When his piano teacher, Emily Harris, or his violin teacher, Editha Braham realized what he was doing they wisely suggested that this be encouraged, so Alan began composing, as well as pretending to practice.Ĭollege years Too bad he’d never be able to make a living doing that. Instead of learning pieces, Alan would get the basic idea of a Beethoven Sonata or a Bartok Mikrokosmos and spend the rest of his practice time “faking it”.
Studying was like pulling teeth (no pun intended) and even practicing piano was a trial. Much as he would have expected to become a dentist, like most of the other men in three generations of his family, he was a very ADHD child. Alan’s ambition, from his earliest memories, was to become a composer.
He grew up in a home, filled with music and theater (and comedy and drama) in New Rochelle, New York, along with his sisters, Faye and Leah.
Early years Alan Menken was born July 22nd, 1949 at French Hospital in New York City, to young aspiring actress/playwright, Judy Menken and boogie-woogie piano-playing dentist, Norman Menken, DDS.
