Barbara Irvine has over 30 years experience as a music director, pianist, vocal coach, accompanist, arranger, music transcriber, and music transposer. She has been involved in more than 125 theatre productions in the United States and Europe, and has taught courses in audition techniques and musicianship for actors. Barbara holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Wittenberg University and has done graduate work in music at The University of Texas at Austin.
During her 15 years in New York City Barbara worked directly with most of the major Broadway composers, including Charles Strouse (composer of ANNIE), Cy Coleman (THE WILL ROGERS FOLLIES), David Shire (BABY), Harvey Schmidt (THE FANTASTICKS), Galt MacDermot (HAIR), Robert Waldman (THE ROBBER BRIDEGROOM), Mary Rodgers (ONCE UPON A MATTRESS), and John Kander (CHICAGO). She has worked with such stars as Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, Patrick Cassidy, Dave Willetts, Maxwell Caulfield, Polly Bergen, and Julie Wilson. And she has done music preparation work for Yoko Ono, Warner Brothers Publications, Sony recordings, Harvey Schmidt, Cy Coleman, and many more.
In 1998 Barbara founded The Other Side of Broadway*, a concert project devoted to the performance of classical music written by theatre composers. In 2003, she incorporated her music business under the name of Driftwood Music Services Company in Texas. She dissolved that corporation in 2006. Recently, Barbara wrote the introduction and commentary for a new series of Broadway songbooks—Alfred's SINGER'S LIBRARY OF MUSICAL THEATRE, VOLUME I—now available online and in music stores for Soprano, Mezzo Soprano/Alto, Tenor, and Baritone/Bass.
*http://www.theothersideofbroadway.net