Gary William Friedman
Encyclopedia
Gary William Friedman is an American musician and composer. He completed his undergraduate work at Brooklyn College
, and did advanced training in electronic music at Columbia University
.
His music spans the worlds of theater, television
, jazz
, classical
and film
. He is the composer of the Obie
-Award winning, Tony
-nominated musical The Me Nobody Knows
. Other Broadway
/ Off-Broadway
credits include Platinum
, Taking My Turn (presented on PBS
as part of its Great Performances
series), Sheba
, and The Last Supper.
His orchestral and liturgical works have been commissioned and performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Lancaster Music Festival.
He served as music director for the fourth season of TV’s The Electric Company
, for which he wrote 40 songs, including the popular "Spider-Man
Theme Song".
He has produced and arranged several critically acclaimed pop/jazz CDs of his wife's, the singer-lyricist Stevie Holland
.
2008 Marks the debut of his first classical recording release COLLOQUY.
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, and did advanced training in electronic music at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
.
His music spans the worlds of theater, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
. He is the composer of the Obie
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
-Award winning, Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
-nominated musical The Me Nobody Knows
The Me Nobody Knows
The Me Nobody Knows is a musical with music by Gary William Friedman and lyrics by Will Holt. It debuted off-Broadway in 1970 and then transferred to Broadway. It received the Obie Award and a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical...
. Other Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
/ Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
credits include Platinum
Platinum (musical)
Platinum is a musical with a book by Will Holt and Bruce Vilanch, music by Gary William Friedman, and lyrics by Holt. Set in a Hollywood recording studio, it centers on Lila Halliday, a star of 1940s and 50s movie musicals who is attempting a comeback...
, Taking My Turn (presented on PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
as part of its Great Performances
Great Performances
Great Performances, a television series devoted to the performing arts, has been telecast on Public Broadcasting Service public television since 1972...
series), Sheba
Sheba
Sheba was a kingdom mentioned in the Jewish scriptures and the Qur'an...
, and The Last Supper.
His orchestral and liturgical works have been commissioned and performed at venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Lancaster Music Festival.
He served as music director for the fourth season of TV’s The Electric Company
The Electric Company
The Electric Company is an educational American children's television series that was produced by the Children's Television Workshop for PBS in the United States. PBS broadcast 780 episodes over the course of its six seasons from October 25, 1971 to April 15, 1977...
, for which he wrote 40 songs, including the popular "Spider-Man
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. The character was created by writer-editor Stan Lee and writer-artist Steve Ditko. He first appeared in Amazing Fantasy #15...
Theme Song".
He has produced and arranged several critically acclaimed pop/jazz CDs of his wife's, the singer-lyricist Stevie Holland
Stevie Holland
Stevie Holland, is an American jazz singer, cabaret performer / actress and lyricist.Born in New York, she is married to composer Gary William Friedman, with whom she has collaborated on several recording projects and theater productions. Her solo albums include More Than Words Can Say and Restless...
.
2008 Marks the debut of his first classical recording release COLLOQUY.