Theatrical Composer

Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (born April 25, 1945) is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA (1972-1982), and co-composer of the musical Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!. Currently co-producing forthcoming film Mamma Mia!...

Göran Bror Benny Andersson (born in Stockholm, Sweden on December 16, 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA (1972-1982), and co-composer of the musical Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!. Currently active...

Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935–August 16, 1977), sometimes written Aron, was an American singer, musician and actor. He is a cultural icon, often known as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll", or simply "The King". Presley began his career as one of the first performers...

George Gershwin (September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer. He wrote most of his vocal and theatrical works in collaboration with his elder brother, lyricist Ira Gershwin. George Gershwin composed songs both for Broadway and for the classical concert...

Oscar Hammerstein II (born Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein) (July 12, 1895 – August 23, 1960) was an American writer, producer, and (usually uncredited) director of musicals for almost forty years. He was twice awarded an Oscar for "Best Original Song," and much...

Stephen Joshua Sondheim (b. March 22 1930) is an American musical and film composer and lyricist, winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Award (seven, more than any other composer), multiple Grammy Award, and a Pulitzer Prize. He has been described by Frank Rich in...

Queen are an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist Brian May, lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, and drummer Roger Taylor, with bassist John Deacon joining the following year. Queen rose to prominence during the 1970s and are Britain's most successful...

Leonard Bernstein (August 25 1918 – October 14 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was the first conductor born and educated in the United States of America to receive world-wide acclaim. He is perhaps best known for his...

Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was a Russia-born naturalized American composer and lyricist, and one of the most prolific American songwriter in history. Berlin was one of the few Tin Pan Alley/Broadway songwriters who wrote both lyrics and music for...

Eric Idle (born March 29, 1943) is an English comedian, actor, author and composer of comedic songs. He wrote and performed as a member of the internationally renowned British comedy group Monty Python. Idle was born in South Shields, County Durham (now Tyne and Wear...

Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902, Arverne, Queens, New York City – December 30, 1979, New York City) was an American compose of the music for more than 900 songs and 40 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his...

Mary Rodgers (born January 11, 1931) is an American composer of musical, an author of children's books, and the daughter of Broadway composer Richard Rodgers. Rodgers' musical works include Once Upon a Mattress (1959), From A to Z (1960), Hot Spot (1963), The Mad...

Frederick Loewe (June 10, 1901 - February 14, 1988) was a Tony Award-winning Austria-American composer. Loewe was born in Berlin to Viennese parents Edmond and Rosa Loewe. His father Edmond was a noted Jewish operetta star who traveled considerably, to North and...

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born March 22, 1948) is a highly successful British composer of musical theatre, and also the elder brother of cellist Julian Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber has enjoyed great popular success, with several musicals that have run...

Fats Waller (born Thomas Wright Waller on May 21, 1904 December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer and comedic entertainer. A skilled pianist -- widely recognized as a master of stride piano -- Waller was one of the most popular performers of...

Georges Bizet (October 25, 1838 – June 3, 1875) was a French composer and pianist of the romantic era. He is best known for the opera Carmen. Bizet was born in Paris at 28 Rue de la Tour d'Auvergne. He was registered with the legal name Alexandre-César-Léopold Bizet,...

Brian Douglas Wilson (born June 20, 1942 in Hawthorne, California) is an American musician best known as the lead songwriter, bassist, and singer of the American pop band The Beach Boys. Wilson was also the band's main producer, composer, and arranger. The lead vocal...

Jean-Baptiste de Lully (Giovanni Battista di Lulli) ( in French) (November 28, 1632 – March 22, 1687), was a French composer of Italian birth, who spent most of his life working in the court of Louis XIV of France. He became a French subject in 1661. Born in...

Damon Albarn, (b. March 23, 1968 in Leytonstone, London), is an English singer-songwriter who gained fame as the lead singer and keyboard player of rock band Blur. Though Blur has not disbanded, of late Albarn has been more active as the main man behind the music of...

Jerry Herman (born Gerald Herman on July 10, 1931 in New York City) is an American composer/lyricist of the Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. Raised in Jersey City by musically...

Lionel Bart (August 1, 1930 – April 3, 1999) was an English composer of songs and musicals, best known for Oliver! Bart was born Lionel Begleiter the youngest of seven surviving children in East London to Galician Jew, and grew up in Stepney. His father worked as a...

Frank Henry Loesser (June 29, 1910, New York City – July 26, 1969, New York City) was an American composer and lyricist. He died of lung cancer at age 59. During World War II, he wrote 1942's "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition". Formerly a successful lyricist...

John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927 in Kansas City, Missouri) is the American composer of a series of musical theatre successes as part of the songwriting team of Kander and Ebb. Kander attended The Pembroke Country-Day School and Oberlin College before earning a...

Victor August Herbert (February 1 1859 – May 26 1924) was a cellist,conductor and composer of light opera. He was prominent among the tin pan alley composers and later a founder of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP). Herbert was born...

Jim Steinman (born November 1, 1947 in New York City, New York) is an American record producer, composer, and lyricist responsible for several hit songs. He has also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work has included songs in the adult contemporary, rock...

Jonathan Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American Tony Award-winning composer and playwright who lived in New York City and authored musicals, including Rent and Tick, Tick... BOOM!. These musicals tackle serious issues such as multiculturalism,...

Christopher Bond (fl. 1970s) is a British playwright whose 1973 retelling of the Victorian tale Sweeney Todd formed the basis of Stephen Sondheim's musical of the same name, with book by Hugh Wheeler. He currently lives in West Cornwall. A noted fan of horror/comedy ...

Claude-Michel Schönberg (born July 6, 1944 in Vannes, France) is a French record producer, actor, singer, popular songwriter, and musical theatre composer, best known for his collaborations with the librettist Alain Boublil. These include the musicals: Schönberg...

Roger Dean Miller (January 2, 1936 – October 25, 1992) was an American singer, songwriter and musician, best known for his mid-1960s country/pop hits such as "King of the Road", "Dang Me," and "England Swings." He also wrote the music and lyrics for the Tony-award...

Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is a well-known American musical theater lyricist and composer. In a career already spanning over four decades, Schwartz has produced such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972) and Wicked (2003). He has also...