Herschel Garfein, composer

Herschel Garfein is the composer and writer of the opera Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, based on the play by Tom Stoppard; a showcase directed by Mark Morris was performed at the Mark Morris Dance Center in Brooklyn in January, 2008; orchestral excerpts were performed by New York City Opera on its VOX 2006 Festival. Mr. Garfein wrote the libretto for the highly acclaimed opera Elmer Gantry, which premiered this season in Nashville, TN and Montclair, NJ. Previous credits include:the dance trilogy Mythologies (for Mark Morris), Sueños(for Mabou Mines/ Boston Musica Viva), and other music-theater pieces. Direction credits: Elmer Gantry workshops, Ullman’s The Emperor of Atlantis (Northeastern U. and Merkin Hall); libretto and direction of Edison Invents (the Westfield Symphony). Other works include: incidental music for Troilus and Cressida (TFANA, dir. Sir Peter Hall), American Steel (The Alabama Symphony),Places to Live (Boston Classical Orchestra) and a String Quartet(Lark Quartet). Awards from: The National Institute of Opera/Musical Theater, The National Endowment for the Arts and the Sundance Institute. He lives in Brooklyn is on the faculty of the Program in Vocal Performance at the Steinhardt School, NYU.