New York University: Music
by Sylviastel | created - 21 Sep 2014 | updated - 22 Sep 2014 | PublicArthur Berger BA 1932; composer.
Greg Drudy; previous student, Interpol's first drummer.
Bernard Garfield BA 1948; bassoonist & composer.
Daniel Kessler GAL; Interpol's guitarist and backing vocalist.
Blake Schwarzenbach BA 1991; leader singer for bands, Jawbreaker and Jets to Brazil.
William Oscar Smith BA 1942; Jazz double bassist; most notably on Coleman Hawkins' recording of "Body and Soul."
Eileen Southern; Steinhardt 1961 Ph.D.' first African American woman appointed full tenured professor at Harvard University.
Louise Talma BA 1927; composer.
1. Milton Babbitt
Music_department | Alice Cooper: (No More) Love at Your Convenience
Milton Babbitt was born on May 10, 1916 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is known for Alice Cooper: (No More) Love at Your Convenience (1977), Alice Cooper: You and Me (1977) and C'è musica & musica (1972). He was married to Sylvia Babbitt and Sylvia Miller. He died on January 29, ...
BA 1935; 1986 MacArthur Fellow, 1982 Pulitzer Prize special citation.
2. Cy Coleman
Soundtrack | Reminiscence
Songwriter ("Witchcraft", "Big Spender", "Hey, Look Me Over"), composer and pianist, educated at the High School of Music and Art and the New York College of Music. He also studied with Rudolph Gruen (on scholarship) and Adele Marcus. He gave his first piano recitals at age six in Steinway Hall and...
Steinhardt: 1990 Tony Award for City of Angels and 1978 Tony Award for On the Twentieth Century musicals.
3. Betty Comden
Soundtrack | On the Town
Songwriter ("New York, New York", "Lonely Town", "The Party's Over", "Just in Time"), author and actress. educated at New York University with a Bachelor of Science degree. While a student, she acted with the Washington Square Players. She was a member of the Revuers, a night club act which also ...
Steinhardt; professional partner of Adolph Green, recipient of several Tony Awards for musicals.
4. Clive Davis
Soundtrack | Deadpool 2
Clive Davis was born in Brooklyn, New York. He entered Harvard Law School on a full scholarship and graduated in 1956. Four years later, he arrived at Columbia Records as an attorney. In 1965, he was promoted to administrative vice-president of the label, became vice-president and general manager a...
CAS, BA 1953. founder of Arista Records.
5. Neil Diamond
Soundtrack | The Jazz Singer
Neil Leslie Diamond was born in the Coney Island section of Brooklyn, New York City, on January 24, 1941. His father, Akeeba "Kieve" Diamond, was a dry-goods merchant. Both he and wife Rose were Jewish immigrants from Poland. The Diamond family temporarily relocated to Cheyenne, Wyoming, because of...
CAS, Honorary Ph.D. 2003; singer, songwriter.
6. Carlos Dengler
Actor | Kirsten and Lance
Carlos Dengler is an NYC-based multi-instrumentalist, composer, essayist, actor, video artist and filmmaker. Carlos is best known as the original bassist and keyboardist of the band Interpol; he co-founded the band in 1998 and departed in 2010. Carlos has worked in other genres since leaving the ...
CAS; Interpol's first bassist keyboardist.
7. Dave Douglas
Music_department | American Splendor
Dave Douglas is known for American Splendor (2003), The Music of Chance (1993) and Son Lux: The Fool You Need (2018).
Steinhardt BA; jazz trumpeter
8. Fred Ebb
Soundtrack | Chicago
Fred Ebb was born on April 8, 1928 in New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for Chicago (2002), Cabaret (1972) and Shame (2011). He died on September 11, 2004 in New York City, New York, USA.
BA 1939; 1967 Tony & Grammy Awards for Cabaret with John Kander.
9. Vitamin C
Actress | Dracula 2000
Vitamin C (Colleen Ann Fitzpatrick) is an American pop music singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress.
She began her career as an Ivory soap baby and child actress, appearing in John Waters' film Hairspray (1988), and continued to appear in minor roles in films before starting the ...
BA 1991; aka Vitamin C.
10. Lady Gaga
Soundtrack | A Star Is Born
Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is an American songwriter, singer, actress, philanthropist, dancer and fashion designer.
Gaga was born on March 28, 1986 in Manhattan, New York City, to Cynthia Louise (Bissett), a philanthropist and business executive, and Joseph Anthony ...
TSOA
11. Midori Goto
Writer | Kôkaku kidôtai: Stand Alone Complex
Midori Goto is known for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2004), Blood+ (2005) and Loups=Garous (2010).
MA 2001; violinist
12. Albert Hammond Jr.
Soundtrack | Going the Distance
Albert Hammond Jr. was born on April 9, 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Going the Distance (2010), Babylon (2022) and Barely Lethal (2015). He has been married to Justyna Sroka since December 23, 2013.
TSOA; The Strokes' guitarist
13. Anohni
Composer | Turning
Anohni is a singer, songwriter and visual artist originally releasing chamber pop music under the name Antony and the Johnsons. In 2005, her album 'I Am a Bird Now' won the Mercury Music Prize and considerable success. In 2016, under the name Anohni, she released Hopelessness, an electronic dance ...
TSOA; Mercury prize winning singer of Antony and the Johnsons.
14. Barbara Ireland
TSOA; singing partner with Stone Gossard of Pearl Jam and his bank, the Hank Khoir.
15. Paul Banks
Soundtrack | Kaboom
Paul Banks was born on May 3, 1978 in Essex, England, UK. He is an actor and composer, known for Kaboom (2010), True Crime: New York City (2005) and I Melt with You (2011).
GAL: Interpol's guitarist and lead vocalist.
16. Talib Kweli
Soundtrack | Superbad
Talib Kweli was born on October 3, 1975 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Superbad (2007), Freedom Writers (2007) and Stick It (2006).
previous student; member of rap duo, Black Star.
17. Elodie Lauten
Self | Searching for a Sound
Elodie Lauten was born on October 20, 1950 in the USA. She died on June 3, 2014 in Manhattan, New York, USA.
Steinhardt MA 1986; composer
18. Tania Leon
Tania Leon was born on May 14, 1943 in Havana, Cuba. She is known for The Sensual Nature of Sound: 4 Composers Laurie Anderson, Tania Leon, Meredith Monk, Pauline Oliveros (1993), Lico Jimenez the Ebony Liszt and CBS Mornings (2021).
Steinhardt; famous conductor, composer of the "Scourge of Hyacinths."
19. Enoch Light
Soundtrack | Midnight in Paris
Enoch Light was born on August 18, 1905 in Canton, Ohio, USA. He was a composer, known for Midnight in Paris (2011), Cari fottutissimi amici (1994) and The Little Traitor (2007). He was married to Mary Danis. He died on July 31, 1978 in New York City, New York, USA.
Steinhardt; pioneer of music recording.
20. Melissa Manchester
Soundtrack | The Great Mouse Detective
Melissa Manchester attended the Manhattan School of Music and Arts, where she learned to play the piano and the harpsichord. Her father is a bassoon player in the New York Metropolitan Opera orchestra. In the early 1970s, Melissa studied songwriting at New York University School of the Arts in New ...
Independent Studies 1970-1971; 1982 Grammy Award winner.
21. Avey Tare
Soundtrack | Shortbus
Avey Tare is known for Shortbus (2006), Project X (2012) and Antibirth (2016). He has been married to Kristín Anna Valtýsdóttir since 2005.
former student; founding member of the experimental band, Animal Collective.
22. Robert Reynolds
Self | E! True Hollywood Story
Law JD 2001; entertainment lawyer, manager of The Killers.
23. Jerry Ross
Actor | Apocalypse Now
Jerry Ross was born on September 30, 1955 in San Francisco, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Apocalypse Now (1979), The Walking Dead (2010) and Dune (1984).
studied under Rudolph Schramm; composer.
24. Rick Rubin
Soundtrack | Battleship
Rick Rubin was born on March 10, 1963 in Long Island, New York, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Battleship (2012), Twister (1996) and Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
former student, lived on campus; co-founder of Def Jam while at NYU.
25. Carole Bayer Sager
Soundtrack | The Spy Who Loved Me
Carole Bayer Sager was born on March 8, 1944 in New York City, New York, USA. She is a composer, known for The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Arthur (1981) and Junior (1994). She has been married to Robert A. Daly since June 8, 1996. She was previously married to Burt Bacharach and Andrew Sager.
BA 1979; 1987 Grammy Award winner.
26. Patti Scialfa
Soundtrack | No Looking Back
Patti Scialfa was born on July 29, 1953 in Deal, New Jersey, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for No Looking Back (1998), Manhood (2003) and The Mustangs: America's Wild Horses (2020). She has been married to Bruce Springsteen since June 8, 1991. They have three children.
Gallatin; earned a Music degree after transferring from the University of Miami; singer and guitarist with Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
27. Wayne Shorter
Music_department | The Fugitive
Wayne Shorter was born on August 25, 1933 in Newark, New Jersey, USA. He is known for his work on Wayne Shorter: Zero Gravity (2023), Miles Ahead (2015), Finding Forrester (2000), and The Fugitive (1993). He has also appeared in the recent documentaries Jaco (2015) and Marcus (2015).
Considered the ...
Steinhardt 1956 BME; jazz saxophonist.
28. Russell Simmons
Producer | The Nutty Professor
Russell Simmons was born on October 4, 1957 in Queens, New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for The Nutty Professor (1996), Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) and It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010). He was previously married to Kimora Lee Simmons.
former student; co-founder of Def Jam while at NYU with Rick Rubin.
29. Mary Wilson
Actress | Golden Shoes
Mary Wilson, co-founder of The Supremes, helped garner an unequaled record of number 1 hits by a female group. Recording for Motown, Mary guided The Supremes into rock 'n roll history, turning her group into one of the three icons of the 1960's, alongside Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Mary never ...
Gallatin; the Supremes.
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