Stephen J. Lawrence is an American composer, living and working in New York City. He has composed more than 300 songs and scores for Sesame Street, resulting in three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition; composed the title song and four others for Marlo Thomas's Free to Be... You and Me, the landmark million-selling record, book and Emmy Award- and Peabody Award-winning ABC television special; composed the million-selling Gold RecordYou Take My Breath Away; scored the Robert De Niro movie Bang the Drum Slowly and the cult horror classic Alice, Sweet Alice, which won the music award at the Paris International Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction; composed score for One Summer Love, 1976, a.k.a. Dragonfly, composed the songs and score for the 1989 live-action movie musical Red Riding Hood starring Isabella Rossellini and Craig T. Nelson, lyrics by Michael Korie; composed songs for the live-action movie musical The Emperor's New Clothes, starring Sid Caesar and Robert Morse; composed songs and score for The Tale of Peter Rabbit, an HBO animated musical starring Carol Burnett, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. He has a B.A. in music from Hofstra University. Married Christine Jones 1984. Daughter, Hannah Lawrence, born 1986. Married Cathy Schwartzman, 2002. Music Director, Temple Sinai, Stamford Ct, 2002 to 2012.
Awards and nominations
Three Emmy Awards: Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition, Sesame Street 1989-1990, 2001-2002, and 2002-2003.
Gold Album for Free to Be... You and Me - Composed the title song and four others for Marlo Thomas's Free to Be... You and Me, the landmark million-selling record, book and Emmy Award - and Peabody Award-winning ABC television special. Musical Director.
Gold Record for Sooner Or Later, the soundtrack of the 1979 NBC TV movie which included "You Take My Breath Away", signifying sales of 500,000 copies.
Music Award from the Paris International Film Festival of Fantasy and Science Fiction for Alice, Sweet Alice.
TV credits
Sesame Street Television series. Composed over 300 songs and scores. Won three Emmys for “Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition. Arranger and Conductor. 1984-2012.
Free to Be... You and Me. ABC television special based on the record and book, 1974. Composed title song and four others; Musical Director and Arranger.
Sooner or Later. NBC television movie, 1979. Composed original songs and score.
It Happened One Christmas. Universal/ABC television movie, 1977; starring Marlo Thomas and Orson Welles. Composed score.
'. Sesame Street musical special, 1993-1994. Composed songs.
Sesame Street Celebrates Around the World. Sesame Street New Year's Eve television special, 1993. Composed songs and score.
'. Sesame Street television special, 1983. Composed songs.
"The Tale of Peter Rabbit". An episode of HBO's Storybook Musicals series, an animated musical starring Carol Burnett. Lyrics by Sheldon Harnick. Written by Tony Geiss. Composed songs and score.
– TV movie, Produced by Grosso-Jacobson. Composed score.
Dorothy In The Land of Oz – Animated television special that aired on CBS in 1980. Starring Sid Caesar. Composed songs and score.
Hothouse – Lorimar/|ABC television series. Composed score.
Composed songs for American history musicals for children for his company, Quill Entertainment Company. Shows include: Everybody's Watching: The Making of the Constitution, Glory Road, Dream, Paul Revere Rides Again
