co-produced ''Close as Pages in a Book'', celebrating the lyrics of ]Dorothy Fields
Dorothy Fields (July 15, 1904 – March 28, 1974) was an American librettist and lyricist. She wrote over 400 songs for Broadway musicals and films. Her best-known pieces include "The Way You Look Tonight" (1936), "A Fine Romance" (1936), " On t ...
, ''Barbara Cook: Live from London'', ''Barbara Cook at Carnegie Hall'', ''As of Today'', ''All I Ask of You'', ''The Champion Season'' and the CD ''Barbara Cook Sings Mostly Sondheim''. "Cook and Mr. Harper were one of the successful professional marriages in show business. Together, they created intimate piano-and-voice shows for boites and more lavish orchestral concerts for venues such as Carnegie Hall.[Jones, Kenneth]
"Wally Harper, Arranger, Musical Director and Pianist Who Was Barbara Cook's Longtime Collaborator, Has Died"
Playbill.com, October 8, 2004
Harper died of cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and poss ...
in New York October 8, 2004.[
]
Works
*Broadway
**1970 - ''Company'' (Musical Supervisor, Dance Arrangements)
**1973 - ''Irene'' (Incidental music, Dance arrangements and Assistant Conductor)
**1979 - ''The Grand Tour'' (Musical Direction)
**1979 - ''Peter Pan'' (Dance Arrangements)
**1980 - ''A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine'' (Musical Director/Vocal and Dance Arranger)
**1980 - ''Brigadoon'' (musical director and Vocal arrangements)
**1982 - ''Nine'' (musical director)
**1983 - ''My One and Only'' (Musical Concept/Dance Arranger)
**1983 - ''5-6-7-8...Dance!'' (Composer/Musical Supervisor)
**1984 - ''The Three Musketeers'' (Dance Arrangements)
**1987 - ''Barbara Cook: A Concert for the Theatre'' (Music arranged and conducted by/Original Songs (Music))
**1989 - ''Grand Hotel'' (Music Supervision/Additional Music)
**1992 - ''My Favorite Year'' (Dance Arrangements)
**1994 - ''The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public'' (Musical Supervision/Vocal and Dance Arrangements)
**2002 - ''Mostly Sondheim'' (musical director, Arranger and Pianist)
**2004 - ''Barbara Cook's Broadway!'' (musical director and Pianist)
*Off-Broadway
References
External links
*
Wally Harper
at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
Photo of Wally Harper and Barbara CookWally Harper papers, 1960-2009
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harper, Wally
2004 deaths
American male composers
American composers
American conductors (music)
American male conductors (music)
Year of birth uncertain