New World School of the Arts alum Alex Lacamoire
received a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations on one
of Broadway's hottest musicals, "In the Heights", for
which he is also co-arranger, conductor, and musical
director. With thirteen nominations, the musical
secured three other Tony Awards including "Best
Musical, "Best Original Score", and "Best
Choreography". Lacamoire, a high school graduate
from the class of 1992 music division at NWSA, joined
creator and composer-lyricist of In the Heights, Lin-
Manuel Miranda, in 2004 after an already successful
career in theater.
"I am so honored that I won a TONY!" expressed
Lacamoire, "this is basically the highest honor that I
can get in my field, and it is given to a select few
people in the business each year. The fact that I got
one for a piece that I've devoted so much of my life and
my passion to is the most rewarding and validating
kind of recognition I've ever gotten. I just did what I
love to do, and then this little statue came along to say
"Great!"
Lacamoire, however, is not the only NWSA alum in
this Tony-Award winning musical. Andréa Burns,
(1989 Theater) personifies the sassy beauty-salon
owner "Daniela", and Nina Lafarga, (1997 Dance) is a
member of the cast. Holding fond memories of New
World School of the Arts, Alex shares "It was
absolutely the best high school I could have gone
to. What I remember most about my time there was
how much I was able to cross-pollinate. Being at
NWSA expanded my repertoire and allowed me to see
talented peers doing what they loved to do, and it put
me inside a community of artists who shared their
passions of music, theater, dance and art with each
other."
"We're just so excited for Alex and the other alumni
who are part of this special show", states Jeffrey
Hodgson, Dean of Music at NWSA and Broadway
aficionado - "I'm proud to say I've seen In The Heights
a number of times, both off-Broadway and on
Broadway. As the musical director and keyboardist,
Lacamoire is instrumental to the show - he provides
the heartbeat and pulse of the music. Along with the
other cast members, they are the new sound and
rhythm of Broadway."
In The Heights is a New York musical about a vibrant
and tight-knit community in Manhattan. The music
pulses with the hopes and dreams of three
generations as they struggle to forge an identity in a
neighborhood on the brink of transition. Conceived by
Miranda, In The Heights opened on Sunday, March 9,
2008 on Broadway at the Richard Rodgers Theater.
