Matthew Sklar

Matthew Sklar (October 7, 1973) is a Broadway composer. He was nominated for the 2006 Tony Award for Best Original Score for the musical The Wedding Singer for which he wrote the music and Chad Beguelin wrote the lyrics. He also composed the music for the Broadway musical hit Elf which broke box office records five of the nine weeks of its limited engagement at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2010-2011. Elf returned to Broadway in the 2012-2013 Holiday season. Matthew co-produced the original Broadway cast albums for both shows.

A native of Westfield, New Jersey, Sklar is the middle child of Dr. Talbot Sklar, a pediatric dentist, and Susan Sklar. He attended Edison Intermediate School and graduated from Westfield High School in 1991. He was active in the high school's music and drama programs, and also participated in the Westfield Summer Workshop.

He made his Broadway debut as a composer for the new musical The Wedding Singer. He has been a pianist, conductor, and dance music arranger for many productions including Shrek, 42nd Street, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Nine and Caroline, or Change. He has been working on Broadway since the age of eighteen.

He graduated with honors in 1991 from the Juilliard School Pre-College Division as a composition major. His piece Symphonics, for full orchestra, was premiered at Lincoln Center by the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, conducted by Sklar. He then studied at New York University from 1991-1995.

He has written his own original musicals, which include The Rhythm Club, Judas and Me, and Wicked City.

Matthew credits his start in composing to his Music Teacher, Kristine Smith-Morasso at Edison, who asked him to write a song for his 8th grade graduation. On a whim, he sent the song to Walt Disney Productions, which recorded it for the Mickey Mouse Club.