Musical Theater

Russell McCutcheon is an experienced conductor of musicals and musical theater. He has served as the musical director, assistant musical director, orchestra conductor, or percussionist/drummer for many productions including The Prom, Into the Woods, Next to Normal, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, 42nd Street, The Last Five Years, Cabaret, Godspell, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown, Children of Eden, and Lucky Stiff.

In 2024, McCutcheon was named winner of The American Prize in Conducting, Musical Theater Division for his work conducting The Prom, produced at Gettysburg's Majestic Theater by the Gettysburg College Department of Theater in collaboration with the Sunderman Conservatory of Music. In 2020, he was awarded 2nd Place in the The American Prize in Conducting, Musical Theater Division as conductor of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, also produced at Gettysburg College.

Dr. McCutcheon began his involvement with theater at the age of 7, performing as "Dill" in a community theater production of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Since that time, theater has always been part of his life and work as a creative artist. In high school and college, McCutcheon transitioned from acting to work backstage as a technician and designer. While an undergraduate, McCutcheon spent several semesters as a B.F.A. Lighting Design major, but made the decision to focus his studies in music and music education.

As a high school educator, McCutcheon taught both music and technicial theater courses as part of the Performing Arts Academy at Belleview High School. On his return to university study, McCutcheon was named a Doctoral Fellow in Music Education with a concentration in Wind Conducting and Cognate Study in Musical Theater. A cognate can be described as a secondary concentration or sub-specialization area and includes specialized and intensive training in an area selected by the student.

Photos from Past Productions