Editing Galt MacDermot (section)

==Biography==
MacDermot was born in [[Montreal]], the son of Canadian diplomat [[Terence MacDermot]] and Elizabeth Savage.<ref name = NYT/> He was educated at [[Upper Canada College]] and [[Bishop's University]] ([[Sherbrooke]], Quebec, Canada). He received a bachelor's degree in music from [[Cape Town University]], [[South Africa]], and made a study of [[African music]] his specialty. He studied the piano privately with [[Neil Chotem]].<ref name="CE">[https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/galt-macdermot-emc "Galt MacDermot"]. ''The Canadian Encyclopedia''. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100213075942/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=U1ARTU0000709 |date=February 13, 2010 }}</ref> During his time in Cape Town, he met his future wife, Marlene Bruynzeel, a clarinetist of Dutch descent. They married in 1956 and had five children (Vincent, Molly, Yolanda and twins Sarah and Jolanthe, who died one day apart in 2020).<ref>Jolanthe MacDermot and Sarah MacDermot died one day apart in November 2020 at the age of 55, in [[Staten Island, New York]], where they were born on February 8, 1965. Sarah died on November 7, 2020 from undisclosed causes; Jolanthe died one day later, on November 8, 2020, from metastatic breast cancer.<br>{{cite news|url=https://www.silive.com/news/2020/11/twin-sisters-who-shared-inseparable-existence-die-one-day-apart-at-age-55.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201110201838/https://www.silive.com/news/2020/11/twin-sisters-who-shared-inseparable-existence-die-one-day-apart-at-age-55.html|title=Twin sisters who shared 'inseparable existence' die one day apart, at age 55|first=Gail|last=Lubin|newspaper=Staten Island Advance|date=November 10, 2020|archive-date=November 10, 2020|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/staten-island-ny/sarah-macdermot-9893684 Sarah MacDermot obituary], legacy.com. Accessed March 21, 2025.</ref><ref name = NYT>{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/obituaries/galt-macdermot-dead.html|title = Galt MacDermot, Composer of the Rock Musical 'Hair', Dies at 89|work = [[The New York Times]]|date = December 18, 2018|access-date = August 28, 2020|last = Seelye|first = Katharine Q.}}</ref> In 1960, he won his first [[Grammy Award]] for [[Cannonball Adderley]]'s recording of his song "African Waltz" (from the [[African Waltz|album of the same name]]).<ref name=Official>{{cite web|url=http://www.galtmacdermot.com/|title=MacDermot's Official Website|publisher=Galtmacdermot.com|access-date=September 27, 2014|archive-date=May 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150516073108/http://www.galtmacdermot.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

In 1964, MacDermot moved to [[New York City]], where, three years later, he wrote the music for the hit musical ''[[Hair (musical)|Hair]]'', which he later adapted for [[Hair (film)|the 1979 film]] of the same name.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.geocities.com/hairpages/macder.html |title=The HAIR Pages|first=Tracy|last=Harris|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091027124943/http://www.geocities.com/hairpages/macder.html|date=March 2, 1998|archive-date=October 27, 2009}}</ref> Its [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] cast album won a [[Grammy Awards of 1969|Grammy Award]] in 1969, and the musical generated three [[List of number-one singles of 1969 (Canada)|number-one singles that year]]: "[[Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In]]", "[[Good Morning Starshine]]", and the title song "[[Hair (Hair song)|Hair]]". His next musicals were ''[[Isabel's a Jezebel]]'' (1970) and ''Who the Murderer Was'' (1970), which featured British progressive rock band [[Curved Air]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.curvedair.com/sonjapage.htm|title=Who the Murderer Was|publisher=Curvedair.com|access-date=September 27, 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060519090232/http://www.curvedair.com/sonjapage.htm|archive-date=May 19, 2006}}</ref>

MacDermot had another hit with the musical ''[[Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical)|Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'' (1971), which won the [[Tony Award for Best Musical]]. For that show, MacDermot was nominated for a Tony for best music and won the [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music]]. His later musicals, including ''[[Dude (musical)|Dude]]'' and ''[[Via Galactica]]'' (both 1972) and ''[[The Human Comedy (musical)|The Human Comedy]]'' (1984), were not successful on Broadway, running 16 performances, 7 performances, and 13 performances respectively.<ref>{{cite web|website=IBDB|title=Galt MacDermot|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/galt-macdermot-12086|accessdate=March 20, 2023}}</ref>

MacDermot's [[film soundtrack]]s include ''[[Cotton Comes to Harlem]]'', a 1970 [[blaxploitation]] film starring [[Godfrey Cambridge]], [[Raymond St. Jacques]], and [[Redd Foxx]], based on Chester Himes's novel of the same name; ''[[Rhinoceros (film)|Rhinoceros]]'' (1974) starring [[Zero Mostel]] and [[Gene Wilder]], and directed by original Broadway ''Hair'' director [[Tom O'Horgan]]; and ''[[Mistress (1992 film)|Mistress]]'' (1992). He wrote his own orchestrations and arrangements for his theater and film scores.<ref name=Official/>

In 1979, MacDermot formed the ''New Pulse Jazz Band'', which performed and recorded his original music and was one of the first jazz bands to feature [[synthesizer]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.galtmacdermot.com/newpulse.html|title=Galt MacDermot - New Pulse Jazz Band}}</ref> The band played as part of the onstage band in the 2009 Broadway revival of ''Hair''. MacDermot's oeuvre also includes ballet scores, chamber music, the Anglican liturgy, orchestral music, poetry, [[incidental music]] for plays, band repertory, and opera.<ref name=Official/> In 2009, MacDermot was inducted into the [[Songwriter's Hall of Fame]].

On November 22, 2010, MacDermot was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by [[SOCAN]] at the 2010 SOCAN Awards in Toronto.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.socan.ca/about/awards/2010-socan-awards|title=2010 SOCAN Awards|publisher=SOCAN|access-date=2018-01-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017094303/http://www.socan.ca/about/awards/2010-socan-awards|archive-date=October 17, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File: Portrait_of_Galt_MacDermot.jpg | thumb | Portrait of Galt MacDermot]]