John Sawoski Bio

John Sawoski, born in Philadelphia, has been a Los Angeles-based multi-keyboardist, composer, and musical director since 1985. Besides serving as principal keyboardist for The Pageant of the Masters Orchestra, The Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra, The Riverside County Philharmonic, and The Capistrano Valley Symphony (which Sawoski has also guest conducted), he has performed with The Los Angeles Master Chorale Orchestra, Andrea Morricone’s Amor Symphonic Orchestra, The Pasadena Pops, The Long Beach Symphony, The Pacific Symphony, The San Bernardino Symphony, The Redlands Symphony, The New West Symphony, The California Pops, The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s, The Golden State Pops, and The Orange County Four Seasons Orchestra. He has played for American Presidents Nixon, Ford, Bush, and Biden, Mexican President Vicente Fox, for the Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards (televised on KCET), Titanic Live, Ain’t Too Proud, M.J. (The Michael Jackson Musical), Motown the Musical, Funny Girl, Back to the Future, Miss Saigon, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Disney’s Aladdin on Tour, 1776, Finding Neverland, Les Miserables, If/Then, The Book of Mormon, Newsies, Cinderella, Something Rotten, Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice, Matilda, Beautiful, Wicked, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Legally Blonde, Rock of Ages, 9 to 5, Seussical, Spamalot, The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, A Chorus Line, Both Barrels: A Salvo of John Forster Songs, The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Disney’s Beauty and The Beast, The Secret Garden (keyboards on first national tour plus associate conducting and playing keyboards on the 2023 Broadway-bound revival), Cathy Rigby’s Peter Pan, The Mark Taper Forum, The Godfather Live, and Disney’s Candlelight Concert. He has also accompanied Placido Domingo and Il Volo, Bernadette Peters, Frank Sinatra Jr., Michael Feinstein, Idina Menzel, Michael Crawford, Dale Kristien, Rachel York, Jackie Evancho, Lisa Vroman, David Lockington, Monica Yunus, Davis Gaines, Sam Harris, Lucie Arnaz, Jim Carrey, Seth MacFarlane, Johnny Crawford, Bobby Burgess, Mabel King, Audra McDonald, Regis Philbin, Susan Lucci, Jack Imel, Marilyn McCoo,  Billy Davis, Jr., Taylor Hicks, and many others. Aside from performing throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, Mr. Sawoski has created hundreds of orchestrations and arrangements for singers for whom he has accompanied and music directed, including The Leading Ladies, Gregg Marx, Leslie Zemeckis, Dennis McNeil, Rodney Gilfry, Yma Sumac, Judy Whitmore, and Marnie Breckenridge. His arrangements and orchestrations have been performed by the Philly Pops (arrangement only), Shanghai Symphony Orchestra, Stockton Symphony, The Colorado Springs Philharmonic, the Boca Pops, The Claflin Hill Symphony Orchestra, the Capistrano Valley Symphony, the Jerry Lewis Telethon orchestra, and many orchestras and ensembles at Hollywood recording sessions. He has composed, arranged, and recorded for numerous film and TV scores including The Starter Wife, ShowBoy, Winning Ugly: Twenty Years Later (for the Chicago White Sox), The Woman Chaser, Day of Atonement, and Lemo (for Finnish composer Tuomas Kantelinen); composed music for three musicals performed at Stanford University (his alma mater); orchestrated and arranged for Ed Begley’s new musical César and Rubén; arranged and done keyboard-programming for workshop presentations of the new musical An Officer and A Gentleman (which ran in Australia Spring 2012); and has played on camera on Walk Hard, Rumor Has It, Las Vegas, Will & Grace, Veronica’s Closet, LA Confidential, The Wedding Singer, Frasier, Man on the Moon, and HBO’s Live From Baghdad. Mr. Sawoski played on and recorded flutist Zachary Valenzuela’s recent album, Masterworks for Flute, as well as playing and arranging on Peter Sheridan’s low flute album Below (Move Records, Australia). His other recording credits include arranging and producing for Shmueli, Act 3, and Judy Whitmore; and playing keyboards for Robert Drasnin’s album Voodoo II (Dionysus Records), The Adam Yurman Project (Crown Records, Tokyo), jazz musician Carl Rigoli’s albums, and for Saylor Shin (Korean vocalist and #1 hit songwriter). He is currently involved with numerous arranging, orchestrating, composing, and recording projects in Los Angeles. Please click the links for performances and news, music clips, and more information about John Sawoski and his distinguished colleagues. And don’t forget to bookmark this page and join John’s email list.