Gary William Friedman

Gary William Friedman is an American musical theatre, symphonic, film and television composer. His career began in the 1960s in New York City as a saxophonist in an improvisational ensemble and as a composer for experimental theater. Friedman's 1970 musical, The Me Nobody Knows opened Off-Broadway and won the Obie Award for Best Music of a Musical before moving to Broadway and earning five Tony Award nominations. Friedman has also composed scores for numerous American films and television series such as PBS's children's television series, The Electric Company. His orchestral and operatic compositions have been commissioned by festivals and venues including the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Friedman was a saxophonist and band leader at Abraham Lincoln High School. While attending Brooklyn College, Friedman studied composition with Hall Overton and Jan Meyerowitz. After completing his post-graduate studies in education, Friedman studied electronic music composition with Vladimir Ussachevsky, at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center.