Alan Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist. Menken has collaborated with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Stephen Schwartz. For his work he has won eight Academy Awards as well as ten additional nominations.

Life and career

Menken was born in Manhattan into a Jewish family, the son of Judith and Norman Menken, a dentist.www.filmreference.com/film/46/Alan-Menken.html He developed an interest in music at an early age, studying piano and violin. He went to New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, New York. He attended New York University as a pre-med student, but later changed his focus to music. After college, he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. He performed frequently in local clubs and worked as a composer of jingles and songs and as an accompanist.