Stephen Flaherty Information & Stephen Flaherty Links at HealthHaven.com

Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre who writes mostly in collaboration with the lyricist/bookwriter Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway shows Once on This Island, which was nominated for eight Tony Awards, Seussical , which was nominated for the Grammy Award and Ragtime, which was nominated for twelve Tony Awards and won Best Original Score. Flaherty was also nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards with Lynn Ahrens for his songs and song score for the animated film musical Anastasia.

[edit] Biography

Flaherty was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He began studying piano at the age of seven. When he was twelve he knew he wanted to write musicals and by age fourteen he had already composed his first musical score. He attended South Hills Catholic High School in Pittsburgh and later studied musical composition and piano at University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, graduating in 1982. Musical jobs during this period included playing ragtime piano in a dance band which celebrated American music from 1890-1920. This early job would serve Flaherty well later in life when he had the opportunity to compose the score for the Broadway musical Ragtime. He moved to New York City in fall 1982 he joined the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, which was founded by legendary music director Lehman Engel, and where he met his longtime collaborator, Lynn Ahrens. He also studied Musical Theater in the graduate program at New York University during this time, where his teachers included Richard Maltby, Jr. and Arthur Laurents, among others. Mr. Flaherty also writes for film and the concert hall and has had success in both mediums. He has received several commissions from Carnegie Hall, the Guggenheim Museum and the Boston Pops Orchestra, among others.