John Bucchino

Broadway and Off-Broadway

His work includes Off-Broadway shows such as Urban Myths, Lavender Girl (part of 3hree produced by Hal Prince at the Prince Music Theater), and It's Only Life. Bucchino made his Broadway debut as composer/lyricist of A Catered Affair, featuring four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein as bookwriter and co-star. The out-of-town production received mixed reviews in its San Diego try-out at the Old Globe (September 20 - November 11, 2007). The Broadway production opened on April 17, 2008, with 116 regular performances and 27 previews performed between March 24 and July 27, 2008, winning the Drama League Award for Distinguished Production of a Musical. The show has received subsequent productions by Chicago's Porchlight Music Theatre, the Atlanta-area Aurora Theatre, and the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Concerts and recordings

In addition to cast recordings of shows, Bucchino has released several CDs of his own music, featuring artists such as Art Garfunkel, Judy Collins, Liza Minnelli, Patti LuPone, Kristin Chenoweth, Michael Feinstein and others, as well as the album On Richard Rodgers’ Piano (2003). The latter album features Bucchino playing piano interpretations of Rodgers' songs on the earlier composer’s own Steinway and was voted Best Instrumental CD by Show Business Weekly. He has been featured in Broadway revues and concerts, including Lincoln Center's American Songbook series, and given highly acclaimed concerts at venues such as Birdland, The Duplex, and The Hollywood Bowl. His work has been performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and The Boston Pops. It has been heard in performance at Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera, the Sydney Opera House, London's O2 Arena and The White House.

Other projects

In 1993, Bucchino served as musical director of Holly Near: Fire in the Rain. He wrote the songs (music and lyrics) for the Dreamworks picture, Joseph: King of Dreams (2000) produced and orchestrated by Daniel Pelfrey. The film won a Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence and Bucchino's Better Than I won the 2001 Video Premiere Award for Best Song at the DVD Exclusive Awards. Bucchino wrote the lyrics for the children's musical adaptation of Simeon's Gift, a book by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. The work, with a score by Ian Fraser, was performed by the Louisville Orchestra in 2008 conducted by Fraser, with costumed vocalists and Ms. Andrews as "storyteller." As part of their Julie Andrews Collection, Harper Collins published a children's book entitled "Grateful, A Song of Giving Thanks" (based on Bucchino's song/album Grateful), which was awarded the Parents’ Choice Gold Award. In 2010, Bucchino was commissioned by Danish producer Søren Møller to compose the music and lyrics for the musical Esaura, with a book by Mads Æbeløe Nielsen. In 2014, Bucchino worked with Australian musician David Campbell to record David Campbell Sings John Bucchino.

In January 2016, Bucchino's It’s Only Life premiered in Paris, France, performed in concert version by American Musical Theatre Live in the presence of the composer.

Awards and recognition

Bucchino is the recipient of the Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award (1997), the Songwriters' Fellowship Award (1998), the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award (1998), the Second Stage Constance Klinsky Award (2000), the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Commendation Award (2000), the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation and Kleban Awards (2001), and the Fred Ebb Award (2005). He has been featured in Opera News magazine, published by the Metropolitan Opera Guild. Since 1986, he has had close friendship with fellow composer Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz.

Master classes

Bucchino has given masterclasses in songwriting and interpretation at numerous universities and conservatories including, DeSales University, Yale University, Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Indiana University, London's Royal Academy of Music, The Danish Musical Theatre Academy in Fredericia, Denmark, NASDA (National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Arts) in Christchurch, New Zealand, WAAPA (Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts) in Perth, Australia, The Victoria College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia, The Queensland Conservatorium Of Music (Musical Theatre) in Brisbane Australia and the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney, Australia. In January 2016 he gave a master class in France with the Paris-based American Musical Theatre Live.