In-Depth
with Loving the Silent
Tears
Composer:
Doug Katsaros
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| Emmy
Award-winning composer, musical director, conductor,
and orchestrator for Loving the Silent Tears |
Meet Doug
Katsaros, the amazing artist who not only was one of Loving
the Silent Tears’ celebrated composers, but
also the musical director for the singers, the conductor of
the orchestra, and the one who orchestrated all the songs
of the musical!
Virtually all the cast and creative team who had
the chance to work with him have become fans of Mr. Katsaros’
fun and vibrant approach to their musical collaboration.
Nan Schwartz, Loving the Silent Tears’
Grammy Award-winning Hollywood composer, shared, “I’ve
spoken with Doug Katsaros on the phone. I’m excited
to meet him. He sounds like a very exuberant – and I
know he’s a talented – man. He comes from a different
world of Broadway and that’s very exciting for me.”
“Doug is the kind of person you’ll
never forget,” said Arab cast member Camellia Abou-Odah.
“He is amazing, so full of energy. He’s definitely
kept the child within alive, and he’s brilliant. He
is a musical genius. His skill is so refined, that at any
sort of whim, [music] pours out of him. I’d love to
work with him again!”
In turn, Mr. Katsaros enthused about the cast:
“It’s an astonishing group of people. And it’s
not like next door. They each had to fly like ten hours to
get here…. The fact that these are the special people
who are here, and I am the hub inside the wheel of this astonishment,
I could not be happier.”
About the Composer
For years, the greatly talented Doug Katsaros has
been conducting, composing, orchestrating, and arranging on
and off Broadway for shows like Footloose, The Life, Rocky
Horror, Altar Boyz, The Toxic Avenger, and A...My Name
is Alice. Currently composing Broadway’s upcoming
Somewhere in Time, he has also written and conducted
TV and film scores for Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Loggia,
and Sandra Bullock.
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| Doug
Katsaros conducting the famous Boston Pops Orchestra
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Mr. Katsaros garnered an Emmy nomination for his
score to The Tick and wrote themes for The Jim Henson
Hour, Mancuso FBI, and The ABC Sunday Night Movie.
He has conducted PBS’s Great Performances and
the Boston Pops. He has dozens of gold and platinum CDs for
artists such as Gloria Estefan, Frank Sinatra, Rod Stewart,
Judy Collins, B. B. King, Donny Osmond, Bon Jovi, Cher, Michael
Bolton, Peter Paul & Mary... the list goes on!
Mr. Katsaros writes special material for Macy’s
4th of July Fireworks and their Thanksgiving Day
Parade, with his piece for the latter winning an Emmy
for Best Original Song in 2012. He also wrote the well-known
three-note jingle, “By Mennen.”
The distinguished musician also contributed the
arrangements for Supreme Master Television’s 3rd and
4th Anniversary concerts in 2009 and 2010, respectively. In
December 2010, Mr. Katsaros was involved in the Greenest Heroes
Gala in Cancún, Mexico, where he also had the opportunity
to meet Supreme Master Ching Hai. In 2011, the musical The
Real Love premiered based on Supreme Master Ching Hai’s
poetry, with music composed by Mr. Katsaros and four other
award-winning composers.
“The entire process of putting together a
show is nothing but creativity,” he had observed at
the time of The Real Love’s premiere. “As
Supreme Master said on the [live] video, it’s the artists
that are doing so much to propel joy through the planet. And
being part of that creative process every day is great.”
Loving the Silent Tears
Let’s find out what the creative process
for Loving the Silent Tears was like, from Mr. Katsaros’
perspective.
| The
Creative Team
I got demos that had been hand played by
these brilliant composers, and they were very simple
on piano and I had to work with them. And then I got
phone calls from the director Vincent who is endlessly
creative. And then on top of that, [the choreographer]
Bonnie Story who is as creative, on a whole different
level. Vincent editing and focusing and then Bonnie
creating and moving. And the thing is that I have just
a touch of a lot of music, because when I was growing
up, my father and mother played all sorts of different
kinds of music. So I have orchestral music, and then
I was raised on The Beatles. And then I was in a rock-and-roll
band, and then I conducted the Boston Pops. So it’s
orchestra, and rock-and-roll, and jazz and stuff. So,
we were the perfect team to come together to make an
evening like tonight happen. |
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Emmy
Award-winning Doug Katsaros conducts the 21-piece
orchestra of Loving the Silent Tears.
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| The
Cast
Not only the cultures, but the people:
Black Uhuru was here, and Jody Watley, and Liz
[Callaway], and Debbie [Gravitte], Kay Tse and
Hope [Hồ Quỳnh Hương] from
Vietnam. Oh my God! These are enormous stars. |
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| As
the Composer
There’s “The Inner Master,”
and it is sort of like a beatnik kind of thing. It was
just going to be spoken, but I thought, “Wouldn’t
it be fun to put a little rhythm on that, and make everybody
do…” you know, have it be a fun moment.
I did the Middle East trio, but I started
the Middle East trio with one song. And then I thought
I’ll just write something generally Middle East,
but each of them [the singers] had an idea…. So
I worked with them to make a really nice piece. I thought
it was a really nice feature. And I can only take credit
for starting it, they really finished it. |
| The
Poet
She said*, “I
know it’s going to be wonderful.” And I
love that trust of her. Because this is not something
that is, “Oh, let’s get a couple of people
together and we’ll sing some songs…”
This is her poetry, her journey, her message, and that
can go around the world. It's not just one night, 6,000
people, but this is a world event. But she was very
clear to say*,
“I haven’t read it [the musical], I'm working
on my…” – she’s doing her job.
She is doing her meditation, she's on her retreat. And
for the people who are following her, and just for the
people who benefit from her who don't even know her
and are receiving help from her, that is as important
as this is for us.
* From
Supreme Master Ching Hai’s video greeting on the
event day |
| As
the Conductor
(On the red carpet) I’m feeling hot,
but I’m going to go cool down and then get ready
to work my arms for two and half hours. Oh my God, the
musicians in Los Angeles gathered for this, along with
the astonishing talent that’s on the stage, it’s
an amazing evening, and I cannot be more thrilled to
be just a small part of this! |
| Vegan:
Fuel for Creativity
When I’m here I’m totally
vegan. It’s been a month and a half so far.
There’s no reason to go back, it’s
like, I feel good! |
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| Doug
Katsaros provides musical direction for the cast
and orchestra; director Vincent Paterson at left.
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| A
Gesture of Peace
I am humbled and honored to be included as
part of this astonishing collection of artists from
around the globe, working together in a way that might
not be possible in some other countries. If we can accomplish
this small gesture of peace here tonight, we have certainly
made a step forward towards a better world.  |
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