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Stephen Flaherty
Once he saw a stage production of "Godspell" at the age of 12, Stephen Flaherty knew he wanted to be a composer and within two years was trying to write his own stage shows. He enrolled at the Cincinnati College Conservatory and encountered Lehman Engel, the famed composer-conductor and administrator of the BMI musical theater workshop in NYC. Over a two year period, Flaherty remained in touch with Engel with the goal of joining the workshop once he had graduated. Engel's 1982 death was not a deterrent and Flaherty managed to talk his way into the workshop without going through the audition process. He was then introduced to songwriter and TV producer Lynn Ahrens and a partnership was born.