NATHAN KELLY (Ph.D., MBA, FRSA) is an American composer and arranger best known for his scores for recording artists, such as Andrea Bocelli, Dionne Warwick, Joss Stone, Rod Stewart, the O'Jays, AJR, CeeLo Green, Kristen Chenoweth, Audra McDonald, Lea Salonga, Jessye Norman, Leslie Gore, and Mary J. Blige. His musical contributions have reached the Billboard Top 10 list over a dozen times, been the best-selling holiday album for Jackie Evancho’s Heavenly Christmas, and been seen by millions on television for Macy’s Fireworks Fourth of July, America’s Got Talent, and The Tony Awards.
Kelly's works depict a range blended traditions from early cinematic works to avant-garde styles, in stark contrasts from traditional forms and norms. For his contemporary music, Kelly has been appointed a Visiting Artist at The American Academy of Rome, a Morse Teaching Artist at The Juilliard School, a Thayer Fellowship and Patricia Kerr Ross Award from the NY Council on the Arts, Robert & Carol Morris Center for 21st-Century Music Fellowship, graduated summa cum laude on the Dean’s List for a Doctorate in Philosophy and was a 2024 “Influential Innovator” in Variety.
EDUCATION
Universities & Conservatories
Born in Houston, Texas, Dr. Kelly studied classical and jazz piano at the University of North Texas before graduating with a Bachelors in Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin in Music Theory, studying composition with Donald Grantham and Pulitzer Prize winner Kevin Puts.
Kelly studied 'Screen Scoring' at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, with noted film and television composers Bruce Broughton, Joel McNeely, and was mentored by Thomas Newman after being personally selected by Dean of the Thornton School of Music, Robert Cutietta. While there, Kelly served as a music assistant to the Chairman at Verve Records label within Universal Music Group, working alongside 16-time Grammy winner David Foster. Kelly contributed to arrangements, orchestrations, and transcriptions across multiple albums, receiving feedback from Foster during his training.
He undertook formal graduate training in Music Composition at the Juilliard School in New York City, studying with composers John Corligiano and Matthias Pintscher. Kelly won numerous scholarships and teaching fellowships at Juilliard, including the Morse Teaching Fellowship, through which he instructed gifted composers and performers identified by the school in New York City and its surrounding boroughs.
He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Buffalo with a PhD in Music Composition. He studied composition with David Felder and founded his own Pierrot Ensemble. Additionally, Kelly earned a second Master's Degree in Business Administration from Western Governors University.
Music Festivals
Kelly also took further studies in Music Composition at the Aspen Music Festival and School with film composer Marco Beltrami; at the Tanglewood, Massachusetts Music Festival with Andrè Previn and later assisted Previn as an orchestrator for several of Previn’s orchestral commissions, including Owls; Three Dickinson Poems; Tango, Song, & Dance; and Harp Concerto; the Bowdoin Music Festival with composer Derek Bermel; the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program with Hummie Mann; the Atlantic Center for the Arts with David Felder; the Atlantic Music Festival with composer Reiko Fueting and Pierre Jalbert; and, the June-In-Buffalo Music Festival with composers Hans Abrahamsen and Joshua Fineberg. He was also selected for orchestral recording sessions at the ASCAP ‘Buddy Baker’ film scoring workshop in New York and the ASCAP ‘Richard Bellis’ film scoring workshop in Los Angeles.
CAREER
Stage Work
Kelly began his career in NYC as a pianist and conductor for several Broadway productions, such as Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid, Forbidden Broadway, the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall, The Phantom of the Opera, Gypsy starring Patti LuPone, and Grease. His first work was on Oprah Winfrey's The Color Purple in 2005 where he met celebrated orchestrator Jonathan Tunick, a frequent collaborator with Stephen Sondheim, who would exhibit significant influence on Kelly's arranging and orchestrating career in subsequent years. Kelly then turned his focus to writing orchestrations, contributing several sections of work in collaboration with William David Brohn on Kander and Ebb’s Broadway musical Curtains in 2012. During this period, Kelly also worked as a music copyist for several music publishers, including Schott Helicon International and for various concert composers such as Peter Schickele and Tobias Picker and several workshops for upcoming musicals such as Legally Blonde, An Officer and a Gentleman, and Kander and Ebb’s All About Us.
He also met musical theater veteran Danny Troob, a frequent collaborator with Alan Menken. Troob also became a mentor to Kelly and they worked on several musical theater shows together, notably 101 Dalmatians (2009), Hugh Jackman In Concert (2015), Gypsy starring Patti LuPone (2015), the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall (2015), Newsies (2017), and the Disneyland’s California Adventure attraction Ariel's Undersea Adventure (2013). He also assisted on several of Troob's films and television works, contributing as an orchestrator’s assistant and proofreader on Disney's Enchanted (2008), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Galavant episodes (2017), and Did You Hear About the Morgans (2012). Kelly also orchestrated music for Shanghai Disneyland’s production of Tarzan in 2012 for composer Don Harper.
Kelly also arranged music for the Carnegie Hall debut for singer Lea Salonga in 2005, as well as for singer Audra McDonald at Carnegie Hall in 2009, which was later featured with the New York Philharmonic’s New Year's Eve Concerts in 2010 and later broadcast on PBS Great Performances. He also wrote new introductory fanfare material and song arrangements for Kristen Chenoweth at the Hollywood Bowl with members of the LA Philharmonic in 2010. Chenoweth continues to feature these songs in her world tours as a guest artist with orchestras around the world.
Kelly worked as music assistant for composer Marc Shaiman in Los Angeles during the composing of the musical Catch Me if You Can as proofreader and contributing orchestrator in 2010. He assisted orchestrator William David Brohn as music copyist on Stephen Schwartz's three hour, two-act opera Séance on a Wet Afternoon. Kelly worked with Schwartz on the production's development from 2007 to 2011, participating in various readings, workshops, and several early stage productions before culminating in the final realization and premiere at Opera Santa Barbara in 2009 and New York City Opera in 2011. His music engraving is featured in the final publication by Boosey and Hawkes.
Film and Television
In 2010, Kelly relocated to Hollywood and began orchestrating for various film and television composers, including Christopher Young, Mateo Messina, Vidjay Beerepoot, Alex Heffes, Atli Övarsson, Ryan Shore, Don Harper, and Joseph Trapanese.
Kelly worked for composer Mateo Messina on several film productions in Los Angeles. He orchestrated and conducted several scores for Messina films, such as The Angriest Man in Brooklyn (starring Robin Williams), While We Were Here, and Family Weekend (starring Kristen Chenoweth).
Kelly also orchestrated for composer Joseph Trapanese. In 2023, Kelly wrote orchestrations for the Netflix anime series Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, featuring musical numbers and original musical songs by BenDavid Grabinski, Bryan Lee O'Malley, and Joseph Trapanese. He also made orchestral reductions and suites of Trapanese's films, such as for The Greatest Showman, the video game Wolf Warrior 2, and Oblivion in collaboration with Anthony Gonzalez from M83. Suites and scores were performed live at Spain's Cordoba Festival, Film Festival Ghent, and at the Hollywood Bowl.
Kelly also conducted and orchestrated several scores for composer Vidjay Beerepoot. These scores include the ten-part Netflix series Brussel, the full-length animated feature Triple Trouble, The Power of the Heart (with Maya Angelou and Deepak Chopra), Diversion, Out of Time, and The Club for Ugly Children which was the Grand Prize Winner at the 30th European Youth Film Festival. Kelly’s orchestrations for the score for the full-length animated film The Little Vampire, based on the popular children's book by Angela Sommer-Bodenburg was theatrically released in 3D in 2018 with a song sung by Phoebe Givron-Taylor and was later distributed on Netflix.
Kelly also worked as Music Coordinator for Steven Spielberg's West Side Story.
Recording Artists
While in Los Angeles, Kelly met 16-time Grammy winning music producer David Foster, Chairman of Verve Records at Universal Music Group. He began working on Foster's two-person music team as an assistant at his home studio in Malibu, contributing music and helping to create new orchestrations and arrangements on albums for several artists. During this period, Kelly contributed to projects including Michael Bublé's "Christmas," Andrea Bocelli's "Passione," Mary J. Blige's "A Mary Christmas," and Rod Stewart's "Merry Christmas, Baby," the latter of which was televised on PBS Great Performances, where Kelly also worked as arranger and copyist. He also worked on Bocelli’s companion album Passione (a Deluxe, two-disc edition)[9] and the PBS Special Love in Portofino (2013), in which Kelly also worked as an arranger and copyist. Kelly's arrangement of Quizas, Quizas, Quizas for Bocelli was further re-recorded with Jennifer Lopez as a duet and was televised for multiple public television appearances. The track reached #2 on Billboard Top 10 in 2012. With Foster, Kelly also arranged the track Let It Be Me for Bryan Adams, and is featured as a bonus track on his Live in Japan album in 2013. In addition to musical work, Kelly also assisted with various scheduling duties for Foster and Friends, Foster’s world tour with several all-star recording artists. Kelly can also be seen in the background of various episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills that featured Foster's then-wife Yolanda Hadid.
Kelly has also arranged music for television, Kelly's original vocal and orchestral arrangement of the title song "Somewhere" from West Side Story on Jackie Evancho’s album The Debut (2019), that was also featured live on the finale of ABC’s America's Got Talent the same year. He wrote arrangements of the Star-Spangled Banner and God Bless America played by the Air Force Band live on Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks over New York City that aired on NBC in 2013, incidental music for The Tony Awards, orchestral accompaniments for the touring Irish vocal group Celtic Thunder, vocal soprano Jessye Norman's orchestral concerts, and contributing orchestrations for the musical Mame at the Kennedy Center Honors in 2008.
In 2014 Kelly wrote 21 all-new orchestral arrangements, featuring newly stylized musical ideas and settings from existing tracks by the rock band brothers Ron and Russell Mael, known as SPARKS. These 21 were performed by the duo in an orchestral concert called SPARKS: Live at the Barbican featuring the 28-piece Heritage Orchestra, conducted by Jules Barkley. The show received critical acclaim and was later produced in the United States. The US concert, SPARKS: Live at the Ace Hotel, was performed in Los Angeles in 2016, also receiving critical acclaim. Kelly and his musical arrangements are featured in the two-hour 2021 documentary film The SPARKS Brothers, directed by Edgar Wright.
In 2016, Kelly wrote new interstitial music and arrangements for thirty songs for pianist Jim Brickman. Performances of these musical works from Kelly continue to be used and performed by orchestras by Brickman around the world. Kelly also wrote an arrangement for piano and orchestra of ”The Nutcracker Suite” specifically for Brickman that was recorded and commercially released on his album Comfort and Joy (2017).
During this period, Kelly also collaborated with notable music producers such as Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Bob Rock, Steve Greenberg, John Angier, and Michael Mangini. With the latter two, Kelly worked as an arranger on several noteworthy albums, including Joss Stone's "Soul Sessions II," Dionne Warwick's "Only Trust Your Heart" (2009), AJR's YouTube Live Concert with the OK Orchestra (2021), The O'Jays' album "The Last Word" (2019), and Jackie Evancho's "The Debut," which features a collection of Broadway songs (2019). Additionally, Kelly assisted music producers Walter Afanasieff and Babyface on Barbara Streisand's album "Partners" in 2014. He also closely collaborated with film composer Mateo Messina to produce live concert performances with members of the Seattle Symphony and benefitting the Seattle Children’s Hospital, which showcased artists such as Imogen Heap, Five for Fighting, Pomplamoose, and Thousand Foot Krutch.
AFFILIATIONS
From 2018 to 2021, Dr. Kelly served as Executive Director of Cutting Edge Concerts, a New York City based 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to presenting performances and conversations with leading contemporary composers and ensembles. Hosted at Symphony Space, the series was founded by Dr. Victoria Bond, the first woman to graduate from Juilliard in instrumental conducting.
He has a strong interest in various forms of creative expression beyond music. An avid aficionado of the performing arts, he regularly attends art museums and live theater performances, drawing inspiration from the works of master storytellers in filmmaking and literature. An ardent reader, he is dedicated to lifelong learning and a passionate supporter of education in the arts. He is also a skilled amateur painter who finds joy in creation and self-expression, viewing all art as both a window and mirror to the human experience.
MUSIC FESTIVALS
Aspen Summer Music Festival (CO)
Atlantic Center for the Arts (FL)
Atlantic Music Festival (ME)
Banff Centre for the Arts (Canada)
Bowdoin International Music Festival (ME)
Interlochen Music Festival (MI)
June-In-Buffalo Music Festival (NY)
Mostly Modern Festival (Amsterdam)
Pacific Northwest Film Scoring (WA)
Sarasota Music Festival (FL)
Tanglewood Music Festival (MA)
Wintergreen Academy (VA)
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
American Composers Forum
American Federation of Musicians
American Society of Music Arrangers & Composers
Association of Performing Arts Professionals
Broadcast Music, Inc.
College Music Society
Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts
Freelancers Union
Golden Key International Honour Society
League of American Orchestras
Music Teachers National Association
National Association of Composers
National Honor Society
Phi Kappa Phi
Ravel Society, NYC
Recording Academy (Grammy U Affiliated)
Society of Composers and Lyricists
Society of Composers, Inc. – Region II
Walt Disney College Program
COMPOSER RESIDENCIES
American Academy in Rome
Arts, Letters, & Numbers (NY)
Atlantic Center for the Arts (FL)
Banff Center for the Arts (Canada)
Camargo Foundation (France)
Dorland Arts Center (CA)
Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts (GA)
Kimmel Harding Nelson Center (NE)
Millay Arts Center (NY)
Mostly Modern Festival (Netherlands)
The Ucross Foundation (WY)
The Wurlitzer Foundation (NM)
Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VA)
Willapa Bay Artist Residency (WA)
Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild (NY)
AWARDS
ASCAP Los Angeles Film Scoring (Richard Bellis)
ASCAP New York Film Scoring (NYU)
Bowdoin Music Festival Fellowship
EarShot Orchestras Readings (Buffalo Philharmonic)
EarShot Readings (Ft. Wayne Philharmonic)
Ford & Clara Schuman Fellowship (Aspen Festival)
Maurice Ravel piano competition
MBA — Resiliency Scholarship/Grant
NY Foundation for the Arts Award
Patricia K. Ross Scholarship Award
Ph.D. — Dean’s List, summa cum laude (GPA 3.94)
Thayer Fellowship Award
The Juilliard School Academic Scholarship
The University of Oxford, Certificate of Achievement
The University of Southern California, Dean’s List
ARRANGER
AJR
Andrea Bocelli
Chris Botti
Audra McDonald
Bryan Adams
CeeLo Green
Celtic Thunder
Curtains Broadway
Dionne Warwick
Disneyland California
Disneyland Shanghai
Five for Fighting
Gypsy (Broadway)
Imogen Heap
Jackie Evancho
Jennifer Lopez
Jessye Norman
Jim Brickman
Johnny Mathis
Joss Stone
Kristin Chenoweth
Lea Salonga
Leslie Gore
Macy’s Fourth of July
Mary J. Blige
Michael Bublè
Pomplamoose
Rod Stewart
SPARKS
The O’Jays
The Tony Awards
Thousand Foot Krutch
Trombone Shorty
101 Dalmatians (musical)
ORCHESTRAS
Alabama Symphony Orchestra (AL)
Aspen Symphony Orchestra (CO)
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (GA)
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (MD)
Boston Pops, The (MA)
Boston Symphony Orchestra (MA)
Brevard Symphony Orchestra (FL)
Buffalo Philharmonic (NY)
Charlotte Symphony Orchestra (NC)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra (IL)
Columbus Symphony Orchestra (OH)
Dallas Symphony Orchestra (TX)
Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra (OH)
Detroit Symphony Orchestra (MI)
Durham Symphony Orchestra (NC)
Fayetteville Symphony Orchestra (NC)
Ft. Wayne Philharmonic (IN)
Greeley Philharmonic (CO)
Hollywood Bowl Orchestra (CA)
Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra (IN)
Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra (FL)
Juilliard School Orchestra, The (NY)
Kansas City Symphony (MO)
Kansas State University Symphony (KS)
Knox-Galesburg Symphony (TN)
LA Opera Orchestra (CA)
Lansing Symphony Orchestra (MI)
Las Vegas Philharmonic (NV)
Long Island Concert Orchestra (NY)
Louisville Orchestra (KY)
Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (TX)
Madison Symphony Orchestra (WI)
Memphis Symphony Orchestra (TN)
Minnesota Orchestra (MI)
Modesto Symphony Orchestra (CA)
Napa Valley Symphony (CA)
Naples Philharmonic Orchestra (FL)
Nashville Symphony (TN)
National Symphony Orchestra (VA)
New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJ)
New West Symphony (CA)
Northern Colorado Symphony (CO)
Northwest Symphony Orchestra (IL)
Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra (OK)
Omaha Symphony Orchestra (NE)
Ocean City Pops Orchestra (NJ)
Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra (FL)
Palm Beach Symphony (FL)
Philadelphia Orchestra (PA)
Plano Symphony Orchestra (TX)
Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra (RI)
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (NY)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Netherlands)
Sacramento Philharmonic & Opera (CA)
San Antonio Symphony (TX)
Santa Rosa Symphony (CA)
Saratoga Symphony Orchestra (CA)
Sinfonia Gulf Coast (FL)
South Florida Symphony Orchestra (FL)
South Jersey Pops, The (NJ)
Stockton Symphony (CA)
Sun Valley Music Festival Orchestra (ID)
Suncoast Symphony Orchestra (FL)
Symphony of Southeast Texas (TX)
Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra (TN)
Tanglewood Symphony Orchestra (MA)
Texarkana Symphony Orchestra (TX)
The Cincinnati Pops Orchestra (OH)
The Pacific Symphony (CA)
The Phoenix Symphony (AZ)
The Sarasota Orchestra (FL)
Toronto Symphony (Canada)
Traverse City Philharmonic (MI)
U.S. Army Band
Utah Symphony (UT)
Wabash College Chamber Orchestra (IN)
West Texas Symphony (TX)
Wilmington Symphony Orchestra (NC)