Bringing Broadway's incredible musicians from the pit to the stage!
Maria Conti, violin
Violinist Maria Kistner Conti is a versatile soloist, chamber musician and symphonic musician. Maria has performed at Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Concert Hall and Weill Recital Hall in New York City, in concert halls across the country, and abroad, in Peru and Venezuela. She was the Assistant Concertmaster of the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra from 2004-2012 and the Concertmaster of Les Miserables on Broadway until it recently closed. Maria has subbed with the Metropolitan Opera since 2009 and this past summer she was the Concertmaster of the Phoenicia Festival of the Voice. She has served as acting Concertmaster for the Norwalk Symphony Orchestra, the Greater Bridgeport Symphony, the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, and the Hudson Valley Philharmonic and is the Concertmaster of the Blue Hill Troupe. Ms. Conti occasionally plays concertos with orchestra and she performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the American Chamber Orchestra and the Connecticut Valley Chamber Orchestra, and was a soloist with the Norwalk Symphony in 2011. She toured the west coast as Concertmaster of the Barbizon Chamber Orchestra, performed in Oman as part of the Glimmerglass Opera and toured Japan with the Metropolitan Opera.
Maria has also collaborated with popular artists such as Andrea Bocelli, Twenty One Pilots (on Saturday Night Live), Kelly Clarkson, Taylor Swift and Jessica Simpson, and performed for the Country Music Awards in 2011 and 2016. She worked with Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga for their PBS special: Cheek to Cheek, and was a part of America’s Got Talent for the past 2 years, on stage and as part of the recorded strings for many acts on the show. She also recently worked for Mozart In The Jungle. Maria improvises and writes string parts as a member of the “Eric Stuart Band” which released their album “Lipstick and Barbed Wire” in 2013, and an EP called “Character” in 2015. Her album of original songs with her band “Fearless Juan” can be heard at: www.fearlessjuan.com. Ms. Conti received her Master’s degree from the Manhattan School of Music, where she studied with Burton Kaplan and Luci Robert.
Katherine Cherbas, cello
Cellist Katherine Cherbas has the privilege of performing “Memory” eight times a week at the Neil Simon Theatre as a member of the CATS orchestra. Over the last ten years, she has played in the ensembles for twenty other Broadway shows, including On The Town, Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, and Aladdin. As an orchestral player, she has performed with many of the area’s noted ensembles, including the New York Philharmonic, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and the American and New Jersey Symphonies. Katherine has shared the stage with artists ranging from Joshua Bell and Yo-Yo Ma to Donna Summer and Sir Paul McCartney.
Her interests as a chamber musician range from Baroque continuo playing to collaborations with composers on new works. She has recorded on the Albany, Tzadik, Harmolodic, Delos, Naxos, and Sony labels and has been heard on NBC’s Today Show, BBC3 Radio, Live from Lincoln Center, Great Performances, and other national and international broadcasts.
After studying at the Indiana University School of Music while in high school, Katherine moved to New York City and completed an undergraduate degree at Columbia University, a master’s degree from The Juilliard School, and a doctoral degree at SUNY-Stony Brook.
Danny Percefull, piano
Originally from Tulsa, OK, Danny studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He is currently the associate conductor for the revival of Miss Saigon, opening at the Broadway Theater in March, 2017. He was the assistant conductor of the 25th anniversary production of Les Misérables and also served as the associate conductor for Follies in Los Angeles, assistant conductor of the first national tour of A Chorus Line, and the associate conductor of Altar Boyz Off-Broadway. Danny has worked on several productions at City Center Encores, is a frequent audition pianist and coach, and loves being able to play with some of the best and most diverse musicians every day.
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