Biography

Joseph Thalken is an award-winning composer whose work includes the musicals Harold and Maude (book and lyrics by Tom Jones), Was (book and lyrics by Barry Kleinbort), And the Curtain Rises (book by Michael Slade, lyrics by Mark Campbell), and Borrowed Dust (book and lyrics by Martin Moran). On Broadway, Mr. Thalken served as conductor for Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews and Liza Minnelli, and Gypsy with Patti LuPone. As a pianist and conductor, he has worked with Bernadette Peters, Polly Bergen, Rebecca Luker, B.J. Ward, Faith Prince, Marin Mazzie, Elizabeth Futral, Anna Bergman, Denyce Graves, Michael Crawford, Barry Manilow, Howard McGillin, Jason Danieley, Nathan Gunn, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and many others. A graduate of Northwestern University, he worked at the Zurich Opera Studio and spent several years at the Stadttheater Aachen (Germany) as a conductor, pianist, and composer. A long-time New York City resident, he has taught music theater composition at Yale University. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2015 in a concert with Patti LuPone.