Matthew Friedman, B.A., '90; J.D., '94

October 2008

Matthew Friedman '90, '94 spent 2006 as the “The Piano Man” in the First National Touring Company of Billy Joel and Twyla Tharp’s Tony Award-winning musical, MOVIN’ OUT. He is one of only 10 people to hold this position since the show first arrived on Broadway in 2002, and has played to critical acclaim all over the United Stated, Canada and Japan. He is currently reprising the role for the Second National Tour, which began its run in June 2007.

Matthew has played piano for more than 35 years, and studied piano and composition with jazz great David Lalama and electronic music pioneer Herbert Deutsch (the co-creator of the Moog Synthesizer) at Hofstra University, earning a B.A. in liberal arts in 1990 and then proceeding to Hofstra University School of Law for a J.D. in 1994. Matthew then started work on Wall Street, handling insurance law cases for the firm of Wollerstein and Futoran. While in court one day, Matthew received a phone call that would change his life. He learned that he was chosen to be the lead singer in the touring company of the Billy Joel-Twyla Tharp musical MOVIN’ OUT.

Since 2002, Matthew and the Friedman Brothers Band (with siblings Daniel, Evan and Cary) have performed at several legendary venues in New York City, including The Bitter End, Kenny's Castaways, Arlene's Grocery and the Knitting Factory. Their first album, Cut and Dry, was released in 2003. Matthew also performs with the jazz-fusion instrumental ensemble Dr. Phibes, directed by Charles Compo. Matthew has written or co-written more than 70 songs, and he has twice been selected as a featured composer as part of the Alternative Torch Songwriters Series at New York's Symphony Space Theater. Matthew is the author of several short stories and a full-length science-fiction novel (Fixing a Hole).