Alan Menken is an American composer of musical theater and film music. He was born in New Rochelle, New York on July 22nd, 1949. Menken developed a love of music at a very early age, and he took private lessons on both the violin and piano. He grew up to be an extremely talented pianist.
Despite that early tutelage, Menken decided to attend New York University after high school in order to major in their pre-Med program. However, after several months of studying, he realized how much he missed music, and he decided to switch over his focus to it. After graduating, he met a wonderful lyricist named Howard Ashman, and the two began a very famous professional partnership.
Menken is well-respected for his work with musical theater (with such shows as "Little Shop of Horrors" and "Weird Romance,"), but he has become a household name due to his association with Disney films. He wrote the music for such famous movies as "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "Aladdin," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," and "Hercules." Recently, he composed the soundtrack for "Enchanted." He has won 8 Academy Awards for his film music, and he has been nominated 10 times on top of that!
*Adapted from Wikipedia
