Cos Cob Musician Rob Mathes Receives Tony Award Nomination

Cos Cob resident and consummate musician and composer Rob Mathes was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for his work on the Broadway musical ‘The Last Ship.’

The nomination is the second Broadway award for Mathes in less than a week. On April 23, he received The Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Orchestrations. The Drama Desk Awards will be announced May 31.

The Tony nominations were announced by actor Bruce Willis and theater vet Mary-Louise Parker at the Paramount Hotel in New York City. The winners will be announced June 7 during the live telecast from Radio City Music Hall that will be hosted by Broadway stars Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming.

Mathes, a 1981 Greenwich High School graduate, has collaborated with Sting on many projects and ‘The Last Ship,’ which opened at the Neil Simon Theatre last fall was the culmination of a five-year project with the rock star. ‘The Last Ship,’ with the book and music written by Sting is based on the musician’s childhood growing up in the English shipbuilding town of Wallsend. [Sting earned a Tony nomination for Best Score.]

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‘The Last Ship’ opened to rave reviews during a two-month run in Chicago last summer. However, it closed in early January after a month of previews and 105 performances on Broadway.

Mathes previously earned Emmy nominations for his work as musical director of the the Kennedy Center Honors programs for CBS. He also is the longtime music director for The Songwriters Hall Of Fame and worked with Quincy Jones and Phil Ramone arranging and leading the concert for the World Economic Forum.

Mathes arranged and directed the We Are One — Obama Inauguration Concert at the Lincoln Memorial for HBO featuring Stevie Wonder, Bruce Springsteen, U2 and Beyonce.

As an arranger Mathes has orchestrated music for numerous stars ranging from Sir Elton John, Tony Bennett, Mariah Carey and Eric Clapton, to Jay Z, Avril Lavigne, Aretha Franklin, and classical artists Renee Fleming, Pavarotti and Yo Yo Ma.

His songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Oleta Adams, Aaron Neville, The Rascal Flatts, Wynonna Judd and Vanessa Williams.

Locally, Mathes continues his run of the perennially sold-out performances of his holiday concert which is scheduled for Dec. 18 and 19 at the Purchase Performing Arts Center.

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Photo: Rob Mathes at the Obama inauguration in Washington, DC. Credit: robmathes.com