Michael Sansonia is pleased to be Executive Director Joseph N. Graif’s oldest friend. Not that he knows Joe the longest, he’s just really, really old.
As a Musical Director and accompanist, Michael has worked with a veritable who’s who of entertainment names. From Screamin’ Jay Hawkins to P. Diddy. From Misty Rowe to Shawn Colvin. From Vic Damone to Mickey Dolenz and Davey Jones. From Gianni Russo to Peter Dinklage to Richard Gere. From Deodato to Michale Feinstein.
His Madrigal Group performed at the premiere of ROBIN AND MARIAN and his Country-Western band for the South African equivalent of the Kentucky Derby. He’s a former musical director for National Lampoon's live shows and television specials, including CLASS OF '86, for which he also wrote several songs. Other television work includes the soundtrack PBS BIOGRAPHY, LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH AND FAMOUS, CNN TRAVEL SERIES, and the Jane Leeves sitcom THROB. During its original New York run, he conducted LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. He has appeared in several Broadway and off-Broadway shows as an actor/musician. These include PUMP BOYS AND DINETTES (he has, at one time or another, performed as each of the character/musicians in the onstage band) and SONG OF SINGAPORE. During the Toyota Comedy Festival, he was musical director and a contributing writer for FIRESIGN THEATRE. He has performed, arranged, or written music and lyrics for numerous corporate clients, such as MCI, Bayer, Nike, Verizon, Kraft Foods, Beneficial, Sandoz, Reliance, KPMG, CNN, Chase Manhattan, Scholastic, Hallmark, and many others.
For his Graif Foundation performance, Michael plans to concentrate on songs he’s written, with maybe two guitar solos, or one unaccompanied guitar duet thrown in.
