Lena Gabrielle
Lena holds a BM in Music Theory and a Piano Performance minor from Ithaca College. After graduating and living briefly in Portland, OR, and New York City, Lena relocated to Pittsburgh; during her two years there, Lena music directed over 20 shows, taught numerous voice and theatre workshop classes, and was the composer for three original productions. “Tink,” for which Lena wrote the music and lyrics, was presented at the New York Musical Festival in 2016 and received a citation for excellence in family theatre.
Since moving back to New York City in 2015, Lena has broadened her work as a music supervisor, performer, and educator, and she has shifted her focus to collaborating and arranging for new theatre. Favorite NYC and regional credits include: “Emojiland” (The Duke - New York Times Critics Pick) the world premiere of “The Most Miserable Christmas Tree,” “Endangered: The Eco Musical” (Davenport Theatre), “You, Me, I, We” (Royal Family Productions), "Americano" (New World Stages), and numerous other readings and developmental workshops. Lena is a former keyboardist and vocalist with the Grammy-winning children’s band “Tim Kubart and the Space Cadets,” and she served as vocal director of the Hewlett-Packard Holiday Commercial in 2019. In 2021, Lena served as Associate Music Director for National Tour of "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas" and became the second woman to ever conduct the show. Lena recently returned to New York City after music directing the SIX Boleyn Tour from September 2022-January 2024.
Lena is an amateur chef, gym enthusiast, and a former world-ranked SET player. As a dedicated advocate for mental health awareness, she continues to develop her one-woman show about living with and embracing mental illness. She is always searching for exciting new projects and like-minded collaborators to work with, so please get in touch!
¡Americano! tells the true story of Tony Valdovinos, an immigrant "dreamer" brought to America by his parents when he was two years old. Inspired by 9/11, Tony walked into a Marine Corps recruitment office to enlist on his 18th birthday, only to discover his parents hadn’t told him he was an undocumented immigrant. But Tony did not give up on his dream to serve the only country he had ever known. Instead, he discovered alternatively powerful ways to serve and inspire by combating voter suppression and galvanizing a community to fight for representation in government.
In Falling in Love with Mr. Dellamort, the new audio musical, three lost souls receive an unexpected invitation to spend New Year’s Eve at Maison Dellamort: a remote South Carolina guest house with a peculiar yet magnetic host. With its original take on classic themes of unrequited love, mortality and deception, and featuring a stunning cast of Broadway’s most beloved stars, this distinctive audio experience will transport listeners into a world laced with the iconic theremin, Foley-style effects, and an original pop score.
The Battlefields of Clara Barton is a folk/rock/historical/contemporary musical about the life of Clara Barton; Civil War nurse, political activist, revered founder of the American Red Cross. In a tumultuous life that spanned almost a century, Clara fought on many battlefields: historical, political, and emotional. Clara’s story is brought to vibrant life by an ensemble of women, playing multiple roles, where age and gender are fluid.
Not to be confused with, and very much unlike The Emoji Movie, Emojiland is an electric ensemble piece about a diverse community of archetypes who take one another at face value: a smiling face dealing with depression; a princess who doesn't want a prince; a skull dying for deletion; a nerd face too smart for his own good; a face with sunglasses who can't see past his own reflection; and a police officer and construction worker who just want to work together. When a software update threatens to destroy life as they know it, Emojiland faces the most fundamental questions a society - and a heart - can face: Who are we? And who matters?
YOU, ME, I, WE is an exploration of the crazy and chaotic way our minds work - the voices that direct our everyday actions, the ones that knock us down with harsh thoughts and lift us back up with a song. It’s Hedwig and the Angry Inch meets Pixar’s Inside Out with a touch of Twyla Tharp Dance Theatre. Take a journey inside the beautifully turbulent mind of Yu-Mei Wei.
As a Christmas tree, Douglas Fir is the center of attention where he extols the joys of being decorated. Unfortunately, Douglas is soon stripped of adornment, thrown to the curb and left in a pile of trash. Determined to remain a decorated Christmas Tree, Douglas heads back home to Mistletoe Mountain and Miss Balsam's Finishing School for Christmas Trees to get the diploma he never received. Douglas only succeeds in becoming more miserable and turns his back on Christmas; until an important discovery allows him to understand his true purpose and the real meaning of the holiday season.
Music Direction
“Music Directing is a collaborative art. I love to work with creative team members (of course!) but most importantly I love to collaborate with actors. I truly believe that solos are actually duets between the actor and the MD, so I discuss each moment with the principle actors I work with so I can play with the same intention with which they are singing. Because I was a composer before I was an MD, I really dig into the compositional elements of a score; but I like to communicate things like tricky notes and rhythms in terms of an actors intention rather than music theory. Finally, I’m an expert at moving quickly through group rehearsals, both teaching the material and creating a positive and encouraging atmosphere for actors and singers of all levels.”
Arrangements
“To me, arrangement is the art of elevating a piece of music to become the best version of itself. Through discussions and work sessions with composers (or full creative teams), I gather information about the intent of each song and help put them all on paper. Common topics of discussion include:
- Notes and Rhythms
- Lyrics and Scansion
- Accompaniment Style/Groove/harmonic structure
- Form of a song
- How each song fits into the arc of a show
These discussions allow the composer to dig deeper into their work and create more meaningful and impactful music.”
Orchestrations
“I love to dig deep into a score to pick out the perfect instrumentation, and then write idiomatically for each instrument the composer and I choose. II am familiar with all traditional orchestral instruments, synthesizers and apple MainStage, and drum notation.”
Composition (Music & Lyrics)
“I pride myself in being able to write in many different styles for all types of projects. I have experience being a composer as well as a composer/lyricist. I love to collaborate with artists on projects that are important to them, and I use their passion to fuel my writing.”
Other Services
- Transcription
- Copy Work
- Audition Prep
- Multi-instrumentalist (violin, guitar, ukulele, singer)
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