Facts: - spouse: julianne waldhelm - birth date: 23 october 1945 - name: maury yeston - birth place: jersey city , new jersey , united states Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of maury yeston .
maury yeston -lrb- born october 23 , 1945 -rrb- is an american composer , lyricist , educator and musicologist .he is known for writing the music and lyrics to broadway musicals , including '' nine '' in 1982 , and '' titanic '' in 1997 , both of which won tony awards for best musical and best score .he also won a drama desk award for '' nine '' .yeston also wrote a significant amount of the music and most of the lyrics to the tony-nominated musical '' grand hotel '' in 1989 , which was nominated for best score .his musical version of the novel '' the phantom of the opera '' entitled '' phantom '' -lrb- not to be confused with andrew lloyd webber 's version -rrb- has enjoyed numerous productions in the u.s. and around the world .he has also written a number of other off-broadway musicals , including '' death takes a holiday '' ; a song cycle entitled '' december songs '' ; '' an american cantata '' -lrb- a three-movement choral symphony -rrb- ; a full length story-ballet : tom sawyer : a ballet in three acts ; a cello concerto ; and other pieces .yeston serves on the board of the songwriters hall of fame .he is also a lifetime member of the dramatists guild council , an honorary ambassador of the society of composers & lyricists , president of the kleban foundation , serves on the editorial boards of '' musical quarterly '' and the kurt weill foundation publication project and on the advisory board of the yale university press broadway series .he was the director of the bmi lehman engel musical theater workshop in new york city for two decades beginning in 1982 .