Philip J. Lang

Philip J. Lang (17 April 1911, in New York – 22 February 1986, in Branford, Connecticut) was an American musical arranger, orchestrator and composer of band music, as well as a musical educator. He is credited for writing the orchestral arrangements (orchestrations) for over 50 Broadway theatre shows, including many landmark productions, such as Li'l Abner (1956), Hello, Dolly! (1964), Mame (1966), George M (1968), Annie (1977) and 42nd Street (1980). Together with Robert Russell Bennett, he orchestrated the record-breaking productions of Lerner and Loewe's My Fair Lady (1956) and Camelot (1960). The dean of musical orchestrators, Russell Bennett remarked that the original arrangements Lang had prepared for Annie Get Your Gun (1946), which utilized a modern technique of orchestral scoring, were beautifully done.

In 1933 Lang graduated from Ithaca College, which later awarded him an honorary doctorate for his career. He pursued further musical studies at Columbia University and the Juilliard School. By 1934 Lang had signed with the busy theatrical orchestration department at Chappell Music run by Max Dreyfus. There he was expected to be the principal orchestral arranger (orchestrator) for about five musical shows a year being produced on Broadway and also be expected to collaborate with his colleagues on shows assigned to them as needed. During the war years, Lang along with Robert Russell Bennett, Don Walker, and Ted Royal were recognized as the busiest orchestrators on Broadway.

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