| Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Outstanding Music |
| Location | New York City |
| Country | United States |
| Presented by | Drama Desk |
| First awarded | 1968 |
| Currently held by | Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally for Shucked (2023) |
| Website | dramadesk.org (defunct) |
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in musical theatre (distinct from incidental music in plays) across collective Broadway, off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. The award was originally entitled Best Composer, before being renamed to its current title in 1969. The award is often referred to as Outstanding Score of a Musical.
| Year | Composer | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | ||
| Al Carmines | In Circles | |
| Galt MacDermot | Hair | |
| 1969 | ||
| Al Carmines | Peace | |
| Burt Bacharach | Promises, Promises |
| Year | Composer | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2020 | ||
| Dave Malloy | Octet | |
| Ross Golan | The Wrong Man | |
| Michael R. Jackson | A Strange Loop | |
| Joshua Rosenblum | Einstein's Dreams | |
| Duncan Sheik | The Secret Life of Bees | |
| Jeanine Tesori | Soft Power | |
| 2021 | No awards: New York theatres shuttered, March 2020 to September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City[1] | |
| 2022 | ||
| Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss | Six | |
| Jason Howland | Paradise Square | |
| Matt Ray | The Hang | |
| Carrie Rodriguez | ¡Americano! | |
| Jeanine Tesori | Kimberly Akimbo | |
| 2023 | ||
| Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally | Shucked | |
| Michael R. Jackson | White Girl in Danger | |
| Tom Kitt and AnnMarie Milazzo | Almost Famous | |
| Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson | Between the Lines | |
| The Kilbanes | Weightless | |
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