Tino Gagliardi is a musician and instrumentalist. He has played the trumpet for Broadway shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Oklahoma!, The Boy From Oz, and All Shook Up. He has been the president of Local 802 (New York City) since 2010 after performing as a trumpet player in New York City’s concert, club date, and recording fields. As president of Local 802, Tino led the negotiations for Broadway, the Lincoln Center resident orchestras, and Radio City.
Tino and I had a great chat about all things musical, including how we both played the trumpet (I won’t be battling him anytime soon) and lots of other stuff like . . .
- The challenges of being a pit musician.
- How 802 embraces technology.
- What the 2003 Broadway musicians strike was all about and how Production-Union relations are now.
- What he’d want all Producers to do before they decide on an orchestra size (oh man did his answer to this question ring in my ears).
- The biggest myth about Broadway musicians and why it’s just not true.
Big thanks to Tino for sitting down with me to give me (and all of you) a literal and figurative look into The Pit . . . which, frankly, I think should be renamed The Heart. Because music is the lifeblood of musicals, and it’s here where it gets pumped out to the rest of the stage.
Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway