May 12 …

Daryl Waters is a composer, arranger, conductor, and musical director whose versatile work across Broadway, television, and concert stages has helped shape contemporary musical theater and Black musical storytelling.

Born on May 12, 1956 in Cleveland, OH, Waters is a talented musician who honed his skills as a pianist, arranger, and musical director. His formal education includes training at Howard University, complemented by workshops and theatrical apprenticeships.

Early in his career, Waters established himself in Off-Broadway and regional theater as a sensitive accompanist and innovative arranger. This paved the way for opportunities for him in larger Broadway productions and national tours.

Waters achieved mainstream success as the co-composer, arranger, and musical director for the 1996 Broadway revival of “The Wiz,” as well as for the groundbreaking musical “Bring in ’Da Noise, Bring in ’Da Funk.” His unique blend of rhythmic sophistication and the fusion of gospel, jazz, R&B, and hip-hop were essential to both the sound and narrative of these shows.

Since then, Waters has served as musical director, arranger, or orchestrator for a multitude of Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, television specials, and recordings. He seamlessly integrates contemporary Black musical idioms into theatrical orchestration and ensemble performances.

Waters’ influences and mentors embody the rich Black American musical tradition, including gospel pianists, church music directors, jazz arrangers, and theater composers who adeptly combined vernacular styles with theatrical forms.

Waters has collaborated with artists like Eartha Kitt, Sammy Davis Jr., Nell Carter, and others. His contemporary collaborators include Jennifer Holliday, Leslie Uggams, and Savion Glover, with whom he worked on “Bring in ’Da Noise,” and director George C. Wolfe, alongside various performers from those productions.

As a musical director and educator, Waters has nurtured younger musicians and arrangers in rehearsal spaces and workshops, with many aspiring theater musicians crediting his mentorship and rigorous musicianship as pivotal to their development.

Waters has received numerous honors, including Tony nominations and recognition from Drama Desk for his work on significant productions. His arrangements and musical leadership have been integral to shows that garnered broader industry accolades.

The contributions of Daryl Waters have greatly enriched American musical theater, validating Black popular musical languages on Broadway stages and training a generation of theatrical musicians in rhythmically driven and hybrid approaches that continue to shape theater music and popular entertainment today.