Brenda Giordano writes music & lyrics for musical theater.
Listen to a 90 second sample of the song “Wherever You Go” from the musical “A Time to Live”.
Brenda Giordano started making up songs in her head as a teenager, but it took having cancer in her 40s before she was ready to go public with her music.
She has always loved theater since the first time she was on stage in 6th grade. She loved to sing and play French Horn and melodies would come to her, but she did not take her songs seriously. Waking from sleep with songs in her mind during her 30s, she took the hint that a Higher Power was trying to tell her something. Then having breast cancer and realizing life was short, she started working with an arranger, and the music and lyrics kept coming.
“Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elemental truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits onself, then Providence moves too.”
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Mark Hollmann – Tony award, Best Original Score for Urinetown: The Musical, 2002, about the song “Wherever You Go”
“…one of the most graceful marriages of music and lyrics we’ve heard today.
Audience member Katherine – Age 8
“I loved all the songs!”
Audience member - Pastor Richard G. Mylander
“In these whacked-out days of immigration paranoia and lack of compassion in our country, it is good to hear a true story, no matter how ancient, of care for the disadvantaged. A Time to Live is a story that needs to be heard today.”
William Squire – Musical theater writer and journalist, about the song “Wherever You Go”
“It’s very …. beautifully handled, I’d say lilting.”
Audience member - Rabbi J. Mirel
“A Time to Live is an inspiring re-telling of the Book of Ruth using music and humor to remind us of the power of two strong women to affirm the potential of change in difficult circumstances.”
Bob Ost – Executive Director Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU), about the song “Wherever You Go”
“It’s a beautiful setting for the Scripture, a lovely setting, and very natural sounding, nothing sounded forced.”
Audience member - Katherine
“Not a religious practitioner, I was unsure about seeing 'A Time to Live'. But the exquisite music, the beautiful songs and the relevance of this musical swept me up! I saw it twice in one week!”
Carol de Giere – Author and Biographer of Stephen Schwartz, about the song “Wherever You Go”
“ So, this is so sweet, it’s almost like the “For Good” moment from Wicked…”
Click to see the promotion reel for the musical “A Time to Live”.
Presenting Musicals During COVID
With the worldwide pandemic of COVID-19 starting early in 2020, all things theater came to a standstill; well, just about a standsill. In honoring the tradition of ‘the show must go on’, Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) in New York continued their series “How to Write a Musical That Works: The World and the Want” but doing so online. The musical “A Time to Live” was presented at TRU in 2013 and 2017 and Brenda, together with her writing partner Kathleen Lyndon, were again honored with the opportunity to showcase 10 minutes of their musical on June 13, 2021 virtually. Now, you can see it too!
