If you’re interested in any aspect of musical theatre, you’ve come to the right place! I’m Brian Li, and I’m an active music director and pit orchestra musician. I’ve performed in many theatre productions ranging from the classics to modern favorites. I enjoy writing about my experiences, so feel free to browse around. You’ll find posts ranging from tips and tricks I’ve gathered through my work, as well as specific posts on programming keyboards and sounds for shows I’ve done.
I just finished a run of Legally Blonde the Musical. We had a full pit, and the keyboard setup was absolutely insane. We had three controllers running Keyboard Patch Solutions on a MacBook Pro. Here are a few photos!
Keyboard Setup for "Legally Blonde"
…and a closeup of my setup!
Keyboard 3 for "Legally Blonde"
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I’ve been done with sophomore year for a few days now. It feels somewhat unreal. The thought that I’m almost halfway through college isn’t the most comforting thing ever. Time is passing way too quickly. School’s over, but I’m still keeping busy. I’m currently playing Keyboard 2 for a production of Seussical. It’s my old high school’s spring musical, and I always enjoy going back to play. The show’s very fun, and the fact that we’re using Keyboard Patch Solutions for sound patches makes my life much easier. Closing night is tomorrow evening, and I start tech rehearsals for a production of Legally Blonde next week. Yup, I’m definitely keeping myself busy. Here’s a photo of the setup.
Keyboard Setup in the "Seussical" Pit
Random story… I dropped my iPhone 4 the other day, and the screen shattered. It landed on it’s back, and I still have no clue how the front shattered. Anyway, I went to Apple and paid a little over $150 for a replacement. The accelerometer crapped out on me today for some reason. Restoring the phone to the latest software version did not fix the problem, so I’m going to assume it’s a hardware issue. I lost my jailbreak, but restoring was the only way troubleshooting route after multiple reboots. I’m going to go to Apple again tomorrow. If the phone starts working again, I’m not going to be a happy person. Regardless, hopefully I’ll walk out with a working phone. I wonder if they’ll give me a refund for the screen protectors I bought the same day… Again, I won’t be a happy person if they don’t.
Another photo to share – this one’s from The Wedding Singer eight days ago. I miss it already.
The Pit from NU Stage's Production of "The Wedding Singer"
It’s late. Time for bed.
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I just realized I forgot to write about my trip to Wicked’s orchestra pit on Broadway. We went on a much deserved weekend trip in New York over Easter weekend. My main stop was Gershwin Theatre on Broadway – the home of Wicked. Thanks to the wonderful Ben Cohn, I got to sit in the orchestra pit for a Saturday evening performance.
Our meeting time was 7:45 at the stage door. I arrived about half an hour early. I walked around the theatre complex a few times, and pretended to be a tourist entranced by the amazing Broadway lights. I was actually secretly looking for the stage door which I could not find. After walking around the square four times, I actually ran into Ben. It was about 7:50 at that point. We walked over to Starbucks to grab a quick drink before heading into the theatre.
Walking through the Wicked stage door was one of the defining moments of my life. It sounds cheesy, but I felt some sense of serious inspiration and motivation. We went down a couple flights of stairs. The walls were decorated with name tags of past cast members. It felt like some kind of internal hall of fame – very cool. I probably met a dozen people in the span of two minutes – just quick introductions because everyone was getting ready for showtime. I got to meet Dominick Amendum, the conductor. We all chatted in his room for a while, and then Ben took me over to the orchestra pit.
My mind was blown. The pit was so awesome. Guitars, bass, drums, and percussion were on the right side of the conductor. The winds and strings were on the left. The three keyboards basically surround the conductor. It was cramped, but there was so much technology everywhere. I thought about how awful it would be if the sprinkler system went off. I hope they have insurance. Ben set up a chair next to his keyboard for me (a few inches next to an extremely expensive mandolin), and a pair of headphones to listen to the full mix through the Aviom mixer. There were two monitors on top of the piano – a conductor cam and a stage cam. Ben plays on a MIDI’d Yamaha acoustic upright. It’s attached to a computer running Brainspawn Forte with a bunch of synth patches. I really love how Wicked uses a real acoustic piano in the pit – “real” instruments are getting rarer and rarer.
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I just wanted to share a very useful online music tool called MixMyPart. It’s basically a web-based multitrack mixer. The user uploads audio files that are represented by different tracks. It’s great for learning vocal lines because it enables the user to mute anything else that is going on. It’s currently in a demo phase, so go check it out! It will be a paid service when it launches officially. I think it’s well worth the price, and it’s a great tool for singers and actors to learn their parts.
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I’m subbing for The Wizard of Oz in Billerica on Sunday. Can’t wait!
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