Artist’s Profile

Larry Blank is one of the most prolific and sought after composers, conductors, and orchestrators in the entertainment business today. His work has been presented all over the world, including some of Broadway’s most successful musicals, Carnegie Hall, and top television and film projects.

He was the music director/conductor and/or vocal arranger for many shows on Broadway and in Los Angeles including They're Playing Our Song, Evita, Sugar Babies, la Cage aux Folles, Phantom of the Opera, Onward Victoria, Copperfield, Colette, A Chorus Line, and A Little Night Music. He has been nominated three times for both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his orchestrations in The Drowsy Chaperone, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, and with Marc Shaiman for Catch Me If You Can. Larry received a Drama Desk Nomination for orchestrations for A Christmas Story and Honeymoon in Las Vegas.

Larry is a regular conductor and arranger for BBC Radio 2 Friday Night is Music Night in the UK and the Music Director and Orchestrator (along with Mark Cumberland) for the Olivier Awards in London. Larry has been named Resident Pops Conductor along with Regular Pops Conductor Michael Feinstein for The Pasadena Symphony and Pops.

Blank’s background includes orchestrating and arranging songs for South Park and was music supervisor and orchestrator for Jerry Herman’s movie, Mrs. Santa Claus.

Mr. Blank has guest conducted most of the orchestras throughout the world, including The San Francisco Symphony, The New York Philharmonic, Western Australia Symphony Orchestra, The Los Angeles Philharmonic, Palm Beach Pops, Auckland Symphony, The National Symphony Orchestra, The Boston Pops, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Symphony, New Orleans Symphony, and Toronto Symphony.

Jodi Benson has received worldwide recognition and critical acclaim as the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Tour Guide Barbie in Toy Story 2, Weebo in Flubber, as well as Thumbelina in Thumbelina. Other projects include The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning, The Little Mermaid 2: Return to the Sea as Ariel, Lady and the Tramp 2: Scamp's Adventure as Lady, 101 Dalmatians 2: Patch's London Adventure as Anita, Joseph: King of Dreams as Asenath, as well as in Balto: Wolf Quest* and Balto III: Wings of Change as Jenna.

She received a Tony & Helen Hayes Award nomination for best actress in a musical for originating the role of Polly Baker in the Ira Gershwin musical Crazy For You. Other Broadway credits include Doria Hudson in the Howard Ashman-Marvin Hamlisch musical Smile, Betty Bursteter in Cy Coleman's Welcome to the Club, and Virginia in Kenny Ortega's Marilyn: An American Musical. Internationally, she has had the honor of sharing the stage with her husband Ray Benson at the European premiere of Ira Gershwin's My One & Only, starring as Miss Edythe Herbert.

On the concert stage, she has performed as a concert soloist with symphonies all over the world such as the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra; The National Symphony; and The Cleveland, Dallas, and Tokyo Philharmonic, to name a few. She has starred in the Kennedy Center Honors for Ginger Rogers, The 25th Anniversary of Walt Disney, Central Park Disney Spectacular and Disney's 100 Years of Magic. She is honored to be the resident guest soloist for the Walt Disney Company/Disney Cruise Line and Ambassador for feature animation. She gives thanks and praise to the Lord for her family, friends, her loving husband, Ray Benson as well as her precious children: son McKinley Benson and daughter Delaney.