Michael Reno (born October 27, 1952, in Los Angeles, California) is an American composer, arranger, orchestrator, and theatrical producer who is a frequent collaborator of theatrical entrepreneur Peter Schneider. Reno is a member of the Reno family for whom the city of Reno, Nevada, is named, and a descendant of Marcus Reno, who was noted for his role in the Battle of Little Bighorn.
Reno is the composer and lyricist of the My Songs Personalized Children's Music series, and the original producer of the musical theatre stage version of Sister Act (musical). He is the musical supervisor, arranger, and orchestrator of the most recent reconceived version of the Rodgers and Hart classic musical "Pal Joey" as well as the composer and lyricist of Between Judy and the Moon: Stonewall, a work for male chorus which commemorates the riots at New York's Stonewall Inn in June 1969.
As a director and musical director, Reno's work has been seen around the world, in venues ranging from Montreal's Place des Artes, Shanghai's Center Theater, and the Vienna Concert House, to New York's Madison Square Garden, L.A.'s Universal Amphitheater, the White House, and many major hotels in Las Vegas including Caesar's Palace, Mandalay Bay, and The Bellagio.
Reno began his professional career at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan, where in 1976 he premiered his musical Revelation. His other stage musicals include: Quarks - The First Minute, Three Down, Four Across: Love, Gypsies, and Tidal Wave. He was the Musical Director and arranger for the original San Francisco production of The Rocky Horror Show, and wrote the song that became an unofficial anthem for the city of San Francisco in the 1970s and 1980s: San Francisco Bye-Bye. He is also known for his work on the movies Twice Upon a Christmas and North 'Cross Jordan, as well as his contributions to the Miss America pageant, and many television projects for NBC. He also worked as conductor and arranger for band leader Lawrence Welk at the Welk theater in Escondido, California.
Reno was active for years in the Industrial musical industry, working for clients such as the Shaklee Corporation, Kawasaki Motorcycles, Supercuts, the Marriott Corporation, the Charles Schwab Corporation and many others. He co-founded and was Vice President of Command Performance Productions, and founded Music for Conventions.
References
- Isherwood, Charles (20 April 2011). "Different Church, More Sequins". The New York Times. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- Fancy, Steven (2007). Genealogy of the Reno/Reneau Family in America, 1600-1930. Jerome Reno, Generation No.3, 4.: S.G. Fancy; May 2001 ed edition (2001). ASIN B0006RYVSO.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) - Smedley, Lauri (2011). Virtual Entrepreneurship: Creating and Operating a Home-based Online Business. Nor-Cal Publishing Services; 1ST edition (2011). ISBN 978-0-9832071-0-8.
- Suskin, Steven (20 April 2011). "Sister Act". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2012.
- Bass, Kelley (12 September 2013). "Pal Joey: a winning revamp". Arkansas Times.
- Carter, David (2004). Stonewall: the riots that sparked the gay revolution. St. Martin's Griffin, New York. ISBN 0-312-20025-0.
- Stockdale, Joe (2002). Man in the Spangled Pants. Allegan Forest, Michigan: The Priscilla Press. pp. 131–140. ISBN 1-886167-17-6.
- Taylor, Robert (6 February 1976). "Rocky a Drag Not a Bore". San Francisco Tribune.
- McNight, Sharon (1994). The B&B Years. Los Angeles, California: Jezebel Music.
- ^ Buttelman, Michele (3 November 2006). "A long Journey from 'Nowhere' to 'Sister Act'". The Santa Clarita Valley Signal.
- Erickson, Hal (2000). From Beautiful Downtown Burbank. North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 282. ISBN 978-0-7864-4049-8.