46°
Bilik, who was born in New Rochelle, turns 81 on Tuesday.
Bilik, a composer, arranger, songwriter, conductor and director of stage productions, was born Oct. 7, 1933. Bilik studied with Tibor Serly, who had been a student of Béla Bartók. A musical virtuoso by the age of 13, Bilik composed more than 50 pieces of music, which run the gamut from popular ballads to marches to his Symphony for Band, (copyright 1972) and dedicated to Tibor Serly. His concert march "Block M" has been voted by band composers as one of the top 100 marches of all time. He wrote the "M Fanfare," which is usually played by the University of Michigan marching band before it plays the famous fight song "The Victors." He has worked with many popular artists, including Danny Kaye, Dick Van Dyke, Leonard Bernstein, Barbra Streisand and Neil Diamond.
He has arranged music for several television series, including "Starsky and Hutch" and "Charlie's Angels." He serves as vice president of creative development for Disney on Ice, having arranged all the music for the Disney on Ice shows, which he also writes and directs. Bilik received both a B.M. and M.M. of music from Michigan.
Click here to follow Daily Voice New Rochelle and receive free news updates.
