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--Jessica Redish, Director/ Choreographer, SSDC "Seth stands out as one of the best accompanists at Equity auditions. He has a wonderful, energetic personality which comes through his playing, making him quickly in tune with the singer's needs, rhythm, and feelings." --Jane Strauss, AEA “Seth has been incredibly informative about the audition scene and is very dedicated to his actors. I constantly get e-mail notices about potential jobs, showcase opportunities, etc. and feel fortunate to be part of his ever-growing network.” –-Mara Jill Herman, Recent Graduate, UArts “Seth Bisen-Hersh is one of my FAVORITE accompanists with whom to audition. He’s always spot-on with the tempo, embellishes just enough to really showcase my voice and gives me the edge I want and need to book the job. I am always confident when I walk in the door and see Seth at the piano. I know I’m going to blow the table away!” --James E. Bullard, AEA SETH BISEN-HERSH is a prolific and versatile New York City based musical theatre composer/ lyricist who works as a pianist, accompanist, musical director and vocal coach. Bisen-Hersh grew up in East Brunswick, New Jersey where he started piano lessons at 8 and began composing songs at 13. He graduated from MIT with two Bachelors degrees (Computer Science and Music); then he completed his Masters in Music Technology at NYU. He began performing in shows in community theatre and summer theatre at a very young age, and was the musical director of EB's Children's Summer Theatre for many years. He directed many independent shows in EB, at MIT and NYU, creating many original revues of standard songs as well as his original ones. In the summer of 2002, Bisen-Hersh made his professional cabaret debut at Don't Tell Mama with Two Singular Sensations, a battle of the ego through Broadway showtunes, co-starring Rori Nogee. Starting in 2003, Bisen-Hersh began doing nearly annual cabarets of his own material, commencing with solo acts then expanding to ensemble casts. Each cabaret consisted of 16-18 new songs grouped by theme: And Then She Dumped Me (2003), The Gayest Straight Man Alive (2004), Meaningful Sex (2005), Neurotic Tendencies (2006), Why Am I Not Famous Yet? (2007), Writer’s Block (2008) and I'll Relax When I'm Dead (2010). Bisen-Hersh has completed the score for: Trivial Pursuits (music), Meaningless Sex (music/ lyrics), The Spickner Spin (music/ co-lyrics), A Kid Like Me (music/ lyrics), More to Love, Stanley's Party and Love Quirks. Trivial Pursuits premiered at MIT in the spring of 2001. Meaningless Sex premiered at the 2003 New York International Fringe Festival where it won the coveted Audience Favorite Award out of two-hundred shows. The following year in 2004, The Spickner Spin also won the Fringe Festival's Audience Favorite Award. A recording of A Kid Like Me, along with recordings of all of his shows and cabarets, is available on the Songs page. More to Love had a successful reading at Theater1010 in July 2009 and is currently being licensed all over the country. Stanley's Party is a children’s musical based on the children books, "Stanley's Wild Ride" and "Stanley's Party" by Linda Bailey and had a critically acclaimed 6 week production at Manhattan Children Theatre in the Spring 2010. It is also being licensed around the country. Finally, Love Quirks is a song cycle of unconventional devotion. It features 20 of Bisen-Hersh's quirky, neurotic and occasionally poignant love songs. It is also being licensed around the country. (For licensing information, please visit the Shows page.) Furthermore, Bisen-Hersh has developed two annual concerts of his work starring Broadway performers, where the proceeds go to charity: Broadway Meows for The Humane Society of New York, each July and Broadway Can!, a can collecting concert for Citymeals-on-Wheels and City Harvest, each November. Bisen-Hersh has been a proud member of AFM Local 802 since 2005. He has played for Broadway auditions, as well as for off-Broadway, LORT, summer stock, cruise line, reading, workshop and festival auditions. Furthermore, Bisen-Hersh has been musically directing and accompanying cabarets, readings and showcases in the city since 2003. (Details are available on his resume.) Since 2005, he has served as a vocal coach to actors, giving advice on auditions and building repertoires with the help of the over sixteen hundred CDs he owns. In 2006, Bisen-Hersh began offering Audition and Cabaret workshops. In 2007, Bisen-Hersh began producing/ emceeing/ accompanying weekly talent showcases at Don't Tell Mama. By fall 2011, he will have produced over 130 showcases featuring almost 500 singers. In his limited spare time, Bisen-Hersh watches his favorite TV shows on his DVR, as well as playing Chess and Scrabble variations on facebook. He lives in Hell's Kitchen in a tiny studio with his cat, Smee. |
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