Milt Okun

Milt Okun
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Name	Milt Okun
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Milton Theodore Okun
Birth date	1933-10-28
Birth place	Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Death date	2016-11-15
Death place	Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Arranger, conductor, record producer, music publisher
Years active	1950s–2016

Milt Okun Milton Theodore Okun was an American arranger, conductor, record producer, and music publisher whose work shaped folk, pop, and choral music in the latter half of the 20th century. He collaborated with prominent artists, guided careers, and built publishing enterprises that connected songwriters, performers, and institutions across the United States and international markets. Okun's career intersected with major labels, ensembles, songwriters, and cultural institutions that defined postwar popular music.

Early life and education

Okun was born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in a milieu that connected him to metropolitan cultural centers such as Manhattan, Brooklyn, New York City, and institutions including Brooklyn College and New York University. He studied composition, arrangement, and theory at conservatory and university programs affiliated with teachers and programs linked to Juilliard School, Mannes School of Music, and faculty from Columbia University and Fordham University. Early mentors and contemporaries included composers and arrangers associated with Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, George Gershwin, Samuel Barber, and administrators from Lincoln Center and the Metropolitan Opera who influenced his formal training.

Career beginnings and music publishing

Okun's early career took shape amid the postwar music industry hubs of New York City and Nashville. He entered music publishing during a period when firms such as Chappell & Co., Warner/Chappell Music, ASCAP, BMI, and SESAC dominated rights administration. He worked with publishers and executives at GAC-era companies and engaged with catalog managers at RCA Records, Columbia Records, Decca Records, and Capitol Records. Okun's publishing expertise intersected with songwriters connected to Bert Kaempfert, Burt Bacharach, Hal David, Carole King, and Paul Simon, aligning him with contemporary popular-music ecosystems and licensing frameworks driven by organizations like the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

Work as arranger, conductor, and record producer

As an arranger and conductor Okun worked across projects involving orchestras and vocal ensembles associated with New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and studio players linked to Wrecking Crew and Nashville A-Team. He produced and arranged recordings for labels including Columbia Records, Elektra Records, American Gramaphone, and Philips Records. Collaborations placed him in studios alongside producers and engineers from Tom Dowd, Phil Ramone, George Martin, and Quincy Jones spheres, contributing arrangements to records that charted on Billboard Hot 100, Billboard 200, and international charts such as UK Singles Chart, ARIA Charts, and RPM (magazine). His work also intersected with film and television music productions involving studios like Warner Bros., Universal Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and broadcasters including NBC, CBS, and ABC.

Collaboration with Peter, Paul and Mary and other artists

Okun is widely associated with arranging and producing for the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, working on recordings, tours, and television appearances alongside managers and promoters connected to Albert Grossman, Clive Davis, John Hammond, and venues such as Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, The Gaslight Cafe, Fillmore East, and Newport Folk Festival. He arranged music for performers including John Denver, Josh White, The Chad Mitchell Trio, The Weavers, The Kingston Trio, Perry Como, Mahalia Jackson, Barbra Streisand, Harry Belafonte, Olivia Newton-John, Glen Campbell, Willie Nelson, Emmylou Harris, Anne Murray, Céline Dion, Neil Diamond, and Simon & Garfunkel. Okun's role often bridged artist, label, and publisher relationships, facilitating collaborations with songwriters such as Gordon Lightfoot, Jim Croce, Don McLean, Jimmy Webb, and Kenny Loggins.

Founding Cherry Lane Music and music publishing legacy

Okun founded and led publishing ventures including Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company and worked with catalog acquisitions, mechanical licensing, and synch placements. His publishing interests involved catalogs that included songs by John Denver, Peter, Paul and Mary associates, and catalog songwriters represented by firms such as BMG, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, and independent houses in Los Angeles, Nashville, and London. Okun negotiated deals with rights administrators, performed catalog valuation for firms like The Orchard and Concord Music, and influenced placement of repertoire in films, television shows, and stage productions involving producers from Sondheim-related musical theater circles and licensing bodies at STOMP-era enterprises.

Later career, honors, and influence

In later decades Okun continued advising artists, publishers, and choral organizations including The Choral Arts Society of Washington, Robert Shaw Chorale alumni, and collegiate ensembles at Harvard University, Yale University, and Princeton University. His production and arrangement work earned recognition in trade outlets such as Rolling Stone, Billboard, and Variety and his career intersected with awards programs like the Grammy Awards, Academy of Country Music Awards, and American Music Awards. Okun influenced a generation of arrangers and producers who worked with labels and institutions like Arista Records, Island Records, EMI, PolyGram, Motown, Stax Records, Atlantic Records, and conservatories including Curtis Institute of Music and Eastman School of Music.

Personal life and death

Okun lived in New York City and maintained professional ties to Los Angeles and Nashville. He worked with charitable and educational organizations connected to New England Conservatory, Metropolitan Opera Guild, and arts funding bodies such as the National Endowment for the Arts and various philanthropic foundations. Okun died in Manhattan in November 2016; his legacy continues through catalogs, recordings, and educational influence on arrangers, conductors, and publishers active in the 21st century.

Category:American record producers Category:American music arrangers Category:Music publishers (people)