Michael Starobin

Michael Starobin
Name	Michael Starobin
Background	non_performing_personnel
Birth date	1955
Birth place	New York City
Occupation	Orchestrator, arranger, conductor, composer
Years active	1978–present
Associated acts	Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine, Jonathan Larson, Tom Kitt, Jason Robert Brown

Michael Starobin is an American orchestrator, arranger, conductor, and composer notable for his contributions to musical theatre, film, and television. Over a career spanning Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theatre, he has collaborated with leading playwrights and composers to shape the sonic identities of shows that include revival and original productions. His work has received critical acclaim and multiple awards for orchestration and musical direction.

Early life and education

Born in New York City, Starobin grew up amid the cultural institutions of Manhattan and the broader New York metropolitan area. He studied piano and composition at an early age and pursued formal training at institutions connected to Juilliard School-adjacent programs and conservatory traditions in New York City. Influences from performances at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Broadway houses informed his sensibility toward orchestral color and chamber textures. Early mentors included figures associated with American Theatre Wing and composition teachers who had ties to the traditions of George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein, and Aaron Copland.

Career

Starobin's professional career began in the late 1970s and early 1980s with assignments in Off-Broadway productions and regional theatres in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. He built a reputation through collaborations with directors and writers from institutions such as Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, and Manhattan Theatre Club. His Broadway breakthrough came with high-profile productions where he provided orchestrations that balanced chamber intimacy and theatrical dynamics, working with artistic teams associated with Stephen Sondheim, James Lapine, and Michael John LaChiusa. Starobin's career extends into film and television scoring projects tied to producers from Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, and networks like PBS and HBO. He has served as musical director and conductor for premieres at venues including Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, and regional companies like Goodman Theatre.

Notable compositions and arrangements

Starobin is best known for orchestrations and arrangements that reimagine piano-vocal scores for full musical ensembles. His work includes orchestrations for major Broadway productions and revivals associated with titles performed at Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Imperial Theatre, and St. James Theatre. He arranged material for recordings and cast albums released by labels that collaborate with Decca Records, Sony Classical, and Nonesuch Records. Specific notable projects involved adapting scores by composers such as Jonathan Larson, Jason Robert Brown, Tom Kitt, and Stephen Sondheim, as well as arranging incidental music for plays by dramatists like Arthur Miller and Neil Simon. Starobin's orchestral palettes often feature woodwind doublings, brass colorations, and string voicings informed by the practices of Broadway orchestration traditions established by orchestrators linked to Robert Russell Bennett and Orchestra of St. Luke's-style ensembles.

Awards and nominations

Throughout his career, Starobin has received recognition from major institutions including nominations and awards from Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award ceremonies. He earned nominations for Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and has been honored by the Pulitzer Prize-adjacent artists in the theatrical community through critical accolades in publications tied to The New York Times and The New Yorker. Professional organizations such as the American Theatre Wing and unions representing musicians in Broadway League-affiliated productions have acknowledged his contributions with industry commendations. His cast recordings and revival orchestrations have also been recognized by recording-industry awards connected to labels and critics from Gramophone and Billboard.

Collaborations and influences

Starobin's collaborators read like a who's who of contemporary musical theatre: composers and lyricists including Stephen Sondheim, Jonathan Larson, Jason Robert Brown, Tom Kitt, and Michael John LaChiusa; directors and book writers such as James Lapine, Diane Paulus, and Arthur Laurents; and conductors and musical directors affiliated with New York Philharmonic, American Ballet Theatre, and leading Broadway pits. He has influenced and been influenced by orchestrators and arrangers tied to the legacies of Robert Russell Bennett, Don Walker, Nelson Riddle, and contemporary colleagues affiliated with Lincoln Center Theater and Roundabout Theatre Company. Emerging composers and orchestrators from programs connected to Juilliard School, Yale School of Drama, and Curtis Institute of Music cite his attention to color and dramaturgical restraint as formative.

Personal life

Starobin resides in the New York metropolitan area and maintains ties to musical institutions through teaching, guest lecturing, and mentoring at conservatories and festivals associated with Carnegie Mellon University, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and regional programs at Tanglewood Music Center. He participates in workshops and developmental labs for new musicals produced by organizations such as New York Theatre Workshop and Encores! at City Center. Outside of theatre, his interests include chamber music performance at venues like Alice Tully Hall and collaborations with recording studios linked to Abbey Road Studios-style production teams.

Category:American musical theatre arrangers Category:American orchestrators Category:People from New York City