Cello Stories: A Life Under Broadway with Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf

With twenty years of Broadway experience, and having performed as a regular member of twenty broadway shows, Mairi explores what it is to be a Broadway musician. Using exquisite arrangements and captivating stories, she illustrated what drew her to a career of supporting a story with music.

“Holy Mother of All things Bright and Beautiful. Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf is a gift from heaven. With her dear cello she made us all feel the magic of music right to our toes. Playing an arrangement by the Maestro Billy Stritch…Send in the Clowns has never sounded better. Her tone is a direct hit to the soul. She then played Maria and the crowd swooned. She is simply the best.”

— Susie Mosher, The Lineup – Birdland Jazz Club

“It was being played by masterful Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf and she enriched the melodies with extra elegance and dignity…(I was bowled over by her gorgeous work on the sublime recording “Music of Broadway for Cello and Piano” and her presence elsewhere.)”

— Rob Lester, BroadwayWorld.com

MAIRI DORMAN-PHANEUF has established a busy career in New York City as a solo, chamber, Broadway, and recording artist. Since 2003 she has held chairs in 21 Broadway shows, including The Bridges of Madison County, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, and currently, The Great Gatsby. Off-Broadway credits include the premiere productions of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years (Chicago 2001, NYC 2002). Her debut solo album, Music of Broadway for Cello and Piano, was released in September 2021 on Craft Recordings/Concord Theatricals.

Following her sold-out debut at Birdland Jazz Club in 2018 she continues to present headlining shows featuring Broadway’s greatest stars; including Liz Callaway, Ariana DeBose, Rebecca Luker, Jessica Vosk, Norbert Leo Butz, and many more. Her one-woman show “Cello Stories: A Life Under Broadway” premiered at the Perelman Performing Arts Center in 2023.

Mairi is a regular on the NYC cabaret and concert scene and has been featured in performance with stars such as Christine Ebserole, Jeremy Jordon, Jason Robert Brown, John Pizzarelli and Brooke Shields. Her TV and movie work include “Camp” (2002), and the PBS Live From Lincoln Center concerts of Chita Rivera, Joshua Bell and Lang Lang.

Mairi was born in Glasgow, Scotland, studied at Chetham’s School of Music and the Guildhall School of Music in London, and holds Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She lives in Hartsdale, NY, with her husband, saxophonist, Marc Phaneuf.