Music of the Night

This arrangement of Music of the Night was written by Calvin Custer (see below) in 1992, for solo trumpet and band, of the very popular song from the operetta The Phantom of the Opera written by Andrew Lloyd Weber (see also below) in 1986.

“The Music of the Night” (also labelled as just “Music of the Night” and originally labeled as “Married Man”) is a major song from the 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera. The music was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. Initially made famous by Michael Crawford, the actor who originated the role of the Phantom both in the West End and on Broadway, “The Music of the Night” has appeared on many cast recordings of the musical, sold millions of copies worldwide, and has been translated into many languages.

“The Music of the Night” is sung immediately following song “The Phantom of the Opera”, after the Phantom lures Christine Daaé to his lair beneath the Opera House. He seduces Christine with ‘his music of the night’, his voice putting her into a type of trance. He sings of his unspoken love for her and urges her to forget the world and life she knew before. The Phantom leads Christine around his lair, eventually pulling back a curtain to reveal a mannequin resembling Christine dressed in a wedding gown. When she approaches it, it suddenly moves, causing her to faint. The Phantom then carries Christine to a bed, where he lays her down and goes on to write his music.

Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber, KG (b. 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, two film scores, and a Latin Requiem Mass.

Several of Lloyd Webber's songs have been widely recorded and widely successful outside of their parent musicals, such as “Memory’ from Cats, “The Music of the Night” and “All I Ask of You” from The Phantom of the Opera, “I Don't Know How to Love Him” from Jesus Christ Superstar, “Don't Cry for Me Argentina” from Evita, and “Any Dream Will Do” from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In 2001, The New York Times referred to him as “the most commercially successful composer in history.”

Lloyd Webber has received numerous awards, including a knighthood in 1992, followed by a peerage for services to the arts, six Tonys, seven Olivier Awards, three Grammys (as well as the Grammy Legend Award), an Academy Award, 14 Ivor Novello Awards, a Golden Globe, a Brit Award, the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors, and two Classic Brit Awards (for Outstanding Contribution to Music in 2008, and for Musical Theatre and Education in 2018). In 2018, after Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live), he became the thirteenth person to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy, and a Tony. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is an inductee into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors.

The Really Useful Group, Lloyd Webber's company, is one of the largest theatre operators in London. Producers in several parts of the UK have staged productions, including national tours, of Lloyd Webber musicals under licence from the Really Useful Group. He is also the president of the Arts Educational Schools, London, a performing arts school located in Chiswick, West London. Lloyd Webber is involved in a number of charitable activities, including the Elton John AIDS Foundation, Nordoff Robbins, Prostate Cancer UK and War Child. In 1992, he started the Andrew Lloyd Webber Foundation which supports the arts, culture, and heritage of the UK.

Calvin H. Custer (1939 - 1998) was an American composer and arranger.

He attended Carnegie Mellon University and Syracuse University where his composition teachers included Nikolai Lopatnikoff, Ernst Bacon, and Earl George. He also studied conducting with Karl Kritz, first music director of the Syracuse Symphony.

Custer was associated with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra during the majority of his musical career serving in the keyboard, horn and string bass sections; holding various conducting positions; and serving as staff arranger. He helped to implement the orchestra's chamber music program which continues to perform in local schools and libraries to this day. Calvin was a member of the both the rock and percussion ensembles in which he played numerous instruments including keyboard and guitar.

Custer was prolific in his creations of arrangements for orchestra, many of which were performed by orchestras across the country including the Boston Pops Orchestra. In 2006, the Syracuse Symphony released a CD of Custer's arrangements on the disc Big Band Bash. His many arrangements for band include Adagio from “Adagio for Strings"” (Barber), Ashokan Farewell (Ungar), Rolling Thunder March (Fillmore), and Star Wars: Main Theme (Williams).

The music for Music of the Night was provided for the band by Jack Prindle.