Michael J. Lewis

Michael John Lewis (born 11 January 1939 in Aberystwyth) is a Welsh-born composer of film, theatre, television, and choral music. He studied harmony, counterpoint and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. After a brief teaching career in North London he became a full time composer at the age of 24. His first major work was Please, Sir, a stage musical that attracted the attention of English writer/director Brian Forbes and actor Richard Attenborough. In 1968, Forbes invited Lewis to score his film The Madwoman of Chaillot, starring Katharine Hepburn. Lewis's first film score won him an Ivor Novello Award in 1969/1970. Subsequently, he composed the scores for Upon This Rock, a dramatized documentary of St. Peter’s Basilica starring Orson Welles, which premiered at the 1970 Venice Film Festival, and Julius Caesar starring Charlton Heston, Jason Robards and John Gielgud. 1973 saw Lewis' Broadway musical debut with Cyrano starring Christopher Plummer, who won a Tony Award for his stellar performance. The show was ... ()