THE SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS & LYRICISTS (SCL) and

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS, AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS (ASCAP) and

THE PALEY CENTER

Presented

AN EVENING WITH STEPHEN SCHWARTZ

A Life in Film, Television and Theater

 Thursday, February 23rd, 2012, 7:30pm

A reception followed in the Paley Center lobby.

            Stephen Schwartz, the three-time Academy Award-winning composer/ lyricist talked about writing for film and television vs. writing for the stage, and presented samples of his work both "live" and on film. 

            In this new age of television shows, such as Fox’s GLEE and NBC’s upcoming SMASH, which emulate musicals, who better to talk with us than the brilliant composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz, who was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into both the Songwriters and Theatre Halls of Fame. His experience working on film musicals, both animation and live-action, and theater give him a particular view of the music industry that can shine a bright light on where we are going today.

            He has collaborated with composer Alan Menken on the scores for the Disney animated features POCAHONTAS, for which he received two Academy Awards and a Grammy, and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME.  He also provided songs for DreamWorks’ first animated feature, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, for which he won another Academy Award for the song “When You Believe.” He provided music and lyrics for the original television musical, GEPPETTO, seen on “The Wonderful World of Disney”; and collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s ENCHANTED.  He’s currently working with Oscar-winning composer A. R. Rahman on a new Bollywood animated film musical, MONKEY OF MUMBAI.  

            He wrote music and lyrics to GODSPELL (Grammy Award), PIPPIN, THE MAGIC SHOW, THE BAKER’S WIFE, CHILDREN OF EDEN, and the current Broadway and international smash hit, WICKED. At one point, GODSPELL, PIPPIN, and THE MAGIC SHOW were all running on Broadway at once. With Leonard Bernstein he wrote English text for Bernstein’s MASS, which opened The Kennedy Center. He composed his first opera, writing libretto and score, and contributing some of the arrangements to SÉANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON, based on the British film of the same name. The opera debuted at Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009 and was produced by New York City Opera in 2011. He has released two CDs on which he sings new songs, entitled RELUCTANT PILGRIM and UNCHARTED TERRITORY.

            Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he directs musical theatre workshops in New York and Los Angeles, and is currently the President of the Dramatists’ Guild. To learn more about him, visit: http://www.stephenschwartz.com

This seminar took place at:

THE PALEY CENTER/The Mitchell Theatre

465 North Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90210

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THE SOCIETY OF COMPOSERS & LYRICISTS (SCL) is the non-profit and primary organization for professional film, TV and video game composers and lyricists, with a distinguished 65-year history in the fine art of creating music for motion pictures and television.  www.TheSCL.com

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