Daryl Waters

Daryl Waters
Born	Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Genres	Orchestra
Occupation(s)	Composer, arranger, orchestrator, conductor
Instrument	Keyboards

Daryl Waters is an American composer, arranger, conductor, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. ^{[1] [2]} He has received numerous Tony Award and Drama Desk Award nominations for orchestration, and won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Memphis . ^{[3] [4]}

Life and career

Waters was born in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from Livingstone College in Salisbury, North Carolina. ^[5] He made his Broadway debut as associate conductor on Leader of the Pack in 1985. He was the co-composer of the musical Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk , which earned him a Tony Award and Grammy Award nomination in 1996. ^[6]

Waters is a member of the American Federation of Musicians and the Dramatists Guild of America. ^[7] He has collaborated with artists such as Eartha Kitt, Leslie Uggams, Sammy Davis Jr., Jennifer Holliday, Nell Carter and more. ^[8]

Stage credits

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Ref.
1985	Leader of the Pack	Associate Conductor	Broadway, Ambassador Theatre	[9]
1992	Jelly's Last Jam		Broadway, Virginia Theatre
1996	Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk	Composer, Orchestrator	Broadway, Ambassador Theatre
1997	Street Corner Symphony	Arranger, Orchestrator	Broadway, Brooks Atkinson Theatre
2004	Drowning Crow	Composer	Broadway, Biltmore Theatre
2005	The Color Purple	Dance arrangements	Broadway, Broadway Theatre
2009	Memphis	Orchestrator	Broadway, Shubert Theatre
2013	After Midnight	Music Supervisor, Additional arrangements	Broadway, Brooks Atkinson Theatre
2014	Holler If Ya Hear Me	Arranger, Orchestrator	Broadway, Palace Theatre
2016	Shuffle Along, or, the Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed		Broadway, Music Box Theatre
2018	The Cher Show		Broadway, Neil Simon Theatre
2023	New York, New York	Orchestrator	Broadway, St. James Theatre
2024	Water for Elephants		Broadway, Imperial Theatre
	A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical	Additional orchestrations	Broadway, Studio 54
2025	Gypsy	Additional arrangements, orchestrations	Broadway, Majestic Theatre
	Boop! The Musical	Additional arrangements, Music Director	Broadway, Broadhurst Theatre
	Pirates! The Penzance Musical	Orchestrations	Broadway, Todd Haimes Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
1996	Tony Awards	Best Original Score	Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk	Nominated	[10]
	Grammy Awards	Best Musical Show Album		Nominated	[6]
2010	Tony Awards	Best Orchestrations	Memphis	Won	[11]
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Orchestrations		Won	[12]
2016	Tony Awards	Best Orchestrations	Shuffle Along	Nominated	[13]
2023	Tony Awards	Best Orchestrations	New York, New York	Nominated	[14]
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Orchestrations		Nominated	[15]
	Outer Critics Circle Award	Outstanding Orchestrations		Nominated	[16]
2019	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Orchestrations	The Cher Show	Nominated	[17]

References

1. "East Cleveland native Daryl Waters talks about his Tony award-winning career as orchestrator". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
2. "Black conductors make history on Broadway". newpittsburghcourier.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
3. "Daryl Waters". broadwayworld.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
4. "WINNERS / 2010 (DARYL WATERS)". tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
5. "Salisbury Post". issuu.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
6. "Daryl Waters". grammy.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
7. "Daryl Waters". dramatistsguild.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
8. "DARYL WATERS". thehistorymakers.org. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
9. "Daryl Waters". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 2025-08-03.
10. "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS". tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
11. "WINNERS / 2010". tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
12. "The 55th Annual Drama Desk Awards Winners". newyorktheatreguide.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
13. "2016 Tony Award Nominations". tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
14. "2023 Tony Awards Nominees". tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
15. "2022-2023 Drama Desk Awards nominations announced". ny1.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
16. "Outer Critics Circle nominations: 'New York, New York' leads with 12, 'Leopoldstadt' has 6". goldderby.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.
17. "Nominations for the 2019 Drama Desk Awards Announced; Oklahoma!, Tootsie, Rags Parkland Lead the Pack". playbill.com. Retrieved 2023-05-07.

External links

• Daryl Waters at the Internet Broadway Database