Fredric Myrow, 59; Composer, Musician

Composer and musician Fredric Myrow, perhaps best known for his work as music director and composer in residence of the Los Angeles Theater Center in the mid-1980s, has died.

Myrow died of a heart attack Thursday morning at his Hollywood Hills home. He was 59.

The son of film composer and lyricist Josef Myrow, who wrote “You Make Me Feel So Young,” Myrow’s musical career began early. Dmitri Shostakovich, the great Russian composer, heard Myrow’s work at USC during a tour of the states in 1958. This brought Myrow a commission from the Young Musicians Federation. His “Symphonic Variations” was played by the Debut Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl when he was 21.

During the next 10 years, he received three Fulbright awards, which allowed him to study music in Italy, and three Rockefeller grants, as well as a Guggenheim Fellowship. For a year, he served as composer in residence under Leonard Bernstein at the New York Philharmonic.

He taught at the State University of New York in Buffalo before returning to Los Angeles. He collaborated on an unfinished rock opera with Jim Morrison of the Doors, who inspired Myrow to explore popular music. Myrow went on to compose scores for films such as “Leo the Last,” “Soylent Green,” “Scarecrow,” and the cult horror trilogy “Phantasm.”

His stage musical “Sure Feels Good” at the Los Angeles Actor’s Theatre, led to his joining LATC where, during his four-year tenure, he produced 40 concerts and composed music for 20 plays, including “Minamata” and other productions by writer/director Reza Abdoh. During his career, Myrow collaborated with artists as disparate as Michael Nesmith of the Monkees, singer Georgia Brown, actress Susan Tyrell and opera director Peter Sellars.

In May 1993, his symphony “Frontiers,” commissioned by the National Endowment for the Arts, was performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic and conducted by Lawrence Foster; Myrow himself conducted the European premiere of the work with the Halle Orchestra in Manchester, England. The next year, Myrow’s ballet “Mango” premiered at the John Anson Ford Theater, choreographed by Naomi Goldberg.

Myrow also owned and operated Rashine Musicworks, a recording studio, and Axis Mundi, a production company and record label.

“Fred’s generosity of spirit and extraordinary wide range of musical interests made him a friend, mentor and collaborator with literally hundreds of artists,” said his friend Adam Leipzig, former dramaturge of Los Angeles Theater Center and now a film producer.

He is survived by his wife, Ilana, and daughters Rachel, Shira and Neora.

Services are private.