Michael Patrick Walker
Michael Patrick Walker is a composer/lyricist and musician as well as an arranger and orchestrator. He is best known as one of the co-writers and co-creators of the musical, Altar Boyz which was written by Walker, fellow composer/lyricist Gary Adler and book writer Kevin Del Aguila. For his work on Altar Boyz Michael was nominated for a 2005 Lucille Lortel Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical and for two 2005 Drama Desk Awards for Best Music and for Best Lyrics. The show also won the 2005 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Musical.
His other musicals include The Distant Bells which was a finalist for the 2009 Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's musical theatre conference and received a reading by the Roundabout Theatre Company in 2011 starring Chita Rivera, Ana Gasteyer and Rachel York, Dog and Pony which he is co-writing with book-writer Rick Elice and an untitled dance musical Walker is developing with director Stafford Arima and choreographer Andrew Palermo. In addition, Walker also composed and arranged the dance piece Humbugged! for the 2011 Radio City Christmas Spectacular, composed the song "Down! Down! Down!" for the web series The Battery's Down and wrote several songs for various editions of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS' annual holiday CD, Carols for a Cure.
On November 8, 2011, Walker's album of his music and lyrics, Out of Context: The Songs of Michael Patrick Walker, was released on the Yellow Sound Label. It includes songs from his musical in development, trunk songs, stand-alone songs and a new version of I Believe from Altar Boyz. The thirteen tracks were performed by Broadway performers including Cheyenne Jackson, Kelli O'Hara, Telly Leung, Michael Arden, Rachel York Lisa Howard, Peter Friedman, Andy Karl, Anne L. Nathan, Kate Wetherhead, Kerry O'Malley, Natalie Venetia Belcon, Jim Stanek, Andy Mientus and Noah Galvin. Walker co-produced the album with Yellow Sound Label co-founded, Michael Croiter.
Outside of the world of theatre, Michael was the music director and supervisor for Season 2 of the Disney Channel TV Series Johnny and the Sprites. In this capacity, Michael served as the lead composer, oversaw a team of noted theatre composers who wrote the original songs for each episode and developed the stories for each of 26 scripts for the series. He also arranged, orchestrated and produced the recordings of the songs and also co-produced the CD for the series. Previous to his involvement as music director and supervisor, Michael had been composing for the show since its inception in 2005. Season 2 of Johnny and the Sprites received 4 Daytime Emmy Nominations including one for Outstanding Pre-School Children's Series. He has also written original music and lyrics for the Nick JR television show Olivia (TV series).
As a musician and/or conductor, Michael's Broadway and Off Broadway credits include Avenue Q (Conductor), The Roundabout Theatre Company's production of The Tin Pan Alley Rag (Music Director/Arranger), Wicked, The Lion King, Thoroughly Modern Millie, tick, tick...BOOM! (Conductor) and others.