John McDaniel is a Grammy- and Emmy Award-winning music director, composer, director, arranger, orchestrator and producer. He’s also an Artistic Director at the Tony Award-winning Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. Most recently, John arranged, orchestrated and was the music director for Carol Burnett’s 90th Birthday Special on NBC, which won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Primetime Variety Special.
John participated in a live Playbill concert event in Times Square welcoming everyone back to Broadway, featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell, Jessica Vosk and Senator Chuck Schumer. McDaniel produced and directed a virtual concert of Sticks & Stones, for which he is also the composer, starring Audra McDonald and Javier Muñoz. He is also a camp director of Kristin Chenoweth’s Broadway Boot Camp. John directed Into The Woods & Hair in Concert at the historic Patchogue Theater, Sondheim Originals at 54 Below and Piano Men at Birdland. Broadway credits include Bonnie and Clyde (Drama Desk Nomination, Best Orchestrations), Catch Me If You Can, Brooklyn (Producer and Orchestrator), Annie Get Your Gun (Grammy Award), Taboo, Chicago, Grease, Patti LuPone on Broadway and Company — the Original Cast in Concert at Lincoln Center. On Television: The Rosie O’Donnell Show (2 Emmy Awards and 8 nominations).
John has collaborated with Cab Calloway, Shirley MacLaine, George Burns, Joel Grey, Betty Buckley, Bette Midler, Shirley Jones & Katy Perry and has guest conducted at 15 Symphony Orchestras across America, including 5 concerts with his hometown St. Louis Symphony. John received a BFA in Drama from Carnegie Mellon University.