Gary William Friedman

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.

Friedman married singer-lyricist Stevie Holland in 1999. He has two children from his first marriage to Barbara Ellen Miller, who died in 1997.

• The Me Nobody Knows (1971) • Platinum (1978)

• The Me Nobody Knows (1969) • Taking My Turn (1982) • Sunset (1983) • Bring In The Morning (1991) • Sheba (1995) • Love, Linda: The Life of Mrs. Cole Porter (co-author and arrangements) (2009)

• 2008 ½ (lyrics by Tom Eyen), Truck and Warehouse Theatre, New York City (1972) • Walking Papers (lyrics by Sandra Hochman), Circle in the Square Theatre, New York City (1975) • Laugh A Little, Cry A Little (lyrics by Arnold Horwitt), National Tour, starring Jan Peerce (1976) • Merton of The Movies (lyrics by Robert Lorick), Carnegie Mellon University (1985) • Ghetto (additional lyrics by Sheldon Harnick), Mark Taper Forum, Los Angeles (1986) • Sheba (book and lyrics by Sharleen Cooper Cohen), ATA, New York City (1994) • The Last Supper, A Musical Enactment (lyrics by Thomas Mitz), Saint Luke's Theatre, New York City (2001) • Magpie (lyrics by Edward Gallardo), New York Musical Theatre Festival, The Player's Theatre, New York City (2007) • Treasure Island (book by Sherman Yellen, lyrics by Will Holt), Theatre Three, Port Jefferson, New York (2012)

• Mordecai (opera; libretto by Robert Reinhold), premiered at the Kosciushko Foundation, New York City (1979) • Haskalah, premiered with the Columbus Symphony, Columbus, Ohio (1984) • Waning Powers (opera; libretto by Gerald Walker), premiered at the Vineyard Theatre, New York City (1986) • The Pied Piper (ballet), commissioned and performed by Tales and Scales, choreographed by Mercedes Ellington, premiered at the Lancaster Music Festival (1994), subsequently performed with the Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra (1995) • Puss N' Boots (ballet), commissioned and performed by Maestro Gary Sheldon for the Lancaster Music Festival, choreographed by Melinda Baker (1998) • Teddy (operatic fable; libretto by Herb Schapiro), performed in concert with Encompass New Opera Theatre (Nancy Rhodes, director), New York City (2002) • Accordion Samba, commissioned by American Accordionists' Association, premiered at Elebash Recital Hall, New York City (2005) • Ligeia (chamber work), commissioned and premiered by Joshua Rosenblum for the Pit Stop Players, DiMenna Center for The Arts, New York City (2011) • Butterfly (cantata for orchestra and soloists), premiered by Cantor Jack Chomsky at Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Bexley, Ohio (2014) • The Raven (chamber work), commissioned and premiered by Joshua Rosenblum for the Pit Stop Players, Saint Stephens Church, New York City (2015) • Reflections (chamber work), commissioned and premiered by The Palisades Virtuosi, at the George Frey Center For The Arts, New Jersey (2015), Recorded on Albany Records (2017) • A Dream Within A Dream (chamber work), commissioned and premiered by Joshua Rosenblum for the Pit Stop Players, Good Sheperd-Faith Presbyterian Church, New York City (2016) • Anthem (chamber work; poem by Ross Yockey), premiered by the Essex Chamber Music Players at the David Hartleb Tech Center, Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, Massachusetts (2017)

• Celebration, a contemporary setting of the traditional Friday night service, commissioned by Roger L. Stevens for John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (1971), premiered at Temple Israel of the City of New York (1973) • An American S'Lichot, commissioned and premiered by Cantor Jack Chomsky at Congregation Tifereth Israel, Columbus, Ohio (1983) • Song Of Songs, for Cantor, Choir and Orchestra, commissioned and performed by Cantor Nate Lam at Stephen Wise Synagogue, Los Angeles (1988)

• "Alexander", an ABC Afterschool Special (1973) • The Electric Company (music director and composer) (1974–1975) • The Me Nobody Knows (Showtime special) (1979) • Taking My Turn (PBS Great Performances series) (1983) • My Two Loves (1986) • Night of Courage (ABC) (1987) • Who Gets the Friends? (1988) • Liberace (1988) • Bump in the Night (1991) • Susan B. Anthony Slept Here (1995)