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I was born and raised in a suburban town outside of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and moved to New York when I was 22. I figured I better have something to offer before I showed up, so I taught myself how to play piano first. Okay, actually I taught myself how to play because I wanted to be Elton John, without the high heels and drinking problems. Anyway, it turns out I was actually pretty good. I read a lot of books about how to play, and I practiced all the time so I could avoid playing sports, where I would surely be ridiculed and hit with the ball.
Along the way, I learned two things: 1) I didn't have the vocal chops to be Elton John, and 2) I loved musical theatre. So I decided to become a music director/pianist. Once I arrived in New York, I began building my resumé with small productions Off-Off-Broadway. Eventually I got booked on a professional tour; that led to another tour, and another. Then I thought living on water sounded like a good idea, so I played piano on a cruise ship for a couple of months. After that, I landed my first Off-Broadway show, The Marvelous Wonderettes. I played the show for 13 months (over 400 performances!) and can be heard on the cast album, released by P.S. Classics.
Shortly after that, I started to realize I really missed writing songs. I had dabbled in it a little bit when I was learning to play back in Oklahoma, but now I had the tools and resources to give it a serious shot. My time working in the New York theatre scene gave me access to the most talented singers and musicians on Broadway, and in October 2016 I released my first vocal album, So Much More: The Songs of Brandon Sturiale. It's a collection of 12 songs with 12 different singers, with genres ranging from pop to classic rock, country to cabaret.
I've been fortunate enough to work with performers of all professional levels. Notable names include Christine Baranski, Michael Cerveris, Beth Malone, Mary Testa, Natalie Weiss, Tonya Pinkins, Len Cariou, Orfeh, Michele Pawk, Baayork Lee, Chuck Wagner, Jenn Gambatese, Fred Applegate, Rob Evan, Paolo Montalban, and Christina DiCicco. I also had the honor of performing alongside Tony Bennett, for Tony Randall's National Actors Theatre at the Plaza Hotel.