GALT MacDERMOT

Lysistrata composer Galt MacDermot previously composed the music for the A.R.T. New Stages production of Steel, written by Nobel prize-winning author and poet Derek Walcott. He is best known for the music he wrote for HAIR, and his Tony Award-winning score for Two Gentlemen of Verona. MacDermot's work spans the gamut of performing arts; musicals (HAIR, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Human Comedy), ballet scores (La Novela, Salome), film scores (Cotton Comes to Harlem, Fortune and Men's Eyes, Mistress), chamber music (Wind Quintet), the Anglican Liturgy (The Mass In F), poetry (The Thomas Hardy Songs), drama accompaniments (The Sun Always Shines for the Cool, The Shooting of Dan McGrew), and band repertory. He draws inspiration from a wealth of musical scores, crossing the boundaries of jazz, folk, gospel, reggae, and classical styles.

Mr. MacDermot was born and raised in Montreal. After attending Bishop's University, he received a more extensive musical education at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and then moved to New York in 1964. Three years later, MacDermot wrote the music for the landmark Broadway production of HAIR which he later adapted for the screen. MacDermot formed the New Pulse Jazz Band in 1979, which features his original music. The New Pulse Jazz Band combines the lyricism of the best musical theater with the rhythms of classic jazz and soul to create a uniquely captivating sound. Galt MacDermot's music has also found a new venue of late with young rap artists who find his rhythms perfect for setting their lyrics, as in Run DMC's Grammy award-winning Down With The King, and Billboard's top chart-buster, Woo-Hah!! Got You All In Check by Busta Rhymes derived from MacDermot's Martine's Movie/Woman Is Sweeter. Mr. MacDermot performs each December at Weill Hall, Carnegie Hall, to sold-out crowds, and his latest releases are now available on CD.