BMI Names Patrick Cook Director, Musical Theatre & Jazz

Patrick Cook, noted musical theatre composer, actor and author has been appointed Director of Musical Theatre and Jazz for BMI, it was announced today by Charlie Feldman, Vice President, Writer/Publisher Relations New York. Cook will be based in BMI's New York office and will report directly to Feldman.

"We are fortunate to have one of the musical theatre community's most respected and admired creative forces join BMI in this key role," said Feldman.

"The Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop under Pat's leadership has been honored with both a special Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award, recognition of the long tradition of excellence in development of musical theatre composers and lyricists. This year alone, there are three productions developed under Pat's direction in the Workshop that have been nominated for Drama Desk Awards. This is a track record that speaks for itself."

Among Cook's theatre credits is his musical Captains Courageous, which originated at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, was produced at Manhattan Theater Club, and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for best musical. In his early career, Cook was an actor appearing in several Broadway productions and television, including as a regular on the PBS series Feeling Good, starring Bill Cosby.

An accomplished jazz pianist, Mr. Cook was well known in the New York jazz community, where he played with greats such as George Shearing, Mel Tormé, Joe Williams and Teddy Wilson. He attended Juilliard and a special program sponsored by the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera at the University of Southern California.

Mr. Cook has been associated with the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop for more than a quarter century, both as a member of the Workshop and as its Artistic Coordinator for the past decade.

Broadcast Music, Inc.® (BMI), a global leader in rights management, is an American performing right organization that represents more than 475,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers in all genres of music and more than 6.5 million works. BMI has represented the most popular and beloved music from around the world for 70 years. The U.S. corporation collects license fees from businesses that use music, which it then distributes as royalties to the musical creators and copyright owners it represents. BMI songwriters and composers were the most celebrated creative voices in awards presentations and on the charts during the past year, accounting for almost two-thirds of the Grammy Awards and dominating other key awards and honors presentations across all genres of music.