Jon Bon Jovi joined Billy Joel and his band to sing two of Billy's songs, "Still Rock and Roll to Me" and "Big Shot," at the January 25, 2020 show at Madison Square Garden. (L-R: David Rosenthal, Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Joel)
At the February 20, 2020 Madison Square Garden show, Itzhak Perlman joined Billy Joel and band for a special performance of the songs "Downeaster Alexa" and "Where's the Orchestra." This photo was taken at soundcheck while Billy, David and Itzhak were discussing violin parts. Itzhak Perlman was actually the guest soloist on the original recording of "Downeaster Alexa," although he was credited as World Famous Incognito Violinist.
David spoke on a panel with Billy Joel before an audience of local educators at the Long Island High School for the Arts in Syosset, NY on November 12, 2019. The purpose of the event was to discuss and promote the importance of an education in the arts.
David is currently working on Billy Joel's entire sheet music catalog. Glass Houses, the most recent songbook in the collection, was released in December 2019. Piano Man, Turnstiles, The Stranger, 52nd Street, An Innocent Man and Storm Front are also available and all of these books can be ordered on this website. Click here for Keyboard Magazine's review of the Piano Man songbook.
This photo was taken at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles during the Billy Joel concert on May 13, 2017 by Myrna Suarez.
David spoke at Peabody Conservatory at Johns Hopkins on September 18, 2019. He also participated in the Dean's Symposium with Dean Fred Bronstein on December 4, 2019 and will be delivering a series of five master class lectures during the Spring 2020 semester.
David spoke on a panel at the AES Show on October 18, 2019. The panel was hosted by John Storyk in celebration of his 50 years of studio design. The panel discussion topic was on studios and what they will be like in 50 years. The panelists were (L-R: Ann Mincieli, Steve Berkowitz, John Storyk, Jimmy Douglass, David Rosenthal & Eddie Kramer).
David gave a Master Class at Piano Summit 2019 in New York City on April 3, 2019. This was the 3rd consecutive year that David has spoken at this event.
John Fogerty joined Billy Joel and his band to play two of his hits, "Up Around the Bend" and "Fortunate Son," at the March 21, 2019 show at Madison Square Garden. (L-R: Tommy Byrnes, David Rosenthal, John Fogerty, Billy Joel, Andy Cichon, Mark Rivera, Mike DelGuidice and Carl Fischer).
Billy Joel and his band continue their record breaking run at Madison Square Garden. Upcoming tour dates will be posted on this website as they are announced. This photo was taken at the Christmas Show on Dec. 19, 2018.
Joe Perry sat in with Billy and his band at the November 10th show and played Aerosmith's iconic hit Walk this Way. This photo was taken at soundcheck that day. (L-R: Mark Rivera, Tommy Byrnes, Carl Fischer, David Rosenthal, Joe Perry, Andy Cichon, Crystal Taliefero, Chuck Burgi and Mike DelGuidice).
A documentary about the life of violin maestro Itzhak Perlman was released in March 2018. In the film titled "Itzhak", David and Billy Joel appear with Itzhak at a Madison Square Garden soundcheck discussing his guest appearance that night. This photo of David and Itzhak was taken at the film's prescreening at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. The film was nominated for a Grammy in the category of “Best Music Film”.
David performed the National Anthem at Fenway Park in Boston for the World Series champion Red Sox on September 24, 2018. Click here to see the performance.
David recorded some of Billy Joel's songs for Steinway's Spirio Player Piano. Click here to read his interview with Steinway. For a preview of one of the songs David recorded, click here to watch him play Root Beer Rag
Steve Vai hosted a record-breaking 52 hour Jamathon to raise money for the Extraordinary Families charity. At the jam, David was reunited and played with his good friend and former bandmate Steve Vai and also jammed with Steve Morris and Dweezil Zappa.
While in Boston for Billy Joel's Fenway Park concert, David did an interview with his alma mater, Berklee College of Music. Click here to watch a video of the highlights.
At the Fenway Park show on August 10th, 2018 Joe Elliott from Def Leppard joined Billy and the band to sing Pour Some Sugar on Me. At the same show, Peter Wolf from the J. Geils Band came up and sang Centerfold with Billy and the band. The show was a record breaking 5th consecutive sellout at Fenway.
David visited Yankee Stadium as a guest of Yankee's team president Randy Levine and NY Sports Day writer Ray Negron. During his visit, David met stadium organist Paul Cartier. Click here to read Ray Negron's story.
Billy Joel played his 100th show at Madison Square Garden on July 18th, 2018. David and other band members were interviewed by Madison Square Garden.
Bruce Springsteen joined Billy Joel and his band on stage during Billy's 100th show at Madison Square Garden on July 18, 2018 to perform 10th Avenue Freeze-Out and Born to Run. (L-R: David Rosenthal, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Mark Rivera and Carl Fischer. Photo Credit: Myrna Suarez).
David with some of his bandmates prior to Billy's 100th show at Madison Square Garden on July 18, 2018. (L-R: Mark Rivera, Mike DelGuidice, Andy Cichon, David Rosenthal and Carl Fischer. Photo Credit: Myrna Suarez)
Mark Rivera and David walk to the stage prior to Billy's 100th show at Madison Square Garden on July 18, 2018. (L-R: Mark Rivera and David Rosenthal. Photo Credit: Myrna Suarez).
Mick Jones and Lou Gramm of Foreigner joined Billy Joel and his band at the Madison Square Garden show on January 11, 2018 to perform two of their hit singles: Urgent and Cold as Ice. (L-R: Mick Jones, David Rosenthal, Lou Gramm and Billy Joel).
David recently did an extensive feature interview for MusicPlayers entitled David Rosenthal: The Piano Man's Keyboard Man.
The Digital Journal interviewed David about his work with Billy Joel.
Billy Joel and his band appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on October 19, 2017 from Brooklyn. After Billy was interviewed, he and the band performed Miami 2017. (L-R: Mike DelGuidice, Chuck Burgi, David Rosenthal, Carl Fischer, Billy Joel, Andy Cichon, Jimmy Kimmel, Tommy Byrnes, Mark Rivera and Crystal Taliefero).
Paul Simon and Miley Cyrus both appeared as guests at Billy Joel's Madison Square Garden concert on September 30, 2017. With Paul Simon, Billy and the band played The Boxer and Late in the Evening. Miley Cyrus joined Billy and the band on New York State of Mind, and this song was recorded live and aired on Jimmy Fallon's show on October 6, 2017. During the encore, Paul Simon and Miley Cyrus came up together to sing You May be Right.
The Red Sox invited David to throw out the first pitch as part of Billy Joel Night at Fenway Park. David also accepted an award on Billy Joel's behalf from the Red Sox Foundation for Billy's help in raising funds for the charity. Click here to watch the ceremony and pitch.
David was musical director for Ethan Bortnick's PBS concert special, Generations of Music. The show features Ethan's amazing ability as a pianist, singer, songwriter, composer and natural born entertainer. The 16-year-old was supported by a 43 piece orchestra, 90 piece choir, 4 piece band and 3 background singers. The show also features debut performances of 4 songs which David wrote with Ethan. The concert was filmed in Sioux Falls, SD on April 26th, 2017 and has aired extensivley nationwide. Click here to watch the official preview reel. A DVD and CD of the concert are available.
One of the songs from Ethan Bortnick's PBS concert has been released on YouTube and is dedicated to all those effected by Hurricane Irma. Reason to Believe was written by David along with Ethan and Greg Friia and features orchestration by David and Noah Luna.
David performed the National Anthem on piano at the Dodgers game on May 10, 2017. Click here to watch his performance.
KTLA interviewed David about his performance of the National Anthem and playing with Billy Joel at Dodger Stadium. Click here to watch it.
Other World Computing (OWC) interviewed David about how he uses their products on tour. Click here to read the interview.
David performed at the MOTU booth during the 2017 NAMM show in Anaheim. He played Contemporary Insanity, a piece that he composed for Happy the Man's album The Muse Awakens. Click here to watch the performance.
The web publication Long Island Pulse did an interview with David leading up to the Nassau Coliseum show on April 5th, 2017. Click here to read the story.
In March 2017, David spoke at the Voltage Connect conference, which was hosted by Berklee College of Music. His presentation focused on the evolution of keyboard technology, and included a photo journey of all of his Keyboard Rigs Throughout the Years.
David is on the cover of the July 2016 issue of Keyboard Magazine along with Billy Joel. The cover story includes an interview and a complete description of David's current keyboard rig.
Keyboard Magazine posted a web feature on David's keyboard rigs as they evolved throughout the years. Starting with his first keyboard rig from 1982 with Rainbow (pictured here) all the way up to and including his current setup with Billy Joel. The feature is called Keyboard Rigs Throughout the Years.
In March 2016,David did a series of lectures at his alma mater, Berklee College of Music. While there he did an interview for Berklee's website. A shortened version of the interview also appeared in the Summer 2016 issue of Berklee's alumni publication called Berklee Today.
David is currently performing with Billy Joel as his musical director and keyboardist. The record breaking tour includes monthly performances at the iconic Madison Square Garden for as long as there is demand. Some of the unannounced guests that have stopped by to perform with Billy and the band include Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Jon Bon Jovi, Miley Cyrus, Tony Bennett, Sting, Mick Jones & Lou Gramm, Steve Miller, Joe Perry, John Mayer, Richie Sambora, Itzhak Perlman and Chick Corea. Click here for a list of upcoming shows. Setlists will be posted as soon as possible after each show.
Ethan Bortnick has an exciting Television Concert that was recorded when he was 12 years old, before a live audience of 2000 people . "The Power of Music" concert special on Public Television began airing nationally in December, 2013, and has been rated the number one concert on PBS nationwide for an unprecedented 16 pledge drives. As Ethan's musical director, David put together a 46 piece orchestra and a 4 piece band, along with 120 member Kids Choir and 3 background vocalists. The show features Ethan's amazing ability as a pianist, singer, songwriter, composer and natural born entertainer. has an exciting Television Concert that was recorded when he was 12 years old, before a live audience of 2000 people . "The Power of Music" concert special on Public Television began airing nationally in December, 2013, and has been rated the number one concert on PBS nationwide for an unprecedented 16 pledge drives. As Ethan's musical director, David put together a 46 piece orchestra and a 4 piece band, along with 120 member Kids Choir and 3 background vocalists. The show features Ethan's amazing ability as a pianist, singer, songwriter, composer and natural born entertainer. Click here for a preview.
A video of one of David's favorite keyboard solos is now available for viewing on YouTube. The solo was recorded with Rainbow live at the Budokan in Tokyo back in 1984. It was David's 2nd World Tour with Rainbow and he was only 23 at the time.
Click here to listen to "Jackpot Swing," a piece which David composed, arranged and produced for the New Jersey Lottery Daily Drawing. The song is a big band swing tune featuring a 13-piece horn section and ran twice per day during the NJ Lottery's televised daily drawings for 10 years (2003–2013).
One of the only live performances ever from Red Dawn has found it's way to YouTube! In 1992 David & Larry Baud did a promo tour of Japan, and this Acoustic Version of I'll Be There was performed live on Japanese Television. Thanks to whoever posted it!
Happy the Man's latest album, titled "The Muse Awakens" has received rave reviews internationally. The album was mixed by Eric Schilling at Sonic Adventures Studio. The CD is currently available on this website.
Red Dawn CDs can be purchased on this website via PayPal.
David participated in a panel discussion on studio design at the AES Show held in October, 2017 in NY. The panel was moderated by legendary studio designer John Storyk (Hendrix's Electric Lady Studios, Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys, Green Day, Aerosmith and Berklee College of Music). Other panelists included legendary Grammy-awarded recording engineer Eddie Kramer (Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin, The Beatles, etc.). (L-R: Eddie Kramer, John Storyk and David Rosenthal).
Harry Connick Jr. joined Billy Joel and his band on Harry's talk show on September 12, 2017. Harry played piano and sang with Billy on Don't Ask Me Why and he played accordian on Vienna.
At the Dodger Stadium show on May 13, 2017, Billy Joel and the band were joined onstage by Pink, who sang NY State of Mind and her own hit song, Try. Axl Rose also appeared and performed Highway to Hell and Big Shot with the band. This photo was taken backstage right before the show. (L-R: Mike DelGuidice, Dave Rosenthal, Axl Rose, Tommy Byrnes and Chuck Burgi).
A 25th anniverary addition of Steve Vai's Grammy-nominated album Passion and Warfare was released in 2016. David played on 3 tracks on this album.
At the March 9, 2016 Madison Square Garden show, Itzhak Perlman joined Billy Joel and band for a special performance of the songs "Downeaster Alexa" and "And So It Goes." Itzhak Perlman was actually the guest soloist on the original recording of "Downeaster Alexa," although he was credited as World Famous Incognito Violinist.
David appeared as a featured guest speaker and panelist at Piano Summit 2017 being held in New York City on March 13-15, 2017.
David's protégé, Michael Arrom, was featured on Keyboard Mag's Talent Scout section. This photo was taken at Michael's senior recital at USC. (L-R: Paul Jackson, Jr., Michael Arrom, David and Patrice Rushen).
In celebration of Tony Bennett's 90th birthday, a television tribute called Tony Bennett Celebrates 90 was shown on NBC on December 20th. The show included a live performance of NY State of Mind with Tony Bennett and Billy Joel singing together at a recent Madison Square Garden performance. A CD which includes this performance is now available.
The December 2015 issue of Keyboard Magazine has an article about David and his projects with Ethan Bortnick. Click here to read the article.
David is the musical director for Ethan Bortnick's PBS television special, "Ethan Presents: A Celebration of America." The show is a collection of intimate live performances where Ethan pays homage to the men, women and families of the U.S. Armed Forces. The special first aired in May, 2015 on PBS stations nationwide.
David presented the Best Music Video award at the prestigious Greenfield Film Festival in April, 2015. The festival honors high school student filmmakers in the Philadelphia area and this year over 200 students participated.
In November 2014, Billy Joel was the recipient of the prestigious Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. This photo was taken during the encore of the award ceremony (L-R: Josh Groban, Gavin DeGraw, Tony Bennett, Tommy Byrnes, Natalie Maines, Dave Rosenthal, Kevin Spacey).
Keyboard Magazine's October 2014 issue has a feature interview on David's innovative new keyboard rig which he designed and programmed and is using on the current Billy Joel tour. The article also includes a series of five videos in which David provides a detailed tour of the rig, both on and under the stage, and how it works. In addition, Keyboard Magazine's website published a supplementary interview where David talks about working with Billy Joel, Broadway musicals, and advice about music education and training for aspiring keyboard players.
At Billy Joel's request, David created string quartet arrangements of some of Billy's songs which were performed at Madison Square Garden on March 21st and April 18th, 2014 during "unplugged" segments of the shows.
SiriusXM's limited-run "Billy Joel Channel" celebrated his legendary musical career featuring music, interviews, guest DJ sessions and live performances spanning Billy's 50-year career. David was guest DJ on May 2nd, 2014.
David programmed synths for Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball tour. The eighteen-month world tour ran from 2012-2013.
David played keyboards on Steve Vai's album, "The Story of Light." The session reunited the former bandmates and was done via Skype with Steve in his L.A. studio and David in his New Jersey studio.
At a Steve Vai concert in New Brunswick, NJ, in a totally unplanned moment, Steve suddenly called David out of the audience to come up on stage and perform with him. It was the first time the two former bandmates played on stage together since 1980.
Muse Research interviewed David about programming Receptors on the Bruce Springsteen Wrecking Ball tour and other large scale programming projects. Click here to read the interview which is posted on Muse Research's website.
Keyboard Magazine interviewed David about his work on Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball tour. Please click here to view the video interviews.
David's 18-year-old protegé Michael Arrom completed a Pacific Rim tour as keyboardist for Steve Vai's band. Click here to read more. Congrats Michael!
Sonic Adventures Studio recently completed an extensive equipment upgrade. Click here for an updated equipment list.
The 12.12.12 Concert for Sandy Relief was held at Madison Square Garden and broadcast live to approximately 2 billion people around the world. David performed with Billy Joel and band. The other artists that performed included Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi, Roger Waters, The Who, Paul McCartney, Alicia Keys, Eric Clapton, Chris Martin and others. All proceeds were donated to the Robin Hood Foundation to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. A CD including some of the performances was released in January.
David performed with Billy Joel on November 2nd, 2012 for the Hurricane Sandy telethon on NBC titled, "Coming Together." Billy and the band played Miami 2017 and were then joined by Bruce Springsteen, Steven Tyler and Jimmy Fallon for a rendition of Under the Boardwalk.
David worked with Alicia Keys doing programming for her promo tour in support of her album, "Girl on Fire."
The 4Front album "Malice in Wonderland" includes a guest synth solo by David on the track "Runaway Train." 4Front features Happy the Man drummer Joe Bergamini.
Showtime premiered "The Last Play At Shea" documentary film on its network November 11th, 2011.
David was in his studio doing orchestral editing for Phil Ramone's production of Elie Wiesel's live concert, which featured David's orchestration. The show was titled "Memories and Melodies of My Childhood," and featured Elie singing songs as he remembered them from his childhood and was accompanied by an orchestra and choir. David also performed as part of the orchestra. The show was filmed for a possible future release.
The DVD of the documentary film Last Play At Shea has been released. The film is about the intersecting histories of a landmark stadium, the ups and downs of the NY Mets, and the life and career of Billy Joel. In addition to performing in Billy's band, David also arranged and conducted the live orchestra and composed part of the film's score.
A DVD and CD of the full Shea Stadium concert entitled Live at Shea Stadium was released on March 8th, 2011.
On March 2, 2011, the documentary film Last Play At Shea was presented at St. Francis College in Brooklyn. David, Executive Producer Todd Kamelhar and Billy Joel Archivist Jeff Schock introduced the film and did a Q&A with the audience following the presentation.
On December 18 2010, Elie Wiesel performed in a concert at the 92nd St. Y in New York. The show was titled "Memories and Melodies of My Childhood," was produced by Phil Ramone and featured David's orchestration. The concert featured Elie singing songs as he remembered them from his childhood and was accompanied by an orchestra and choir. David also performed as part of the orchestra. The show was filmed for a possible future release.
The documentary film Last Play At Shea was presented at the Ziegfeld Theater on October 21, 2010 in New York City in conjunction with its nationwide release. David and Executive Producer Todd Kamelhar introduced the film and did a Q&A with the audience following the presentation.
In September 2010, David was the Musical Director for the UrFilez corporate launch party in Bahrain. The concert at the party featured artists from all over the world. David performed with and led the house band as they accompanied artists such as James Ingram, Michael Cavanaugh and many others.
The documentary film Last Play At Shea received it’s world premier at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City.
The Billy Joel/Elton John Face to Face World Tour wrapped up in February 2010. You can review setlists of previous shows from this and other tours here. This photo was taken from backstage at the Wrigley Field show, just before the encore, and shows David's view from his keyboards.
Keyboard Magazine was backstage at a Billy Joel/Elton John concert in February, 2010 in San Jose. They videotaped 5 brief interviews with David, both onstage and under the stage, explaining the equipment he uses for the show. Click here to read the article and watch the videos.
David was the Associate Music Supervisor for a second touring production of Movin' Out. The tour was launched in Atlantic City in June, 2007 and completed its run in May 2009.
David was at Legacy Studio in NY programming synths for Liza Minelli with Phil Ramone producing. The recordings were for her Broadway show and subsequent Grammy winning album, "Liza's at the Palace."
The musical "A Tale of Two Cities" completed its Broadway run in November 2008. David was the synthesizer programmer for the show.
Billy Joel and his band performed at the Barack Obama fundraiser at New York City's Hammerstein Ballroom on Oct. 16th, 2008 along with Bruce Springsteen, India Arie, John Legend and Alexa Joel. Billy and Bruce also performed together, accompanied by Billy's band. President Obama spoke at the event. The above photo was taken during the encore (L-R Tommy Byrnes, David Rosenthal, India Arie, John Legend, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, Chuck Bürgi, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Scialfa, Billy Joel, Crystal Taliefero and Alexa Joel. At the end of the gig, President Obama hugged each one of the band members (L-R Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Michelle Obama and Barack Obama hugging David Rosenthal).
Billy Joel's "Last Double Play at Shea," featured guest performances by Tony Bennett, John Mayer, Don Henley, John Mellencamp, Garth Brooks, Steven Tyler, Roger Daltrey and Paul McCartney. The two sold-out performances were also enhanced by a live orchestra featuring David's orchestration. David also conducted on Lullabye.
There is a feature story on David in the May 2008 issue of Keyboard Magazine. Click here for a PDF version of the article.
David performed "Only the Good Die Young" with Billy Joel and the band on the Oprah Winfrey show on March 24th, 2008.
Keyboard Magazine conducted an on-line interview with David about the Christmas in Fallujah recording sessions with Billy Joel.
Billy Joel's song, Christmas in Fallujah, was released on December 4th, 2007 and is available for download on iTunes. The song is performed by Long Island artist Cass Dillon along with the entire Billy Joel Band. The proceeds from "Christmas in Fallujah" will be donated to Homes for Our Troops, a nonprofit organization that builds specially adapted homes for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with severe disabilities.
The musical "A Tale of Two Cities" completed its pre-Broadway run in Sarasota, FL at the Asolo Theatre. David was the synthesizer programmer for the show.
David is the Musical Director for singer-songwriter Danielle Evin. Danielle and her band performed under David's leadership for various live performances, including the 2006 & 2007 Farm Aid concerts in New York.
The original U.S. touring production of Movin' Out enjoyed 3 years of tremendous success and closed in January 2007.
A double-CD from Billy Joel, "Twelve Gardens Live" was released on June 13th, 2006. The CD was recorded live at Madison Square Garden during the record-breaking 12 sold-out shows in New York City.
David was in London to help launch a European production of Movin' Out. Previews began on March 28th, 2006 and the show ran in the West End at the Victoria Apollo Theatre from April 10th until May 22nd, 2006.
Sonic Adventures Studio has completed a new facility designed by Ross Alexander. His award winning studio designs are world renowned. New equipment includes a state-of-the-art Protools HD3 Accel system and a Yamaha DM2000 96 input digital mixer. Click here for an updated equipment list.
XM Satellite Radio has added Happy the Man to its rotation on its Fine Tuning (Channel 76) channel.
After 3 incredibly successful years with 1,303 performances on Broadway, Movin' Out closed on December 11th, 2005. Congratulations to all involved for a great run! To read the final Broadway run press release, click here.
Happy the Man recently performed at the XM Satellite Radio studio in Washington, DC. The concert was broadcast on December 7th with 2 encore performances on the 9th and 11th.
Happy the Man headlined Progday 2005 on Saturday, September 3rd at Storybook Farm, Durham, NC.
David has been occasionally playing synth for the Broadway production of "Movin' Out."
Happy the Man performed live in Baltimore and Annapolis Maryland and Lowell Massachusetts.
Keyboard Magazine featured the following Spotlight Review for "The Muse Awakens": "It’s been 25 years since the last release of new material from this legendary prog band, but it’s worth the wait. The compositions are by turns beautiful, melodic, grooving, emotive, and humorous. Between David Rosenthal’s synth and keyboard palette and Frank Wyatt’s saxophones (and keyboards), the orchestrations are lush and inventive. ... excellent music from some great musicians." - Ernie Rideout
While at MoogFest in New York, David was backstage with Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Jordan Rudess, and Bernie Worrell. Keyboard Magazine also captured this moment and the photo appeared in their August issue.
Happy the Man played a limited number of shows on the East Coast and more are being planned.
The Broadway production of "Movin' Out" recently celebrated its 2 year anniversary. Check this Movin' Out website for dates and tickets.
David received a Grammy nomination for his work as one of the producers on the "Movin' Out" cast album. The nomination was in the category "Best Musical Show Album."
David was in Detroit to help launch the touring production of "Movin' Out." Check the official Movin' Out website for dates and tickets.
Happy The Man is pleased to announce that drummer Joe Bergamini has joined the band. Joe will be replacing Ron Riddle who had to leave due to scheduling conflicts. Best of luck to Ron, and welcome aboard Joe!
David composed, arranged and produced the theme music for the New Jersey Lottery Daily Drawing. The song, "Jackpot Swing" is a big band swing tune featuring a 13-piece horn section and plays twice each day during the Daily Drawing shown on WNJN.