BIO

DANIEL MATÉ is a composer, lyricist, and playwright for musical theatre based in BC and New York. He has been active since 2007, when he graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with an M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing. He also holds a B.A. in Psychology and Philosophy from McGill.

Daniel received the prestigious Edward Kleban Prize for Most Promising Lyricist in American Musical Theatre, a Jonathan Larson Foundation Grant, and the ASCAP Foundation’s Cole Porter Award for Excellence in Music and Lyrics (for his song cycle The Longing and the Short of It.) He has presented his work at the historic Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and New York’s Lincoln Center, and was an invited participant in the inaugural Johnny Mercer Writers Colony.

Musical theatre works include:

Daniel with (R to L) composer Will Aronson, producer Søren Møller, director Victoria Clark, and choreographer Sara Brians, in Fredericia, Denmark for the European premiere of The Trouble With Doug — Daniel with (R to L) composer Will Aronson, producer Søren Møller, director Victoria Clark, and choreographer Sara Brians, in Fredericia, Denmark for the European premiere of *The Trouble With Doug*

• Hansel & Gretl & Heidi & Günter. Lyrics by Daniel Maté; music by Will Aronson; book by Hannah Kohl. World premiere upcoming at Village Theatre [Issaquah, WA], Spring 2020, dir. Jerry Dixon.

• Middle School Mysteries. Music and lyrics by Daniel Maté; book by Maté and Marshall Pailet. Commissioned by Two River Theater Company, Red Bank, NJ. In development.

• The Longing and the Short of It. Music & lyrics by Daniel Maté; additional conceptual assistance by Victoria Clark, Max Friedman, and Barbara Tomasic. Presented Fall 2013 by the Theatre at Arts Garage, Delray Beach FL (voted Best New Musical in BroadwayWorld.com’s Audience Choice Awards; nominated for five Carbonell Awards including Best New Work.) Canada: In Tune Festival (Vancouver, BC) and Charlottetown Festival (PEI) in 2017.

• The Trouble With Doug. Lyrics by Daniel Maté; music by Will Aronson; book by Maté & Aronson. European premiere Spring 2017 at Fredericia Teater, Denmark, dir. Victoria Clark. Previous stops include the 2010 NAMT Festival of New Musicals, plus workshop productions in Florida (5 Carbonell nominations, including Best New Work), Palo Alto CA, and NYC.

• The Story of Jo-Beth. Book, music, and lyrics by Maté; concept by Maté & Erin Ortman. Original created as a devised theatre piece with CAP 21 Conservatory’s Senior Ensemble (NYC), 2011. Workshop presentation: JCC in Manhattan, April 2013, dir. Michelle Tattenbaum.

Daniel’s songs, which have been described as “dazzling and audacious”, “wryly humorous”, and “suffused with passion”, have been performed by such Broadway stars as Beth Leavel (Tony Award for The Drowsy Chaperone), Lindsay Mendez (Tony Award for Carousel), Donna Lynne Champlin (“Paula” on The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), George Salazar (Be More Chill) and Jason Tam (A Chorus Line, the documentary Every Little Step). They have also been seen on cabaret stages across the US and Canada, and from Paris to Tokyo to Melbourne.

Working with students at PS 307, Brooklyn NY, on original song writing/recording

As an educator, Daniel led the inaugural Vancouver edition of the Canadian Musical Theatre Writers Collective’s Writers’ Workshop, the first training program of its kind in Western Canada for musical theatre creators. He has led masterclasses for performers at Capilano University (North Vancouver, BC) and Emerson University (Boston, MA). He has also designed led songwriting workshops for children from Manhattan’s Greenwich Village to South Central Los Angeles, for adults at a Brooklyn addiction recovery home, and for teens as the guest of the Blackfoot Nation of Southern Alberta.

As a guest artist, Daniel contributed a theme song for The Dream Catchers, a musical theatre piece performed entirely by teens from across the country for the Canada 150 celebration. The show toured the country and was performed for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at PEI’s Confederation Centre.

As a transcriptionist, Daniel has lent his ear to new Broadway musicals such as Alan Menken and Chazz Palmienteri’s A Bronx Tale (dir. Robert De Niro) and Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, as well as the Flaming Lips musical Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots (La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego CA). He has also worked as an arranger and orchestrator, including The Cable Car Nymphomaniac (FOGG Theatre, San Fransisco CA).

An avid enthusiast of all things lyrical, Daniel was also a two-time finalist for the Hip Hop Karaoke NYC Championship under the stage name “RDJ”, on account of a certain celebrity resemblance.

Outside of music and theatre, Daniel runs the world’s only “mental chiropractic” service, Take A Walk With Daniel. He is also co-authoring two books with his father Dr. Gabor Maté, including Hello Again: A Fresh Start for Parents and Their Adult Children, due in 2022 from Random House. The two Matés lead a popular workshop of the same title, and a podcast is also in the works.

Daniel was born and raised in Vancouver, BC, Canada.